[Abby]
in the musical theater genre.
Do you understand? Yes. Knees together, Paige.
You're bow-legged, you need to fix that.
Five, six, seven, go.
[upbeat music plays]
Sharper, Paige. Hit, hit.
You're tall, you're skinny. You're a beautiful girl.
You could do better than this. Focus on your technique.
Shoulders down, legs straight, feet pointed. Let's go.
People think I'm tough, and I guess I am,
but I'd rather be the one that makes your child cry
in the privacy of my studio
instead of crying in front of 800 people
at an open audition.
Stubby foot, you're right in the middle
of the stage, Paige.
[music continues]
-[Abby] Stop. -[music ends]
I wanna be the first one that tells them.
I wanna fix their shoulders and their rib cage,
distended neck, their turnout.
Everything that's wrong,
before somebody else in the professional world
has to tell them.
Paige, come here.
I'd have your head on a platter. Yes?
Do you understand? All right.
Man up, get out there.
If I see flaws that haven't been corrected,
I correct them. That's my job.
And sometimes that's offensive.
I think that's where the tough comes in.
But it's like tough love.
There's my baby.
-Aw, don't cry, angel. -[Paige crying]
-Abby was so... -[shushing]
-It's okay, don't cry. -[Paige sobs]
Don't worry about it.
-[overlapping chatter] -[woman] Excuse me.
[Abby]
for a routine that she was picked special for,
and she had socks and a T-shirt on.
I don't care if you're taking-- I'm gonna tell her.
[Abby]
I made two other children change their clothes.
Because it's acro, we're doing a lot on our knees
and they have to be in their bare feet.
May I speak to you a minute?
I wanna speak to you.
You don't throw my kid out of class.
I paid for class.
I'm looking at every single kid out here, Abby!
They all look like children.
Isn't that crazy, that children look like children?
She's dressed appropriately.
[yelling] Yes, I'm a minister!
Let's play the Bible game, Abby.
When Jesus saw things that were wrong,
he went after it.
[shrieking] And I'll tell you what,
you're not gonna do this my kid!
Out of the room. Out, out.
-Regan, come on. Out. Out. -You can't throw her out!
Oh, yes, I am. And you with her. Go!
-No, you're not! -Yes.
Every week, we put the trash out. Go.
[screaming] Then take yourself out
'cause you're the biggest piece of trash there is!
You cannot take acrobatic class in socks.
I told you to close and tuck in your two-piece costume.
There's a big difference.
How can you remember that
and you can't remember to turn your feet out? Huh?
That's pathetic.
Go somewhere else. Take your money.
Take your kid. Take your socks.
Find another school.
Does it not hit in your head that maybe you're wrong?
-No. No. -Do you not get it?
I don't get it. I know I'm right.
-I... -Why are you right?
-It's my building. -Why can't--
-My name's on the front. -So what?
You keep telling her how stupid she is.
[Abby] She's not stupid. She just can't read.
The-- the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
[Dawn scoffs]
So you're saying I'm stupid?
-Well... [screams] -Were you?
I got more education than you will ever have.
Than you will ever have!
Because I went to school. Unfortunately, you didn't!
-Can I have your phone? -Call the police.
Go for it!
-I'm sorry, girls. -Go for it!
There's a psycho in every batch.
A psycho? Yes. Her name's Abigale Miller.
Hi. I need an, uh, police at 7123 Saltsburg.
You okay, Dawn?
No, no, no. No.
Are you okay?
-No, I'm not. -[shushing]
I have an, uh, a parent that's out of control.
-I can't stand her. -[shushing]
I don't know if she went outside.
I walked into a room,
my senior company was warming up in another room,
and I went into there.
[whispering]
-[Holly] Bye, Regan. -Bye.
[Holly] Yes, they've dispersed.
Let's go, guys. Let's get in the other room.
Thank you.
Sorry you had to see that.
-[siren wailing] -[indistinct chatter]
[officer] We just want you to leave the property,
-so... -[Dawn] Yeah, okay.
All right, you gotta go.
Take your daughter somewhere else then
if you don't like the dance company here.
Little shaky. I have to get myself together.
Get back into rehearsal
and worry about the competition this weekend.
[breathes deeply]
Every weekend, we go to a new competition.
All this competing is about the nationals.
This week happens to be Phoenix, Arizona.
West Coast Dance Explosion
is an amazing convention-competition.
It's a big deal.
-[kid] Whoo! -[Abby]
the lights, the sound, everything is top-notch.
And they're very, very qualified judges.
-[audience cheering] -[Abby]
-let's get this luggage moving. -[Christi]
anywhere for a dance competition,
we're like the glammed-up Beverly Hillbillies. I mean,
we've got Dream Duffels and rolling makeup cases
and light-up makeup mirrors.
Don't you steal that.
-Let's go, ladies. -Okay.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No. No, no, no, no.
She has two pieces of luggage, Abby.
She brings it, she carries it.
Now remember, the competition starts right now
when you walk into this building.
