Lock back to that knee. Finished? We're good?
You think that's it?
Okay.
I've called everybody together
to discuss the
These mothers go on and on about role models.
Well, I'll tell you what,
not being happy for someone else's success,
that's the worst role model you could be.
I wanted to talk a little bit about yesterday,
the role for
I don't know if everybody was truly happy
that Maddie got the role.
It could have been any one of the kids
that auditioned for it.
We all congratulated Maddie.
The girls all congratulated Maddie.
I don't know what else you want us to do.
[Christi]
Abby wants to reprimand all of us
for not being happy enough for Maddie getting the role
in
I wanted to look at her and say, "Really, Ab?"
Because you didn't seem very happy when Chloe got,
I don't know, the music video the Joffrey audition,
or first place when, you know,
you ran out of the room crying because you were "mortified."
Well, Melissa told me that you said it was rigged.
I'm entitled to my opinion because I'm 42 years old,
and I'm a free American citizen,
so I get to say whatever I want and believe whatever I want.
I stand on my credentials and my knowledge.
That's something you can never take away.
Then fix this hair 'cause it's horrible.
-Horrible. -Why don't you fix your hair?
And fix your face,
and your body, and everything else.
That's fine. When I join your dance company, I'll do it.
Let's start critiquing people. Let's start with you.
Look in the mirror.
Holly had to go after me, you know, go for the jugular.
"Look in the mirror, fix your own body,
fix your own hair." Holly,
let's start.
Get a padded bra, don't wear dresses.
What else do you want me to tell you, huh?
And you know what? I got approval
for those braids when I got them put in.
Not in front of my dance company, you didn't.
It says right in there, "Do not change your hair."
And you know what? I did get approval for it,
and this is part of her ethnicity.
Well, it's weighing her down. It's weighing her down.
There are four other people here...
...by the last three weeks, Holly, it's like a log
coming out of the sun, right?
And on all this, Nia,
the lunge, the arch, all of that stuff
is late and sloppy.
Your mother thinks you're early.
You're not.
[Holly]
If you wanna fix someone up,
and if you're such a Miss Fix-It,
fix yourself, look in the mirror.
Start with the woman in the mirror
and leave my kid alone.
Hey! Ooh! Look at you!
So, um, I was thinking about taking you
to the People's Choice Awards with me.
-Really? -You wanna go?
-Yeah? -Yeah.
We have to get you together, like, literally in five minutes.
Brynn is kind of always on the outs with the kids.
You know, they don't include her in things
because they can't stand her mother, Ashlee.
And since I'm considering putting her
on the team permanently,
I wanna see how this kid behaves.
Does she have proper theater etiquette?
Does she have the right manners?
Can I see you?
Me?
Yeah. Oh.
[Abby] Come here.
Oh, look how cute you look. I like it.
-I'm gonna take her with me. -You are?
Yes.
[Jill] Abby, why would you not take your students?
-She wanted to go. -That's, like, ridiculous.
This one is Maddie's best friend.
That's who you really should take.
All these kids have been
to award show after award show.
Brynn has never been to an event like that.
Does Melissa know Brynn's going with you?
Probably not.
Melissa's gonna die when she sees this.
Melissa invited me, and she gave me two tickets.
She bought two tickets.
She didn't say, "This ticket's for somebody else."
You and Brynn go have a good time.
I just want you to know, Melissa will be disappointed.
[Abby] It's-- it's not worth the aggravation.
Oh, my God.
I just think it's sad that they can't just for once be like,
-"Oh, happy for Brynn." Ever. -No.
-It's not gonna happen. -No.
Brynn is not going. Period.
Because I quit fighting.
I quit fighting. I don't fight anymore.
Kalani, you wanna go?
I don't wanna go to the People's Choice Awards with Abby
because this drama doesn't include me
and I don't wanna make it include me.
Okay.
Kendall, do you really wanna go?
So you don't wanna go? Okay.
You wanna go, Jill?
I do want to go.
If Brynn is not going, I will go.
Alright. Now I'm gonna get my lipstick.
I have an evening bag. I have perfume.
What kind of person gets excited about taking an opportunity away
from a 12-year-old little girl and using it for herself?
I mean, the People's Choice Awards?
Like, that's a once in a lifetime thing.
Jill is a bitch.
She's not gonna go. I mean, are you happy?
[Jill] I don't understand why Brynn is not going.
Because you guys got so mad.
