On Wednesday, May 1, the long-awaited “Dance Moms: The Reunion” premiered on LifetimeTV. The reunion featured cast members such as Brooke Hyland, Paige Hyland, Kalani Hilliker, Chloe Lukasiak, Jojo Siwa and Kendall Vertez. As well, Kelly Hyland, Kira Girard, Jessalyn Siwa and Jill Vertez appeared on the show.
The reunion special ran for an hour and a half, and it reflected on the girls’ experiences throughout the show as well as their lives after.
“Dance Moms” was a reality show on Lifetime from 2011-2019 with Abby Lee Miller as the dance teacher. The girls would compete in competitions every weekend and learn new dances. The process proved to be very stressful for them.
“The show put a lot of pressure on the girls and to put the girls back into that scene I feel was the wrong thing to do,” said Katie Tonjes, freshman.
There were a few rivalries in the show between the dancers and their moms. One of the main rivalries was between Maddie Ziegler (who chose not to participate in the reunion) and Lukasiak. Throughout their time on the show, the two would compete against each other often. However, Miller would openly favor Ziegler as her favorite, giving her more time to learn her dances and better choreography.
It was also clear that the relationship between Miller and a dancer’s mom would determine the support Miller would give to the mother’s daughter.
“I loved watching…Chloe and Maddie as they were being pitted against one another,” said Gina Chandler, English teacher. “But I secretly loved the moments when Chloe would outscore Maddie, and then I would feel guilty about it.”
I also liked the parts when Lukasiak would outdance Ziegler, but watching the way it affected them as time went on was really sad. As well, it was sad to see some of the fights between Miller and Lukasiak’s mom.
“I feel like the producers… insinuated it…obviously, to make it have more drama,” said Elena Stavros, junior.
The reunion also had the mothers resolve some of the harder things they endured on the show. For Kelly Hyland, it was her physical altercation with Miller that caused her departure from the show.
Kelly Hyland and Miller also had a history that the reunion talked about briefly, and Kelly Hyland revealed that the altercation changed her as a person and acted as a reason for her divorce. She also blames herself for her daughters no longer dancing since leaving the show.
“You have the belief that there was just some really deep seated animosity there that came out in a really horrendous way,” Chandler said.
Overall, I think that the reunion did a good job of touching on their relationship.
Jojo Siwa also participated in the reunion despite only being there for two seasons. I personally thought that she shouldn’t have been in it because of the short time she was on the show, and she also had a different experience as a result of that. The rest of the dancers had danced with Miller for longer, and they had different experiences.
“I feel like it’s kind of interesting, because obviously she wasn’t there since the beginning of the show…she was only there for a season or two,” Stavros said. “But it’s interesting because she has a different stance than everyone else.”
To watch “Dance Moms: The Reunion,” please click here.
