I'm at home this past weekend
because we lost
a young dancer
from Arizona,
in the most tragic way you could possibly lose a child.
[Kira]
Teen suicide.
This weekend was the worst.
It was really hard on Sunday.
Like, really hard.
It's... I just can't think about this.
So sad.
I don't think our girls are aware
that there are kids
their age and younger who are suicidal.
Who have depression, and...
who just need somebody to talk to.
I told Abby what had happened,
and it's gonna be an emotional week.
But I really feel that we need to address it head-on.
[Abby] Now, the group routine.
This is a very mature subject.
The name of the routine
is "Suicide Hotline".
The news traveled rapidly throughout the dance community.
A girl in Phoenix, Arizona,
who Kalani and Kira knew personally,
committed suicide.
[gloomy music playing]
It's devastating.
To a family, to...
an entire town.
I want do do a routine
that is going to serve a purpose.
It's about teaching a lesson
and saving a life.
So, is it awareness?
It's awareness. It's a... it's a story.
[Abby] It's how the hotline works.
How the phones are answered.
What takes place during a phone call.
It's, it's about keeping someone on the line.
It's more about the actual hotline,
-than the act. -No disrespect.
I think a dance of this magnitude,
awareness is pivotal.
It's something that I think will touch a lot of hearts,
and nerves for our kids.
[Holly] Are you in a good place
to really give it your full attention?
I'm willing to take the risk. I take risks every day.
I'm willing to take that risk, I believe in you guys.
I want to bring in somebody
coming from the Teen Suicide Prevention Hotline.
-[Jill] Like a therapist, or... -[Abby] Probably a counselor.
[Jill] Counsellor. That's the word.
[Abby] Which we need to...
figure out the dancing and the music
and everything else.
Well, let's get started.
-We know what we're doing. -Yeah, let's get started.
[Abby] I gotta get my mind straight for this group.
The name of the organization
is called "Teen Line".
And you're telling the story,
and there's no one to help you. You're not calling.
And then finally, at the end,
when the red phone rings,
you're like, you made the call and you're reaching for help
and it's like...
And they go, and they lose you.
And you...
And they... failed.
Right.
[Jill] I looked up Teen Line
-and it is teens helping teens. -[Ashlee] Yeah.
I think the worst thing is when you feel alone
and nobody understands.
And I guess, teenagers always thinks
teenagers understand them, you know.
[Holly] Peers influence each other
a great deal.
[Ashlee] Well, that's the thing.
They're hearing about all this stuff
whether we want to admit it or not.
They're hearing about suicide.
They're hearing about abuse.
They're hearing about depression.
And if we don't address it
and give them a way to cope with it,
we're in denial about the fact that it's out there
and they're living it and they're experiencing it,
it's better to give them an answer,
at least, a tool.
[Holly] This could be a powerful piece
that impacts someone in a really positive...
You touch someone's life and you don't even realize it.
We're gonna go, one, switch, one,
then the people that are back, go forward.
And as she walks by,
you pull it back, pull it back, pull it back.
So you're on that edge,
of, of the table, like that way.
One, hold, two.
Three, hold, four.
Five, hold, six, go back.
Back, back, back.
[Kira] It is really, really heavy.
It's like, "Oh."
But in the same sense...
I like the fact that she's actually able
to tell the narrative.
And she has a vision.
[blows raspberries]
[bleep]
This is rough.
[Abby]
Let's do something to teach.
Because I think education is key.
And if kids have someone they can call,
and ask for advice,
then, I think that kids will use it.
I really do.
I think kids will use this hotline
to seek answers to their questions.
If one kid, just one kid...
picks up the telephone,
and dials that hotline number,
maybe, just maybe,
we are going to save a kid's life.
[foreboding music playing]
Are you minus one mom still?
She didn't call you then?
[Jill] We're speculating.
She could come back tomorrow. Who knows?
Or next week or whatever.
I mean, you guys don't seem like it's a big deal.
[Jill] What would it do if we sigh here
and had a pity party and to boo-hoo?
-Nothing. -[Jill] Nothing.
We have to invest
our time and energy in our girls,
and making sure they stay focused on being a team,
and not getting sidetracked.
Honestly, I think, looking at the group dance,
and the message,
I don't know, I think I want partly to put aside
your personal differences related to the duet,
and do what's right, for the sake of the group dance,
because it has so much potential
to do such good.
[Abby]
Five, six, seven, eight.
["Hold On" by Extreme Music playing]
[Abby] Six, so, stop.
She needs to dance stronger.
When JoJo was the other little blonde on the other end,
it was like, balanced on both sides.
Now, you three are like, in perfect unison
and she looks off.
This is an important, stressful, hectic week,
because we are putting a piece of art on that stage.