You guys got so upset that then Abby was like,
"Well, maybe I shouldn't take her."
Ashlee, the [bleep] that she is,
has to try to throw it in my face
that I stole Brynn's ticket.
I would never tell her not to go.
No one wants it.
No one wants to go. It's like it's a bad deal.
Brynn did wanna go until you guys ruined it for her.
-That's what-- -Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Nobody now.
Nobody is going.
[Abby] Alright, let's go, let's go, let's go.
Does everyone have their socks taped?
-Yes. -Yes.
[girl] I brought it with us.
Did you really ask that, Jill?
She has black socks on. What color would you wear?
Once again, we're in the green room,
and like, nothing's right.
There's no time to rehearse.
The girls aren't ready.
Maddie's pigtails are all askew.
It's mayhem.
Okay.
Now I'm marking it. You forgot it?
You're kidding me. Thank gosh we're running through it.
Wanna start--
Were you a dance teacher in your past life?
No, why?
You tell her what to do, she's 14!
I'm allowed to talk to my daughter.
You're treating her like a baby--
I'm not.
I'm her mother and she's my daughter
and she's dancing.
I'm reiterating what you tell her all the time.
If you don't know it yet, you're never gonna know it.
Got it? Not five minutes before you go on.
I don't think it's fair that Abby yells at the parents
just because the parents know what to do.
They're moms for a reason. They're helping us, so...
I don't think that if she's not in the conversation,
don't join the conversation. It wasn't meant for you.
Let's go.
We have to be ready.
-We're on in one number. -They have to know the number.
Why don't you let them finish running it?
If it goes on and we miss it, then what?
It doesn't matter if they know it or not.
-What's the difference? -Doesn't make a difference
if they go on stage and they look like fools.
It does make a difference. You have to get on.
-Let them run the number. -Holly.
If we don't get there in time, it doesn't matter
if they know it or not. What's the difference?
We gotta go.
[Abby] Leslie, we've been doing this
every single weekend.
It will be fine.
You're the new man on the block.
I understand, but guess what?
Are they gonna hold it for us?
Probably not for Leslie Ackerman,
maybe for Abby Lee Miller.
-Okay. -Okay.
It's my name, my reputation, not yours.
It's their names too!
-Exactly. -You keep saying it's only you,
but these kids are all the ones on the stage.
Right, Christi, they're Abby Lee's kids.
But they're Chloe, and Nia, and Maddie, and Payton.
Abby's sitting there barking at these girls.
"It's my name, it's my name."
And for God's sakes,
we are so tired of hearing it's your name. It's not.
When Chloe stands on stage,
people are looking at Chloe.
When Maddie's on stage, they're looking at Maddie.
And Nia...
Yes, they dance under Abby's studio,
but ultimately, they're the ones on stage.
[Leslie] Payton, here, honey.
Don't you say that to my daughter!
Look the way you act!
-Because-- -Be a role model!
I am a role model, Abby!
You're the worst role model here!
[Abby] Listen to me. Go out.
Get a drink of water, clear your brain.
I decided to give Chloe a little break
so that she can gather her thoughts,
review her choreography, and get her act together.
In the meantime, I want Maddie to perform her new solo
for my senior company.
They need to realize
that a little nine-year-old can learn a whole routine
and execute it flawlessly in one day.
[Kelly] Christi, she's running Maddie's solo again.
I can't believe Abby interrupted Chloe's solo rehearsal
just so Maddie could perform in front of the senior company.
I mean, she's not even trying to hide her favoritism anymore.
It's a slap in the face to everyone, especially Chloe.
It's nice to put all your eggs in one basket.
-Yeah, okay. -[Abby speaking]
["Quiet Violence" by Sharon Kenny plays]
Abby is trying to turn our kids against your kid.
-And you let her do it. -No-- No, I don't.
[Abby speaking]
[applause]
She sits there, and she watches the dance.
So she knows what people's strengths and weaknesses are.
And she uses that as an advantage
for your daughter.
You twist there. Yes.
Why don't you ever stand up to Abby, Melissa?
You always say that you're her friend,
so you should have a different kind
of a connection with her.
So, why don't you ever stick up for the kids?
I'm so sick of Christi and Kelly always getting on me
because my daughter has a gift.
I'm sick of hearing the whole--
the same thing over and over and over again.
I know, but, but that's--
And we're sick of it happening over...
-and over and over again. -Well, I'll tell Abby.
