Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? After last night’s episode the season finale of Dance Moms is finally within our reach! Thanks for hanging in there with me…I know sometimes Abby Lee Miller makes it a tad difficult! Maddie has pretty much solidified her solo at Nationals, and last night Abby pitted Kalani against Nia for another spot in the competition, with a side of some major drama…per the usual!
Kira is feeling better after last week’s pregnancy scare, and the moms are glad to have her back and ready to face MDP. Holly is fearful that the ALDC is going to become the MDP’s version of the Candy Apples. Jill is missing from pyramid because she’s back home at her daughter’s graduation. She has left Kendall in Melissa’s care in Los Angeles. Before announcing the pyramid, Abby is thrilled about the grand opening of the West Coast ALDC studio, but she lectures the girls on their priorities. She doesn’t think most are ready for Nationals.
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JoJo is on the bottom for messing up in the group number followed by Kendall for dropping the scarf in her solo. She’s out of the running for Nationals. Nia rounds out the bottom for being “good.” Kalani starts the second tier, gaining praise for her facial expressions with MacKenzie ending up in second for hamming up the group routine. Maddie is back on top but Abby warns her to work on her turns…although she blames Maddie’s head piece for the issue. At this week’s kid-judged competition, Kalani will be doing a lyrical solo and Nia will be doing a “Bye Felicia!” jazz number. The group routine will involve parasols and not Nia…she has “selfishly” chosen her video shoot over participating with her team. Across town, the MDP is entitled “Last One Standing” and the girls are dancing in Gaga-esque hoods.
The umbrellas in the group routine are going to be quite the feat to overcome. In the first rehearsal, three of the five parasols have already turned inside out while the girls dance. The moms aren’t confident in Abby’s ability to incorporate props. The story line behind Kalani’s solo is very involved. Jessalyn wonders if Kira is concerned about preteens judging her daughter’s dark lyrical number when they are sure to be wowed by Nia’s fun jazz routine. Holly shortens Nia’s rehearsal to take her to the video shoot. Abby is extremely peeved that Nia and Holly didn’t wait to schedule the shoot until after Nationals…like she planned her grand opening. Oh, wait.
So, have y’all been wondering what Carmen Electra has been up to these days? Me either, but apparently things have gotten so bad that she’s got a bit part in Nia’s latest video…along with JoJo, Holly, and Jessalyn. It’s a cute premise–set in a hair salon–and Nia is truly a talent. Back at the studio, Jill has returned just in time to see how terrible the umbrellas are holding up during the group number. The moms try in vain to rig the parasols so they don’t break mid-dance. The day of competition, the ALDC is met with MDP doing push-ups in the California heat. As the moms cluck away (Jessalyn in particular) about how the MDP girls all look the same, their coach interrupts to question the ALDC’s competition statistics since relocating to Los Angeles. The MDP moms accuse the ALDC mothers of being in it for the money and acting superior to the other teams. Abby bites off one woman’s head before flipping her hair and retreating into the dressing room.
Nia is excited for the opportunity to vie for a Nationals’ solo, but she knows Kalani will be hard to beat. Her dance is fun and high energy, but I don’t think it’s a winning solo, unless kids are judging. Abby spends the entire time shaking her head in disgust and playing on her phone. Kalani’s performance is practically flawless. I’d love to see this routine up against a Maddie solo to see which would win. Of course, we all know Abby would never allow that to happen. Backstage the mothers once again find themselves in a standoff with the MDP moms who note Abby’s extreme favoritism as she hugs and dotes on Kalani while ignoring Nia. After fawning over one student, the MDP mothers tell Nia that she deserves a hug as well. Abby hugs her as an afterthought announcing that Nia, well, um, Nia…yeah, she, um, grew up in the ALDC. That’s it! Holly is stunned that another studio notices how poorly Abby treats her non-favorites.
The MDP coach and her mothers follow the women into the dressing room where she praises the choreographer that Nia is working with on her videos. Melissa makes an under-her-breath comment which sends Holly reeling. She’ll stop talking about her daughter’s accomplishments because it clearly upsets her friends. As Jill and Melissa shoo them out of the dressing room, Holly is near tears. Jill clarifies that Nia’s producer hasn’t done nearly as much for her as Abby has done for all the girls. Holly never said he did! Holly is really bugging me this season, but Nia deserves the sincere support of her team.
The MDP’s group number is phenomenal…until the featured dancer falls. She recovers like a professional and the routine finishes strong, but Abby is giddy. Jill still thinks it will beat five puny girls with cheap umbrellas. The ALDC group performs beautifully with nary an inside out parasol. It’s exquisite. At the awards ceremony, Kalani places third in the teen solo division with Nia winning her division. Abby is horrified and I want to reach through my television to smack that phone out of her fleshy hand. The ALDC also takes first place in the group number. Nia is excited about her win, but Abby won’t acknowledge Nia. She’s now changed her mind about who will get a solo at Nationals. It won’t be Nia. Sweet Nia fights back her tears. I want to cry with her.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE? SHOULD NIA STILL GET A SOLO AT NATIONALS?
[Photo Credit: Lifetime]
