60 Fun Facts About Hard Dance Moms

When Abby Lee Miller took over her mother's studio in 1995, what did she rename it?

Her mother Maryen Lorrain Miller had run it as the Maryen Lorrain Dance Studio, where Abby grew up training in Penn Hills.

Abby Lee Miller formed the Abby Lee Dance Company in which year, when she was just 14?

It began as a dance team inside her mother's studio, not as a business of its own.

Which organization terminated Miller's membership in February 2012 over her conduct on the show?

Its national president called the show 'a total misrepresentation of our dance educators and their students'.

Which two Dancing with the Stars pros publicly called Miller's methods abusive on Twitter in 2012?

On The View that same month, Whoopi Goldberg compared Miller to gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi.

What is the title of Abby Lee Miller's 2014 book?

Maddie Ziegler wrote the foreword.

While in prison in 2017, Miller appeared in Sharknado 5 as what?

Her character was Dr. Bramble; the film premiered in August 2017, a month after she reported to prison.

At which federal prison did Miller begin serving her sentence in July 2017?

She was moved to a Long Beach halfway house in March 2018 and released that May after 8.5 months.

What was Miller diagnosed with in April 2018, after spinal surgery?

It went into remission that September, and she had to relearn how to walk in physical therapy.

According to the New York Post, Miller sold her original Pittsburgh studio in 2022 for how much?

The building was to become a bus lot and daycare; Miller insisted she sold 'brick, mortar, cinder blocks and an amazing dance floor', not her brand.

How much did prosecutors say Miller hid in the bankruptcy fraud case?

She had filed for bankruptcy in December 2010 owing more than $400,000 in back taxes.

Who was the ALDC's assistant choreographer for the Junior Elite team throughout the show?

Martello had herself trained under Miller at Reign Dance Productions.

Vivi-Anne Stein danced with the ALDC for most of season one. Where were she and her mother from?

Vivi-Anne went back to her mother's studio, and Cathy became what Abby called her ultimate rival.

Which mom had herself been an ALDC dancer taught by Abby, before quitting to become a cheerleader?

Her daughters Brooke and Paige started at Miller's studio at age three.

Season seven dancer Maesi Caes had performed with which pop star on his Purpose World Tour?

Maesi, from Altoona, Iowa, danced with him in Des Moines before joining the ALDC.

Miller later revealed on her podcast that Daviana Fletcher was really dismissed for what?

On screen the reason given was that Miller thought Daviana wasn't a strong enough dancer.

Who was the original coach of 'The Irreplaceables' before Cheryl Burke took over?

Francis had already been brought in to cover choreography for the ALDC as Miller's legal troubles mounted.

Which season-three 'Replacements' dancer holds the Guinness World Record for most consecutive pirouettes?

Sophia stayed on a few episodes after the temporary team was dismissed, then left too.

Gloria Hampton's studio, whose team the ALDC faced several times, was based in which Virginia town?

Its later closure led to Project X Dance Company opening in the same building.

Which team handed the ALDC its first-ever Nationals loss in the overall group category?

The BDA team of Haley, Tessa, Chloe Smith, Ashtin and Ava used the Candy Apples name for one week at the start of season 5.5.

Which season-two episode was pulled and left off the DVD after costume complaints?

The routine had the girls in flesh-toned bra tops and tights meant to make them look nude.

Which planned 2020 series did Lifetime cancel when it cut ties with Miller?

The 12-episode show was to have Miller judging taped submissions over video conference during the pandemic.

How many episodes did the 2014 spin-off Abby's Studio Rescue run for?

It followed Miller helping struggling studios with choreography, layout and staffing.

Which former guest dancer got her own 2014 spin-off with her model mom and bodybuilder dad?

Raising Asia premiered in July 2014; her sister is Bella Blu.

Who hosted the British version, Dance Mums, from her Liverpool school Jelli Studios?

It premiered in October 2014 and ran for two seasons.

Dance Moms: A New Era, which premiered on Hulu in 2024, is set where?

The studio itself closed later that year over unpaid rent and an eviction notice.

Which original mom appeared on season two of Miller's Big Brother-style streaming show Mad House?

Season-eight dancer Hannah Colin had appeared on the first season.

What is the title of the show Christi Lukasiak announced she would host after the 2024 reunion?

She and Kelly Hyland had already been recapping episodes weekly on their Back to the Barre podcast since 2022.

Which Pulitzer-nominated 2018 play by Clare Barron was heavily inspired by the show's cast?

It follows a pre-teen competitive dance team from Liverpool, Ohio.

Which season-eight ALDC dancer is the only official team member never given a solo, duet or trio?

Paris, from Jacksonville, North Carolina, was brought in late in the season to fill a vacated spot.