This will be a routine
that goes down in history with the last text.
[gunshot sound effect]
[foreboding music playing]
And "Where Have All The Children Gone"
[recorded voice]
have all the children gone?
[Abby]
we all have to run around
like chickens with their heads cut off
and redo, revamp,
re-block what we did day one,
because JoJo with a Bow Bow
was a no-no show-show.
Arms up by your ears a little more on the walkover,
just a little bit.
When you're doing an important piece
like the group routine,
you need to focus, you need to...
bring your A-game.
And now, unfortunately,
I just don't really have time for the Minis.
So, Chris, they're all yours.
Go ahead.
[gasps] These are our guests.
-Cheryl. -Cheryl.
-Nice to meet you. -Hi, I'm Ginger.
-Ginger. Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.
[Abby]
but do they really know what they're dancing about?
I'm not so sure.
So I invited Cheryl and Ginger here
from the Suicide Prevention hotline
called "Teen Line".
I want them to come and talk to the girls, and the moms,
about what they actually do at Teen Line.
I think it's good to learn about this
for their own personal lives,
as well as dancers,
putting something of this magnitude on the stage.
-Well, these are our girls... -Okay.
...who are doing this amazing dance,
and it's called "Suicide Hotline".
And...
You know, it's about someone in crisis.
But we wanted to, you know, have something,
that they could connect to.
-Right. -Like, they need something
that inspires the kids,
'cause I think some of the stuff kind of goes over their head.
[Jill] Oh, we said they've lived sheltered lives...
-Right. -...for the most part.
You know, we've traveled around the world,
but we still shelter our children
from certain things,
because we don't know, maybe, how to address it properly.
-[girls] Hi! -Hi!
-Hi! -Hello!
I'm Ginger, nice to meet you. Hi.
-I'm Ginger. -[indistinct chatter]
-Nice to meet you. -Hi, I'm Nia. Nice to meet you.
-I'm Cheryl, nice to meet you. -I'm Nia.
So, these, these are the people we spoke to
from, um, the Teen Hotline.
[Jill] They're a crisis center.
[Cheryl] I actually was a Teen Line listener myself
a very long time ago,
but now I'm a therapist,
and I work at Teen Line uh, with Ginger,
and so we do...
I do a lot of education, prevention, decreasing stigma,
talking to parents.
Mostly, the people who call in are between...
I think 15, I think is our most common age
-for... -Yeah, probably.
Right here. That's you guys. That's your age.
We know suicide is the second leading cause of death
from 10 to 24-year-olds.
Uh, we're finding, I mean, if you're reading the news
or anything, we're finding all of this stuff
is starting younger and younger.
So I struggled with depression a lot in my life.
At a really, really young age, I started dealing with it.
It got pretty bad when I was probably 11 or 12,
when I was going to a really hard school, academically,
with really awful girls.
And, um, I started having suicidal thoughts the next year,
I didn't get out of bed for probably two weeks,
and I felt like I physically couldn't talk.
But then, I found a fantastic therapist
and I started training at Teen Line
and I got medication.
And I started talking to my friends,
and not feeling ashamed of it anymore.
[Kalani]
can help spread awareness to all the teens out there
that you can call this Teen Hotline
if you're feeling unsafe and unprotected.
I think it's a good dance to spread awareness about.
[Holly] How do you see signs?
Some of the signs, I would say,
is definitely a personality change,
that someone is acting differently
than the way they used to.
And it's hard with teens,
because teens act differently every day.
What's the best advice
that you would give to someone like that?
[Ginger] I had a caller once,
who was an 18-year-old boy,
and I picked up the phone,
and he was crying, and crying, and crying,
and I said, "What's wrong? What's going on?"
And he said, "I've never felt so much pain in my whole life,
and you picking up the phone means more to me
than anything else I've ever done."
He didn't need anything from me.
He, he felt pain,
and he wanted someone to know that he felt pain,
'cause he couldn't tell anyone else.
He was the jock.
And so, the fact that I picked up the phone...
he said, saved his life.
And I think that is the impact of the hotline.
After hearing such an incredible story
from these ladies,
it is evident that we really need
to put our best foot forward.
This subject matter is incredibly sensitive.
[Jill]
We've got to make sure
that this dance is done with dignity and grace,
because one wrong step...
and this could be the dance that steps over the line.
There is no room for error here.
[phone ringing]
[upbeat music playing]
["Hold on" by Extreme Music playing]
[Kalani] Remember your front toe.
♪ Hold on, you've got stars In your eyes ♪
♪
[Jill] This is a very touching,
emotional subject.
And by you guys putting this out there,
-let's say you helped one kid. -[Holly] Mm-hm.
That's, I mean... let's say you helped ten.
[Holly] You'll never know...