Then she'll have her featured in the group dance,
and she'll make sure that she wins all the solos,
because she'll have the most attention,
the best choreography.
-And the most private lessons. -This isn't a--
Stop talking about my daughter. She's nine years old.
We're not talking about your daughter.
We're talking about what you enable to happen.
I'm not talking about your daughter.
So you're gonna stick up
for my daughter when Abby yells at her.
I stick up for Maddie all the time.
I stick up for every one of those kids.
Oh, I absolutely do.
-I tell you all the time. -Ha! You know what?
Your daughter doesn't need me to stick up for her
because you have her so far in your back pocket.
She doesn't need it. I stick up for the kids who need it.
[Melissa]
I'm not gonna stick around in this room
and have Christi and Kelly bitch at me for no reason.
[Christi] You see what she does to my kid and her kid,
and you don't stick up for them.
[Melissa] I am so sick of this. I mean--
I'm gonna sit here.
[Christi] Melissa's in there with Abby?
She's going in to tattle on us?
You're not allowed to talk to her until after class.
We're having a disagreement with Melissa,
and this just goes to show how close she is with her.
She goes in and talks to her.
I don't wanna dance here anymore, Maddie.
I'm sick of it.
Yeah, I'm sick of it.
What-- They're always attacking you and me.
I mean, it's ridiculous.
It's always about Maddie and Maddie, Maddie, Maddie.
Hey, Melissa. We weren't done talking to you.
Would you mind coming back like an adult?
-Instead of hiding by Abby? -I'm not hiding.
-You are hiding. -Bite my [bleep].
I've had enough.
I don't wanna be in the same building.
I don't like it either, Melissa,
but guess what? This is what it is.
I'll make arrangements for Maddie to get home.
[Christi] As soon as things get ugly, you run and go home.
[Melissa speaking]
How's everybody feel this morning?
-Good. -Great.
Yes?
So wait, are we here for a performance piece
or are you thinking we're gonna win with this?
We are confusing the word "performance."
Everybody is thinking automatically--
facial expression.
I'm thinking that a performance is flawless.
Your relevé is higher than it's ever been.
That your legs are straighter than they've ever been.
That your posture is...
superb.
But you do realize that all of that
comes with ballet training,
and taking an hour a week
-is not gonna fix anything. -Yup.
We do hip-hop, we do musical theater,
we do tumbling.
Maybe we need to not do, like, so many frivolous classes
and do more of what we need. Yes.
Good hair, don't care.
Your business is thriving.
Our children are not right now.
Because they're caught in the middle.
Because when they were home, they didn't work their ass off.
-Well, that's... -That's not true!
-That's not really true, Abby. -Stop lying.
-Stop it right now. -Did you even see Nia?
That doesn't mean she wasn't working.
Nia was, in a point, attended
with Complexions Ballet Dance Company,
Misty Copeland, and Debbie Allen.
Stop lying about my kid.
-She did not come to her studio. -Okay!
But that does not mean she did not work.
I can see by the size of the thigh
battement-ing
Hush your mouth.
Oh, you are a class act.
-I know. -Yeah, okay.
-Yeah. -And you know what?
-That sums you up really well. -Yeah.
And Misty Copeland didn't get her this gig, sweetheart.
-Remember that. -And you know what?
We gave you a lot of praise and credit,
and that's what you give us?
I don't want credit for those feet.
You're a coward.
New beginnings. Well, that lasted a week.
[tense, frenetic music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
Abby. So Paige broke her foot.
Well, she didn't break her foot.
She broke her toe up into her foot.
I wish I could hear what was going on.
I know.
So what now with Paige out?
She told me she's out for four to six weeks.
That has nothing to do with you.
Well, I understand not me personally
and that's very unfortunate,
but maybe now is there a spot for Kendall?
Oh, my God, she's like, she can sniff out an opening.
She must have smelled Paige's broken foot from a mile away.
She's like... [sniffs]
"There's a spot in the pyramid for Kendall!"
I am the last person to ever take Abby's side in anything,
but in the case of Jill versus Abby, Abby wins.
Jill, you have to understand that when you left,
you didn't just disappear.
You went to this arch-rival enemy.
Abby, we've been over this. I know.
And it's very hurtful
and also...
just a slap in the face.
I was very hurt by the way you treated Kendall.
You didn't let me do my job.
"I want Kendall in the group. I want Kendall to do that."
Really, lady?
Did you not learn anything the first time around?
-You need to realize your place. -Okay.
