This week in real time, things are getting real for Abby Lee Miller. Tomorrow is her sentencing hearing. There is actually a second sentencing hearing on February 24th. Perhaps the judge will hear arguments and then rule in February. This feels like it has been going on forever. Most recent the hold up has been a ruling in a case in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on USA v. Free which could benefit Abby in her sentence. Basically, her attorney is arguing that incarceration is not appropriate or necessary when there was no fraud against her creditors and they were all paid in full according to the bankruptcy laws. Free would potentially set a precedent that incarceration was inappropriate for zero sum loss bankruptcies. Deadline has the latest filing on the case that you can read here. But for now, as the title claims, ALDC Ain’t Dead Yet, so on with the show!
This week we begin with pyramid dramatics. Camryn was on top of the pyramid for winning her first solo. I thought that was fine even though Nia lead the group dance to victory. Nia was on top last week. Holly has a meltdown during pyramid and steals Camryn’s moment. At least Camryn and her mom stay out of the argument. Jill of course does not. Nia says she thinks she deserves to be on top, but suggests everyone move on. Move on needs to be the theme of 2017. Maesi is not in the dance because it’s too mature for her. It looks like it is going to be about “grave diggers” which I presume is a dig to the moms.
Once out of pyramid, Camryn’s mom politely mentions to the once sane Holly that her comments were disrespectful to her child. Holly rolls her eyes and makes snarky remarks. I miss the old sane Holly. Yolanda, mother of one of the mini Ana’s goes after Maesi’s mom to make her feel bad that her kid isn’t dancing this week. Classy. If you go read the link about the court case above, it talks about how it came to be the Abby was the focus of the show and not the moms.
Elliana’s solo is Charlie Chaplin. She does it to perfection in rehearsal. Right up until she forgets the end. Her mother Yolanda is riling up Abby at every turn. This won’t bode well for her. However, I feel like Elliana is a great little actress and is not taking any of the fake drama to heart. I think the script calls for her to forget her routine this week.
When Brynn gets a small lead in the group dance, once again Holly is pissed. Nia is needed for lifts and it is much easier to put Brynn in the grave than Nia. Besides if the dance was about burying Nia, Holly would bitch about that too.
Yolanda shows up to the competition dressed as Charlie Chaplin. Because, Yolanda. Holly points out to Yolanda that Elliana’s Chaplin hat doesn’t have an elastic band to hold it on her head. Abbie continues to set up the whole wardrobe malfunction scenario for Elliana.
Lilli’s solo was mesmerizing. It was a dark acrobatic dance with a LOT of hard choreography that she pulled off perfectly. In addition, she gave more face than Maddie. There is no way anyone there beats this solo.
Elliana did better than the foreshadowing suggested. She kept her had on, and she didn’t forget the routine. However, in the middle she failed to do a move and you could tell immediately by Abby’s face. The judges have an outline of the routine with all the choreography so she will be knocked down for that, but I thought Elliana covered it well. After the performance, Elliana told the girls backstage that she could not do her “roll up” because the floor was too sticky. When she apologizes to Abby for not doing the move, that we saw her do in practice, she explains about the issue with the floor. Abby basically told her she was making excuses. Kalani’s mom hears the exchange and riles Yolanda up about it goading her into a confrontation with Abby.
My DVR hates Dance Moms. Every week there is some sort of a glitch that makes the video and the audio out of sync. I blame all the bitching.
The group dance was good. I am tiring of Gia’s choreography this season. I believe she is doing all the choreography as Abby gets ready for prison. It’s good stuff and a great change of pace for the girl’s from Abby’s usual, but Abby or production still has her on all the controversial doom and gloom themes. The girls will probably win with the dance. I thought Kendall was particularly good in the group dance this week and seemed to be presented as “the lead.”
The Awards
Elliana takes fifth place overall for her dance. Alli takes first overall. Alli’s mom keeps it together, while Yolanda is already fuming. The group dance takes first as well.