Do you understand me?
Let's go.
Every time that Abby Lee Dance Company
walks into a competition,
they're representing a legacy.
Kids who've danced before them that were amazing
and so much is at stake because we don't wanna be the ones
who... lose.
Hey, do you wanna get a drink?
[mouthing]
[indistinct chatter]
Let's sit down and have a drink.
Nobody will know where we are. We're missing in action.
She screams at those kids one more time,
I'm gonna lose it.
I know you need to get Maddie seen. I understand.
That's like the whole goal of all of us
doing anything is for that.
I am not getting Chloe's headshot.
We spent 30 billion dollars to dance for her,
and then you get [bleep] all over.
-Oh, cheers. -To dance.
To dance. [laughs]
-[tense music plays] -[panting]
[laughter]
Wait, can I have another glass of wine real quick?
Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me.
[laughter]
-[Christi] I know! -[laughter continues]
[Abby]
They are in a bar drinking,
and their kid needs to be onstage in 20 minutes.
Bad Parenting 101.
-[Christi] Good Lord. -Hey, what's going on?
We're having a cocktail.
-Not babysitting? -Do you want a drink?
No. No, I don't drink while I'm working.
-Are you two good to go? -Yeah, we're gonna leave
-in a minute. -All right.
[laughs]
We're double-fisted. It's not good.
I don't double-fist when I'm with my kids.
I double-fisted when I'm in college.
-Okay. -Oh, you guys, you're beautiful.
Go. Just-- Let's go. Let's go.
-All right, goodbye you guys. -Let's go.
[Kelly] Oh, my God, we're not even allowed to talk.
-[indistinct shouting] -[Kelly] Go.
[Christi]
We need to hurry.
[overlapping chatter]
-Is it good? -Yes, it was good.
-Okay. -You did great.
-Tie it down. -Go, fast.
As fast as you can.
What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I doing?
They have never lost, ever.
We are not used to this. It doesn't feel good.
We're used to coming in and winning.
I get a little nervous about the trio now.
The pressure's on. They're well-prepared.
The only thing they need to worry about
is their performance. So if they go out and do it
like you know they can do it, they'll do well.
We're still a little nervous.
-Oh! -Look at those other kids.
[indistinct chatter]
[audience cheering]
["15 Minutes of Fame" by Josephine playing]
♪ ...minutes of fame, I want it, I want it ♪
♪ My fifteen minutes of fame, I want it, I want it ♪
♪ My fifteen minutes of fame ♪
-Oh, my God. -[laughs]
Oh, my God, I'm gonna lose it.
-Oh! -Oh, she can't see!
Pull your headband back please, darling.
♪ My fifteen minutes of fame, I want it, I want it ♪
[whooping and cheering]
[Kelly laughs]
-Oh, no, she wouldn't-- -Poor girl.
[song continues]
♪ My fifteen minutes of fame, I want it ♪
[audience whooping, cheering]
-You did great. -She's not nervous at all.
-It was awesome. -I knew you did great.
We'll have a million shot.
You, you, you, get offstage.
You, I will deal with later. Go.
[Christi] What's your deal?
[Abby] We need to talk.
[tense music plays]
It came forward. What did you want me to do?
You're at the bar having a drink
and her headpiece is falling off.
Her headpiece didn't fall off.
-Yes, it did. -It came forward.
-It didn't fall on the stage. -Whatever.
She's fine.
She's fine?
-It's my number. It's my name. -It was fine.
It was fine. They didn't miss a beat.
[whooping and cheering]
Winning means a lot to me because it feels really good
and it feels like, "Ooh, yay."
I never get tired of winning.
[MC] Okay, teens, listen up.
Starting off in Duo/Trio, in second place,
they scored 266.
It goes to "Money."
Abby, mistakes happen. We're human.
You are. Mistakes like that don't happen to me.
I'm not gonna have you treat me like this. I'm an adult.
-Act like one. Get-- -You act like one.
You're screaming at me in front of all these people.
You screwed up. If you're gonna come on the trip, she's yours.
If you stayed out of the bar, stayed in the dressing room,
when she goes onstage,
the headpiece is sewed in the head.
Do you understand?
Next time, have it right.
-Yeah. -I'm not gonna put up with it.
Remember, I pay your bills. You work for me.
I pay you to teach my daughter to dance.
I'm not gonna have you treat me like this.
[MC] Our main overall high score Duo/Trio
with a score of 282 out of 300.
First place goes to Abby Lee Dance Company, "Pin-Up Girls."
[loud cheering]
[Maddie]
and that means we were the best.
[whooping]
-[Abby] Okay. -It'll never happen again.
-You better not. That's right. -This conversation is over.
-I'm done. -And you pay your bill late,
-by the way. Yes, you do. -I do not pay my bills late.
-Yes, you do. -We'll talk.
[Abby]
That woman is going to cause her child
to be expelled from my studio.
[Christi]
I don't care if Chloe ever dances again.
I can't put up with this woman anymore.