I am trying to limp through what could be the final season of Dance Moms. I suppose that all depends on Abby’s next scheduled court date of January 20th. Let’s hope this one is not rescheduled. I’d like to think even Abby just wants to get it over with at this point. I have two episodes on the DVR and I am going to try to zip through them this afternoon for those of you who are still hanging in there with me.
On the first episode, Abby has brought in a new hip hop dancer named Maesi and her mother, Jaime. It seems odd to me that they keep bringing in new people. On the other hand, several girls have jumped ship, so I suppose in that regard it makes sense. I guess the mother is banking on Abby not having to do any time.
In this episode, entitled New Kid On The Block, we have two trios going against each other and a hip hop group dance. Whenever Abby doesn’t give out any solos, I assume that the competition is too fierce in that category.
The new mother, who is a mortician by trade, likes to wear a hair bow. The mini moms after being mercilessly mocked by the veteran moms since their arrival, decide to haze Maesi’s mom by showing up to the competition with hair bows. They also had their kids rehearse secretly without Maesi. Almost as inexplicable as the mini moms hazing Jaime is the fact that the veteran moms seem to welcome her with open arms. We have been told that most of this fighting among the moms is scripted, but it seems like they need new writers to make the bickering more believable.
Trio One Kalani, Kendall and Brynn
Their dance is a lyrical called “Blackbirds” and it’s kind of creepy. Kendall seems to be too far apart from the other two dancers. Brynn has been given the lead role and is doing well. The dance went really well. Byrnn is the most graceful dancer Abby has at the moment in my opinion. Jaime stupidly said something similar to my sentiments to Jill. Oh Jaime, just be quiet if you want to survive.
Trio Two Maesi and whatever two of the “Anas” have survived Abby’s Wrath
Their dance is called Birds Whisper. They have on basically the same costumes as the previous trio minus the black birds on their heads. It’s a lyrical. Maesi is the featured dancer. Let’s just say Maesi did not out dance the minis. One of the Anas kind of stole the show. The Ana on the right had the same spacing issue that Kendall had.
Abby blamed Maesi, as the lead for the spacing issue. Abby thought the mini’s did fine but Maesi was nothing special.
The Group Dance
It’s a hip hop number and the veteran moms always hate hip hop. The dancers on the other hand love it. Maesi had her own entrance to the group dance after the others started. It was awkward. I thought hip hop was her thing? I think Maesi will be a one week wonder. The two minis jumped out of cardboard speakers and danced with fake boom boxes and once again stole the show. The choreography as a whole was unimpressed. Abby texted on her phone and did not applaud. There was also some mean editing of Abby by production showing her stuffing her face. This will not be pleasant. Maesi apparently forgot the dance, and she was front and center. I didn’t notice it because it seemed like she had her own part the entire time.
Maesi and the Anas get third over all in trios. Brynn and the vets took first for their trio. The group dance comes in third. Abby is probably going to roast Maesi on an open spit. The vet moms plead for Maesi to stay. I find that odd. One of them points out that Elliana forgot her entire solo her first time and she got to stay. Elliana’s mother cries and tells Abby to give Maesi Elliana’s spot. What kind of mother does that? All the mothers freak out and comfort Elliana who is hysterical.
The second episode, is called Clowning Around.
Yolanda and her kid Elliana just show up for pyramid like nothing happened. Abby says that Maesi took it like a trooper last week. It looks like they are all back. Quelle Surprise. Nia is on the outs with Abby for going to acting classes when she should be in dance classes. Brynn is on the top of the pyramid.
Abby gives out three solos. One goes to Maesi, so she can redeem herself. The other two go to Nia and Cameryn. With only six weeks until nationals, I am surprised she hasn’t gotten rid of one or the other of them already. I’m going to bet money both solos are some sort of ethnic, tribal thing about slavery or some historical black female. Well, not quite. Cameron is an endangered species. Nia is doing a dance about “how to get away with murder.” Like the TV show. Abby says it is “very much a Maddie solo.” I will believe that when I see it. Nia never gets good choreography. Holly actually says that Abby only wants one black girl on the team. The group dance is about the clown sightings all over campuses. Brynn will be featured. Abby thinks the clown situation is very, very serious.
Jaime tries to interrupt Maesi’s solo rehearsal. Abby screams, “Back off Bitch!” and throws Jaime out. Maesi is completely unaffected by anything Abby does.
Maesi’s Solo
Maesi has a hip hop solo. Or at least that was what I thought she had. She actually did more of a contemporary/acrobatic solo. It was good. It wasn’t Maddie good. But it was fine.
Cameryn’s Solo
Abby was on Cameryn for her lack of facial expressions during practice but she turned her face on for that solo. It was really good. I loved the song. It sounded a lot like Sweet Honey In The Rock. Abby seemed pleased. Nia has her work cut out for her.
Nia’s Solo
I hated Nia’s dance. It was packed with choreography and she should score well. I am just not in the mood for dark dances today.
Abby loved all three solos.
The Group Dance
All of the girls except for Brynn are dresses as clowns in full face makeup and wigs. Several of them start in the audience. Hated it. But it was very dramatic. The music wasn’t so much music as it was scary noises.
Nia took first overall in the solos. The other two didn’t place over all but may have placed in their divisions. The group took first overall.
Despite not winning their solos, Cameryn and Maesi get to stay. The other moms are shocked and furious that Cameryn is allowed to stay.
Next week Abby does a dance based on the movie The Help. I can’t even. Abby calls Jaime a bitch again, and pulls Maesi’s number from the competition. There are a lot of bitches on this show, but Jaime is certainly not a front runner in the bitch competition. What is Abby’s deal with her?
I wondered the same thing about the new mom. I wouldn’t be to surprised if the new kid stayed over the other Cameron. Even though she is not as good as Cameron I do think Nia will be the only dancer of color on the team. Abby is to stuck on giving mostly ethnic dances to them and so she won’t keep them both. I like her though. But to me it makes more sense for her to get a 9-10 year old that has more years on a junior team.
Thank for the recap Tamara. The moms are still irritating and their behavior is nauseating,scripted or not. I love the two little mini dancers. The darker dances seem to go over well with the judges but I like more upbeat dances. One of my favorite dances was a few years ago when the girls danced to a James Bond theme in gold trench coats and fake guns. The 40’s dance with the snoods was really cute too. Nia is a singer,dancer and an actor…kinda like throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing if anything sticks. I wish her and all the girls the best but I don’t care about their singing or acting, only the dancing. It is ,after all ,a show about dancing.
Thinking of you in your time of grief.
3 years ago I went to a national dance competition for my niece (in Vegas).
Dance Moms mania was crazy – one girl who had apparently been one of the ones who was on for maybe 3 weeks… I have no idea, I watch it off and on… was there and she was MOBBED. She could been asking for payment for autographs – 5 bucks a pop or something – and some of those girls would have gladly paid it. It was insane. I can’t imagine what would have happened if Maddie or Chloe had shown up. Probably lots of little girls shitting their leotards in excitement.
So, I can see why some of these women would throw their kids on a show where the leader may be going to prison. Frankly, that would be the least of my worries in exposing my hypothetical child to that nutjob.