-You never know. -...whose life you might touch.
[Kalani] This little girl
came up to us a few weeks ago in Arizona...
-[Kira] Yeah. I remember that! -...and said, "You saved me."
-I was... -[indistinct chatter]
She was like, "You guys saved me after I watched you,
and you guys... I put myself in dance classes
-and you guys saved me." -[Kira] Yeah, so...
You inspire people,
in ways that you don't realize.
And that's why it's so important...
the words that you use,
the way that you live your life,
you never know what actions,
what words are gonna touch someone.
[Jill]
They are such powerful role models
to kids all over the world.
And it makes me so proud
that through their dance,
or even wearing an awareness ribbon,
helps spread the message to kids all over the world.
This group dance is a very touchy, scary subject.
I have never seen a group dance about Teen Hotline,
so I hope we can pull this off.
It can't just be one of those group dances.
It has to be one of those amazing group dances
that you'll always remember.
[host] Ladies and gentlemen,
in Teen Advanced competition,
please help me welcome entry number 77,
"Suicide Hotline".
[all applauding, cheering]
["Hold On" by Extreme music playing]
♪ You've been on this road Too long ♪
♪
♪ Wanna scream But your voice is gone ♪
♪
♪ Can't look up 'Cause your world is down ♪
♪
♪ All alone inside the crowd ♪
♪ Letting pockets Hold your hand ♪
♪
♪ The clouds Block out the sky ♪
♪
♪ Hold on You know you'll find a way ♪
♪
♪ So let's paint the sky ♪
♪
♪ So let's paint the sky ♪
♪
♪ Hold on You know you'll find a way ♪
♪
♪ So let's paint the sky ♪
♪
♪ Hold on I'll be your reason why ♪
♪
♪ So let's paint the sky ♪
[phone ringing]
[phone continues ringing]
[phone stops ringing]
[disconnected tone]
[all applauding]
Whoo! Whoo!
[Holly]
is definitely one for the record books.
I think the choreography is fresh.
It's different. It pushes the girls.
And this dance,
is at a level that's competitive for teens.
And I love it.
You want it to leave an impression
with the judges, with the audience.
You want everyone to feel it.
So hopefully, they did.
All right, in our Teen Advanced groups,
in third place, we have...
[tense music playing]
[host] Entry number 51,
"Boogie Woogie".
[audience applauding]
[host] In second place...
[tense music playing]
...entry number 36, "Juke Joint Blue."
[audience applauding]
[Holly]
looks small with only four girls,
but the dance was powerful
and it looked really strong.
And they danced with a ton of emotion.
And in first place in our Teen Advanced group...
[suspenseful music playing]
...goes to...
[tense music playing]
[host] ...entry number 77, "Hotline."
[applauding, cheering]
Whoo! Whoo!
Congratulations, girls.
And let them all know which dance company are you with.
[all] Abby Lee Dance Company!
Congratulations. Thanks, guys.
[Abby]
and they did everything they needed to do.
I thought the group performance...
was perfect. It was.
Overall, I could not have asked for a better day.
It was fabulous.
[audience applauding]
Because one of my all-time favorite routines,
"Suicide Hotline," won.
[Jill] Well, our group dance was amazing to watch.
So was it up there with your other iconic dances
-that you love so much? -[Abby] Yes.
-[Ashlee] Definitely? -Yes.
It was really good.
My favorite dance I've seen since I've been here.
-We all had chills... -The choreography was amazing.
Like, I loved it.
Jess, you picked a really bad week to bail,
because this is gonna go down in history
as one of the ALDC's best dances
and you're not gonna be a part of it.
Today was what we've been asking for.
Set the bar higher,
and they will rise to the occasion.
Don't water it down. We want harder,
we want any... and they all did it.
Well, I set the bar high for JoJo and she walked out.
[Abby] That kid didn't "rise to the occasion."
That kid...
said, "See ya!"
She's at the pool today.
I saw that on Instagram.
-Oh, she is at the pool? -[Abby] You know what?
God works in mysterious ways.
Things happen for a reason.
Yeah, but that's... that's the choice
that her mother chose to make her look that way,
is to... when the going gets rough, you just take off.
She could not have done this dance.
[Abby] It would not have been the same thing.
Girls, quitters never win.
They might make money...
but in the long-range plan,
who is the person...
who's not improving?
Who's not learning?
The person who's sitting at the pool.
[Abby] That's right. That's what I'm saying.
So, when you don't show up,
you don't learn, you don't grow.
You don't experience.
And, uh, you keep doing what you're doing.
Well, this was a lesson for everybody here.
You better think long and hard
before you walk out that door.
I don't know what the future holds for the ALDC.
I just know it doesn't involve JoJo.
No more Bow Bow.
[ominous music]