Dance Moms last night was a trip through a haunted house.  Gone were the days when Abby Lee Dance Company was bustling with students.  Gone were the days of Chloe and Nia with the original team trying to please Abby.  Gone were the days when the moms tried to protect their children.  So what did we have in their place?

Let’s first start with the Dance Mom set we have come to know.  Instead of Holly, Jill, Kira, and the rest, we had plotting Stacy, paranoid Yolanda, half-clued in Jamie, and Ashlee, the harbinger of calamity.  Both Stacey and Yolanda want their daughters to be the next big “it” factor with Abby.  Ashlee is out to stop this and put Brynn at the top and with all the solos.  And if that causes strife between the moms and upset to the Original Girls so much the better!

Now, I don’t know if a text existed or not, but it wasn’t Ashlee’s place to share.  Please if I had been Kira/Jill/Holly/Camille, I would have deleted her from any list on phone or social groups that existed. All know that Ashlee is there only to make Brynn a star.  They know that she (and excuse my French here) sucked up to Abby at the competition the week before.  Would you share any comments with her?  I don’t think so thus I wonder if this text she saw was true.  A mom who wants to maintain friendly ties to the other group in case she needs them wouldn’t have told the new group all about what she has supposedly seen online.  But we are talking about Ashlee.

Probably one of the biggest problems I have with the new group is their lack of “real world” understanding.  Here they are fawning all over Abby in the hopes of getting their daughters ahead and all know Abby is going to jail.  Stacey and Yolanda especially are blind to the fact that without Abby they won’t have a team or success will come their way.  I’ve heard of people wearing blinders but theirs are over the top.

Now on to the Original Girls.  I know people say that Abby made them but did she really?  She kept throwing at Jill and Kendall the question of where would they be without her.  While I can see the reasoning behind the question, Abby hasn’t done that much for Kendall.  Jill had to go find another agent to handle Kendall’s music career.  Nia has suffered under Abby’s displeasure for seven long years. Chloe was insulted and had her confidence thrown many times by Abby’s comments.  While Kalani has gotten some breaks, they have been few and far between.  Thus, Abby’s whining and crying doesn’t play true to me.  Yes, she helped them on the path but their moms paid the bills.  They paid Abby to teach the girls to dance, take them to competitions, and manage their careers  (at a profit to Abby).

As to the girls, they tried to deal with Abby.  Nia has stood back and not said anything but from her facial expressions we know how much she has been hurt.  Chloe had to leave because of the comments Abby made about her eye condition.  Kalani and Kendall have suffered comparison to Maddie time and again.  Camryn has been threatened with being kicked off the team almost every week.  In all honesty what child, or parent, would have stayed that long even for a television show.  Chloe and Christi left.  Nia and Holly made it the longest because they knew they were under contract.  And for those who think getting out of a contract in show business is easy, it isn’t.  I’ve heard horror stories of what happens if you break even the smallest detail.

Now on to the original girls dance.  I didn’t see it on Dance Moms last night but from what I have seen, it was mature.  Guess what folks!  Both Kalani and Nia are heading to college soon.  This is the type of dance that if they “try out” for the musical number they will have to do.  I’ve seen too many college performance (and yes, even high school) of “A Chorus Line,” “Cabaret,” “Sweet Charity.”  And less you say:  “Well, Abby wouldn’t have done that type of number or dress them in that costume, let me say this.  There is one episode not on the Season Two dvd of Dance Moms because of subject theme and got cut because of said “theme and costume” of the dance.  They won’t even show it on television.  Also, remember the Chicago number???  That song was inappropriate. And what gives Abby a bye to get away with this.

The dance world is very competitive and I know a little of what happens at some of these dance competitions.  I know that Abby did that particular dance last night for one reason only:  to throw the “Original Girls” (Nia and Chloe) off.  I also know that rumors have circulated for at least three years that the comps are fixed and Abby couldn’t win a legit competition yet.  Do we know for sure that the one shown last night was legit?  Remember a judge ran away with the scores just a few weeks ago when questioned.

I’m sure much is staged.  I’m sure drama and upping the ante for viewers have to be done.  In the end, we’ll never know how much of this was true and how much was fake..  In my mind though, I know that Nia and Holly always seems to be the most level-headed.  Christi will do anything for her daughter.  Kira stands up for Kalani and all the girls.  Camille made the best call for Camryn.  Of the other moms, I sincerely hope your daughters achieve the success you want them to have but remember.  The competition is always there.  Friendship that exists among the Original Girls is something you can’t buy.