Intro to Dance Moms

 On July 13, 2011, a television show titled “Dance Moms” premiered on Lifetime.
The television program began following six aspiring young dancers, Maddie Ziegler, Mackenzie Ziegler, Chloe Lukasiak, Brooke Hyland, Paige Hyland, and Nia Frazier, and their mothers through their lives at Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Every week begins with “Pyramid”, where studio owner and dance teacher, Abby Lee Miller, arranges the girls based on their dancing from the previous week, best performance on the top of the pyramid, worst on the bottom. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the infamous pyramid ceremony due to its negative aspects. Miller confirmed that she never had a pyramid prior to the show, but the session was all the producers’ idea.
     Abby Lee Miller has been greatly criticized for her harsh teaching style, but also praised for her amazing choreography. Miller’s fame from the television show has caused thousands of dancers attempt to join her elite competition team, such as Kendall Vertes who joined season two. Many dancers have tried to join the team and successfully made it, but the dancers’ mothers clashed with the original moms. This has caused early departure for multiple dancers, such as Sophia Lucia, Nicaya Wiley, Vivi-Anne Stein, Asia Ray, and Payton Ackerman.