In the TV commercial teaser for the next episode of Lifetime’s reality TV show Dance Moms, it appears one of the mothers takes a swing at another adult. It wouldn’t be the first time a Dance Mom had hit instructor Abby Lee Miller. (Kelly slapped Abby and pulled her hair in front of the children earlier in the season. A lawsuit has been filed.) In the newest episode, “The Understudies,” Abby assigns Chloe (13) and Kendall (11) to be Maddie’s (11) understudies for the week, which pisses off some of the mothers to no end. (Maddie is believed to be Abby’s favorite.) Rather than removing themselves or their daughters from what they consider a hostile environment, the Dance Moms use a big white board to keep track of all the times Abby says something inappropriate to the young dancers. (Abby yells at 13-year-old Nia and calls her pigeon-toed.) Holly, mother of Nia, hopes the final tally on the white board will prove once and for all that Abby favors Maddie.
In addition to the white board scheme, the girls do dance in “The Understudies” episode which airs September 9. Abby has the youngest members, McKenzie (Maddie’s little sister), the little redhead Tea and Sarah (the one with the religious mother) go head-to-head to see who will compete in a solo at Nationals. It is yet another competitive maneuver of Abby’s that has the mothers up in arms. Only three episodes of Dance Moms remain until the season finale on September 30.