And you don't walk into a rehearsal,
you don't walk into pyramid,
you don't throw your kid at people.
I need to do what's best for Kendall.
I need to do what's best for the group.
Don't you think Kendall deserves to be in that group?
Kendall deserves nothing.
It's not like we're all entitled.
I want her to take class. I want her to study.
She's in class. She was in class last night, Abby.
-Uh-huh. -Let me tell you
-who wasn't in class last night. -Tell me.
No Hyland kids.
No Chloe. They don't come to class.
Kendall will come to class.
These moms who give me a hard time
for doing what's best for Kendall,
I know deep down inside,
they would do the exact same thing.
I can't live with myself that I took her away from here
and took that opportunity away from her.
So I really need you and want you
to give her another chance.
I'm sure she sees it as a golden opportunity.
[Kelly]
talking to Abby at the front desk.
And I just wanted to let Jill know,
Paige is not out of the group.
She's injured and will be back.
So if she's trying to get Kendall to replace Paige,
it's not happening.
Why'd you ask Paige who was replacing her
-in the duet? -I didn't.
Why would you talk to Paige
and not the moms about what's going
-this weekend? -What?
Before you put your claws in to get--
I didn't know Paige was in there.
I didn't go scouting out Paige.
I went in, she was sitting there with a broken foot.
I said, "Honey, how are you? What happened?"
So what's going this weekend?
I really didn't do anything inappropriate.
Hi, guys.
Oh, God, here comes Jill.
She and Kendall aren't even on the team.
But we know Jill well enough to know
that the absence of an invitation
isn't gonna stop her from showing up.
-Hi, Kendall. -Hey.
[Abby] So, Kendall, I'm looking for a replacement
for the duet, for Paige.
Abby's having auditions for the duet,
which I think is absolutely ridiculous,
considering Kendall's not on the team.
[Christi] Kendall?
Oh, for the love of God.
Maddie is not auditioning
because she has a solo this week.
Let's have Chloe and Nia do it.
[Abby] Nia.
Some things are great.
I just think that you don't look that great with her.
Like, it's a little off. It's a little quirky.
You don't dance exactly the same.
You dance very much different.
Alright, let me see you and Kendall.
And one.
[tense music playing]
I'm a little unclear. Did Abby call you...
-[Jill] No. -...and say to come back?
No, she told me, get-- get the kid in class,
so she's here in class.
Do you think I went to Abby and said, "Put her in the duet"?
If Abby does, it's because Abby wanted her in there.
Why couldn't you say, "Wow, what a nice thing for Kendall
if she's selected"?
I don't think it's fair
-for her to be put in the duet. -Because, Jill...
-I don't. -Again.
You guys are so selfish. I can't believe this.
-Selfish. -No, no, no.
I think it's selfish for you to do that.
-She shouldn't be allowed. -Really? I never said--
-That's selfish for you. -She should be allowed.
[Christi] You're saying, you know,
we should be pleased and happy for her,
but it's at the expense of one of our children
who have sacrificed so much to be here.
-It's just another week-- -They're already on the team.
-It's another number. -You're not part of our team.
I take all their snide remarks and all their bullying
and all their criticism,
but you know what?
This is about a mother
doing what's best for her daughter.
-Nia looks cute... -You need to say something
-if it's Kendall. -She looks perfectly fine,
-and, Holly-- -Holly, you are marching
your butt down there
if I have to push you down them steps.
My daughter has been there day in and day out.
I think a lot of Abby's practices are unfair.
What's going on with the duet, Abby?
Kendall was in class
in the other room. I went and got her.
Nia was doing it, she was doing it well,
I gave her some corrections.
Kendall has been gone several weeks.
-But-- -She just came back.
My child has been here throughout.
She may not be right for the duet.
She's never right for those special parts
unless she's lifting Mackenzie.
[Abby]
This is strictly about my best chance at winning.
There's lots of things that she could do.
Right, but they're not the duet music
-that I have this week. -Why don't you find something?
She could do something with the '60s...
She could do something with popping, locking.
She could do all sorts of different things.
[Abby] I agree with you, but you know what?
It's a duet with Chloe.
That wasn't the plan. I wasn't seeking music for Nia.
I was seeking music for Chloe.
No need to get all belligerent and indignant with me.
I am, because I think you know better.
No, I think you look foolish.
This is strictly about what's right for the duet,
not about what you want.
Nia will get the duet
only if I think she's my best shot at winning.