By Ally Caho
Round Table Editor

 How many dancers does it take to screw in a light bulb? A hundred. One to screw it in and 99 to sit back and think, “I could have done that so much better.” This is the kind of attitude and mannerism being portrayed on Dance Moms, a peak into the competitive world of dance via television.

 Now that the new Lifetime hit, Dance Moms, has had its first season, it is getting mixed reviews from the dance community. This new show follows the Abby Lee Miller Dance Company from Pittsburg, PA.

The program showcases some of the company’s younger dancers during their competition season. It focuses on the dancers’ mothers and how they react to the treatment of their children, mostly in comparison with the treatment of the other dancers in the company. The show puts a negative light on the world of competitive dance.

 Middletown High School Junior and 13 year dancer at the Mid Maryland Performing Arts Center, Kira Jahrling, said, “I feel like everything on Dance Mom’s is unrealistic, no dance studio should be even remotely like that. I enjoy watching the show for entertainment but I don’t agree with a lot of the things on it.” 

 The dancers on the show range from age six and a half, to thirteen. The company is constantly traveling around the country to compete. They generally compete one or two group numbers, and then Abby and the pyramid decide who gets to perform solos, duets, or not at all.

 The pyramid is the way Abby Lee Miller categorizes each of her dancers, on levels. The top of the pyramid is the dancer that has been the most successful lately, and they usually get to perform a solo at competition. The bottom of the pyramid is for the girls Abby feels need to work harder.

 “I feel the show portrays dancers in a demeaning way, that all dancers are so competitive and have very little respect for one another, themselves, parents, and teachers. All in all, dance is meant for people to embrace their passion in an art,” said MHS junior, Kaylie Miller who has danced at the Dee Buchanan Studio of Dance for 13 years. “It over exaggerates everything in the dance world, blowing every single piece and competition out of proportion.”

 Abby runs her studio with a very tough love approach; she likes to push and enhance her students through long hours of learning and rehearsing new choreography with her dancers. In most episodes, the girls learn and clean a new piece for competition in a week. Costuming, timing conflicts and stresses are mainly what  get the dance moms fired up.

 “I’m surprised by the popularity of Dance Moms. It has always been important to me (and every dance teacher I know) to help students explore the artistry of dance, and to help them gain self-esteem. Dance Moms portrays a whole other world, I’m grateful our dancers are not a part of it,” said Dee Buchanan, owner and director of the Dee Buchanan Studio of Dance.

 The Moms themselves are a ferocious group of women who are portrayed as living vicariously through their talented children. They push their girls to be the best and fight for them if they are not receiving the proper respect or attention. The mothers are constantly picking fights with each other, but mostly they disagree with the owner and company director Abby Lee Miller.

 Kim Bower, a 25 year dance mom had this to say, “I’m appalled at the behaviors of all the adults.  The moms act more immature than the children.  I don’t understand why you would ever subject your child to such an unpleasant environment!”

 With both the pressure of Abby’s “win, win, win” attitude, and the fear of disappointing their parents, the young girls on the show are constantly tense and overworked. Some have even said that they don’t want to dance anymore because it just isn’t fun for them. The girls are constantly busy and are hardly shown outside of a dance environment.

 Meltdowns are a very common occurrence on the show, especially with the girls who don’t receive as much attention as say the top of the pyramid. Although the girls have experienced great opportunities such as being in a music video, winning National dance titles, and auditioning for a Broadway casting agent, they really haven’t experienced a normal childhood. Their mothers might argue that “Who wants their child to be normal?” but the girls are threatened by a future of blow ups and burn outs.