The group routine
takes place in a hospital waiting room.
We have done amazingly well
with our group routines at nationals.
We started... [scoffs] on a high note
with "This Is My Beauty."
And then, "The Last Text." Won again.
Then we did a tribute piece to Hurricane Katrina,
and that was a huge win.
And then last year, "Amber Alert."
Undefeated.
We want this season to top every other season.
You better knock on some wood.
All right, so spread apart, let's go.
Let's get the chair out.
So imagine if your family,
your loved ones, were brought in
by ambulance from a car accident.
So imagine waiting to hear the news.
Is it happy news?
Or is it the worst humanly possible news?
All right. Do it again for me.
The group number, it's more than a dance routine.
I would call it a "piece."
There's an emotional range.
There's interaction between the dancers.
Maddie is playing our lead.
It's heavy. Can she pull it off?
Let's hope so, 'cause she's the only choice I have.
-Uh... -Heh.
Just technically, when everybody hits the floor,
and the left foot is draped over downstage left,
their feet are so sickled, you would chop them off.
Um... I'm literally going right now to get flooring.
So, let Gianna work on this a little bit.
[mom] You're leaving, Abby?
[Abby] What did you guys get done today?
-Nothing. -[Abby] Nothing.
Well, I need a lot of stuff done.
You can see that.
And remember, if it wasn't for the Abby Lee Dance Company,
I don't think any of you would be in L.A. right now.
[Jill]
Nationals comes once a year.
There are 364 other days
Abby could've chosen to open her studio.
If we lose, we have one person to blame.
And that's Abby.
She has left the building.
[dramatic music playing]
There's Abby.
[mom] What?
Whoo! Surprise, surprise.
Abby finally shows up for rehearsal.
It must be nice to just sit on your ass all day and do nothing.
I don't care what Abby has to say,
I'm just happy that she's here.
[Abby] I need to see a lot more emotion from everyone.
So, did Gianna get a ton of work done?
Yes. I think it looks crazy good.
But let's face it, the emotion needs work.
I want the judges to feel something.
I want people to be on the edge of their seats.
So, Maddie, let's see what you have.
Let's see what emotion you're gonna give me.
Can I say something? Do you remember
when you found out the first person you ever knew died?
What you did?
[softly] Yeah.
[somber music playing]
[imperceptible]
Think about it.
That's what you have to do. That's what actors do.
They go back to some time in their life,
and that's what makes them cry,
not the lines that they're saying right then and there.
We've been through so much this season.
And what's worse is, this might very well be
our worst record in ALDC history.
But you know what? I have faith in them 100%.
They're focused right now.
They can do this.
Let's get the group costumes out, Abby.
Group costumes.
So much is riding on this week's group dance.
The ALD team has won nationals several years in a row.
So I want our girls to do their absolute best.
[Abby] Come on, guys. This is it.
Season five, it's been a rocky road.
But we go out there,
we do what the Abby Lee Dance Company is known for.
That's coming to nationals and winning.
All right, let's go.
Losing to Jeanette
is not an option. This is nationals.
This is my reputation on the line.
[announcer]
"The Waiting Room."
[Abby]
We've won all four times.
Let's make the other team sweat.
[emotional music playing]
♪ Teardrops ♪
♪ Fall on my wristwatch ♪
♪ I lose touch ♪
♪ And time stops ♪
[slow ticking]
[emotional music resumes]
[slow ticking]
[imperceptible]
[audience cheers and applauds]
It was so moving. I had goosebumps.
There was people behind me in tears, crying.
[announcer]
There's a kid that just won one division level-wise.
How can she be in two different levels?
What is going on? There's definitely an error.
Hold on.
So if I could get...
-Bring your trophy back quick? -There we go.
Just bring it right back here.
Your tuxedo's fabulous, but...
you gotta, you gotta figure out what you're doing.
All right.
Second place...
[suspenseful music playing]
"Someone Special," Maddie.
[audience cheers and applauds]
A joke.
[Abby]
How is she second?
And in first place...
"The Myth of the Mermaid," Ava.
[audience cheers and applauds]
What... What is this?
-It's a joke. -Guess what,
the judges hear her, like...
They had given out the overall high scores,
then took them back, then were giving them out again.
Nothing else the man said could be taken seriously.
And in our overall small group category...
In second place...
"The Waiting Room," Abby Lee Dance Company.
[audience cheers and applauds]
Okay, we, we... I'm sorry.
But, girls, we need to walk out.
I'm done. It's embarrassing.
[Maddie]
We can't win all the time,
but I thought we definitely should've won with this one.
First place, 2015 Nationals Champion...
[dramatic music playing]
"Moving Target," Broadway Dance Academy.
[audience cheers and applauds]
This is a joke.
I cannot sit there one more second
and go down in flames like this.
Let's go!
Come out here.
Yes, they can. It's illegal... You can't hold children
against their will in the state of California.
I think Abby's lost her mind. Again.
She walked out on a competition
and she took Jill, Melissa, Kira with her.
I don't even know what they're walking out on.
At this point, what's left? I don't know.
[Jessalynn]
We're ending it like this?
But once again, if we had a leader
that was like, "Hey, girls, it's okay, you know.
We had a great year. We went to Australia.
We came to L.A.
You did music, you did television,
you did acting.
Don't think about the second-place trophy.
Think about the whole experience
and that should be first overall in your life."
That's what we're missing. We're missing that leader.
[Abby]
to be the best that they could be.
And then this happens?
[dramatic music playing]
[sniffles]
The journey
that we have been on has been overwhelming.
And I just opened a brand-new studio here.
What's gonna happen with this?
I am scared to death.