Afterward, Abby compliments the group dance, she sort of shouts out congrats to everyone and says, “Congratulations…..Elliana… and to our big winner of the day, Lilli!” Then she showers Lillis with kisses and praise and leaves. This is the absolute best Eilliana could hope for. However, she has a part to play. She goes over to her mother and apologizes and walks out the door. The moms talking points for this episode were basically “Yolanda is an abusive mother.” So they start bitching at and about her.
Next week: Abby Brings in an older blond girl to match with Brynn. Maesi’s spot is threatened.
UPDATED: Abby showed up for her sentencing hearing today looking well rested and unbothered. The entire court situation today was a bunch of fine tooth combing of financial statements. The judge has to determine if Abby meant to cause harm to her lenders. It seems pretty obvious to me that she did not.
It appears that the actually sentencing will occur on February 24th. I expect she might lose that $120K from Australia that she had all the moms help her sneak back into the country. I do not expect her to get a long sentence. The Feds are asking for three and a half years, or were prior to today. Another thing that happened in court today was figuring out what her magic number should be. I’ve gone into excruciating detail on how that works before. Especially with Juicy Joe’s sentence. Unlike Juicy, Abby doesn’t have any previous criminal history. I believe her attorney is arguing that she should be a 6. The judge uses the magic number to find the suggested sentencing on a chart. It would not surprise me if she gets house arrest. If she gets incarcerated I think it will probably be for about a yearish.
I usually hate the doom and gloom numbers and I was dreading this one. Despite this, I actually liked it for a change. It’s very interesting to watch the change in choreography over the years. I too see Gia’s hand in the choreography. It’s seems more modern for a lack of a better word.
Holly has changed from a nice mom to a screaming mom. Nia dances in the back row usually. She has had some good dances but she has not stepped into the leader role, in my opinion. Jill was and is a screeching mom. Kendall has had some good dances but is no leader in my opinion. Kira could be a leader, so could Brenn. The hatefulness of the moms and their unsolicited advice is so old. Let the girls dance and shut up moms !
I never miss an episode of Dance Moms and I appreciate your posting about it. It has become (and probably always was) scripted. I suppose all of reality TV shows are these days. And I do realize that all the shows need some scripting. But some should never be labeled reality to start with. Dancing has always been a passion of mine. So the dancing and your posts will keep me watching.
I know as a mom you always believe in your child and only see them as the best. That being said while Nia has done some beautiful dances she is not the best dancer on the team. I do think she can lead in other ways like being the longest standing member and one of the oldest girls and as an example to the others. Some kids just really have the it factor. Maddie was one of those kids. While I think Bryn is really good I don’t think she has the potential of Maddie. Kids with that super star quality don’t come along very often. I feel like the other kids should stop being compared to Maddie and be be the best person they can be.
Since you know this is my favorite show (no apologies) :), thanks for continuing to recap. I always try to look for it being scripted, and can’t believe I can’t tell. They sometimes maybe seem too organized in conversations, but the kids? Just don’t see it. Oh, I’ve also come to cringe when Holly, the know it all, opens her mouth. Sadly Nia may be following in her footsteps. And I wonder if Erika Jayne Mikey has moved on from Nia? Kendall is in it to be a Kardashian, without any work, just my observation. (And I think she said)
Has anyone seen Bring It? It’s a dance show currently on it’s 4th season. As a mother of three boys, I am fascinated by shows with little girls and their mums, and have been watching Dance Moms since the beginning. I also enjoy Bring It – which is set in Jackson, Mississippi. They are totally different but the same. That is all.
I watched and liked until the moms were styled and hair and makeup. Knew that the organic was over. Same thing happens with most reality shows, that’s why I love first seasons before they know what’s up. 🙂
Abby is crazy, but being a teacher myself, I can tell how much she cares about those kids. I know she says and does some really awful things, but i really feel for her and her students if she gets time
Abby hogged the road by not staying in her own penny lane.
Feel Sad for everyone involved ? Especially for the Kids ❤