Savannah Kristich left the season-eight team when it was announced who was returning?

Savannah, from Las Vegas, had been positioned as Elliana's rival.

Who hosted Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition?

Miller judged alongside Richy Jackson and Robin Antin, with Rachelle Rak replacing Antin in season two.

Who won the first season of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition?

She took the $100,000 and a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet School's young dancers program in New York.

Who was the first AUDC contestant to appear on Dance Moms, dancing for the Candy Apples?

Torres, who appeared as Zack Torres, placed ninth in the first AUDC season.

Dance Moms: Miami followed Stars Dance Studio, which its two co-owners had run since what year?

Victor Smalley's mother Mayra was the studio's manager and makeup artist.

Maddie Ziegler's first professional acting role was as Young Deb on which Lifetime series?

Chloe Lukasiak auditioned for the same part and lost it to her.

Which award did Sia's 'Chandelier' video, starring Maddie Ziegler, win at the 2014 MTV VMAs?

It was nominated for Video of the Year too, and for the 2015 Grammy for Best Music Video.

The elder Ziegler sister's 2017 memoir, a New York Times best seller, is titled what?

She also wrote a middle-grade trilogy about a dancer named Harper, starting with The Audition.

Maddie Ziegler received a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for which film?

Sia wrote and directed the 2021 film; Ziegler played a non-verbal autistic teenager.

What was the title of Mackenzie Ziegler's second studio album, released in 2018?

Her third, Biting My Tongue, followed in 2024.

Mackenzie Ziegler starred in which Brat TV high school drama from 2018 to 2020?

Nia Sioux, meanwhile, starred in Brat's Sunnyside Up in 2019 and 2020.

On season two of AUDC, JoJo Siwa was eliminated in week nine after landing in the bottom two with whom?

Both girls later joined the ALDC on Dance Moms.

Which retailer partnered with JoJo Siwa on her hair-bow line in 2016?

Some UK primary schools banned the bows for being a distraction and breaching dress codes.

As which costumed character did JoJo Siwa compete on The Masked Singer in 2020?

At sixteen she was then the youngest contestant the show had had.

Who was JoJo Siwa's partner in Dancing with the Stars' first same-sex pairing in 2021?

They finished in second place on season thirty.

What is the title of Nia Sioux's 2024 memoir?

She wrote it during her junior year at UCLA, where she studied American Literature and Culture.

Nia Sioux played Emma Barber on which CBS soap opera from 2018 to 2019?

She also worked as an NBC correspondent at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Nia Frazier was diagnosed with which condition as a young dancer at the ALDC?

She kept dancing through it and became, with her mother, the show's longest-serving cast member.

Chloe Lukasiak's Studio 19 competition team achieved what in July 2015, a year after she left the ALDC?

She also won Choice Dancer at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards.

Chloe Lukasiak lost the role of Annie in the 2012 Broadway revival to which two actresses?

Sink, later of Stranger Things, replaced Crawford in the title role.

What was the name of the event Chloe Lukasiak co-founded with her mother, held only in the 2024 season?

Diane and Brittany Pent were the other co-founders.

Abby Lee Dance Company LA opened in June 2015. How long did it stay open?

It shut in the same month she reported to prison.

How large a loan did the 22-year-old Miller take out to build her own Pittsburgh studio?

That building was the one she sold in 2022, decades later.

What average viewership did Dance Moms hold for its second season?

The success came despite the wave of criticism of Miller's methods that year.

Season one's Elite team members were what age range, according to the show's synopsis?

Brooke Hyland, at 13, was the oldest, and Mackenzie Ziegler, at 6, the youngest.

On what date did Dance Moms premiere on Lifetime?

The Collins Avenue Productions series debuted on Lifetime on July 13, 2011.

Which season-eight ALDC dancer played Amanda Thripp in Matilda on Broadway?

GiaNina, from Oakhurst, New Jersey, also appeared as a guest pointe ballerina in The Greatest Showman.

Which Pittsburgh academy served as the ALDC's main rival during season eight?

Studio 19, run by Tammy Croftcheck and Katie Watts, was the season-eight rival; Candy Apples had filled that role in earlier seasons.

Kendall Vertes and her mother briefly defected to which studio for several season-two episodes?

Jill and Kendall switched to Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's Candy Apples during season two before returning to the ALDC.

Kalani Hilliker was first brought to the ALDC in season four to replace which two dancers?

Kalani filled in for the departed Hyland sisters, then became a permanent member in season five to replace Chloe.

Which season-eight dancer from Miami left the team after Abby's favouritism toward him upset the mothers?

Brady Farrar, a ballet and contemporary dancer, later returned to the ALDC.