[tender piano melody playing]
[gentle violin melody layers in]
[Maddie]
called "Quiet Voices"
and I really love the movement to it.
-Kinda awkward.
have been working really hard on it
so I can put my best foot forward
for the Joffrey Ballet scout.
♪ ...by biting my tongue ♪
♪ The questions we ask...
[Abby]
It's about somebody hearing these voices in their head.
She really has to use
her emotional connection to the audience,
and I'm sure she will.
Seven, breathe, eight.
Slow down. One, two, three.
I really hope and pray this passion Maddie has for dancing
continues for the rest of her life.
Maddie has this.
And that's what you see first.
She loves what she's doing.
And her emotions tell the story.
And that's what you fall in love with when she dances.
[tender music continues]
[Abby] Bravo. [clapping]
Good girl!
Whoa!
If you were gettin' paid you'd get a raise.
This is really tears.
Da. Da. Cross.
Don't drop off your right heel.
That's not how you finish a turn.
Chloe has great lines. She's a great dancer.
But she doesn't give me what I want.
She wants to be a choreographer.
She wants to make it up herself.
Instead of, you know what, kid?
There's lots of time for that.
Do what I'm telling you to do.
Up!
One, two, three.
Arc that way, Chloe. Dance.
Don't just be a stick figure.
Chloe's just not focused today.
She is stumbling over choreography
that she should be picking up like it's second nature.
[dramatic music playing]
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 is 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]
[tender piano melody playing]
Abby is trying to turn our kids against your kid.
-Well-- -And you let her do it.
No, I don't!
[Abby]
[applause]
[Abby]
[tense music playing]
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.
[Abby speaks indistinctly]
-Yes. -Why don't you stand up to Abby?
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 same thing over and over again.
I know but... but that's the thing.
And we're sick of it happening over and over again.
Well, I'll go tell Abby.
[Christi] She'll have her featured in group dance
and she'll make sure she wins all the solos
because she'll have the most attention,
the best choreography, and the most private lessons.
This isn't... Stop talking about my daughter. She's nine.
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.
-I stick up for those kids! -No, you don't.
Oh, I absolutely do.
I tell you all the time...
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
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'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 'til 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. 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. 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're hiding. -Bite my [bleep].
I've had enough. I don't even wanna be
in the same building as these women.
I don't like it either, Melissa!
But guess what? This is what it is.
[Melissa]
[Christi] As soon as things get ugly, you go home.
[Melissa]
[upbeat dance music playing]
I don't know if I'm really that hungry.
-Oh, I'm starving. -[Holly] Oh my.
Dance moms are almost always hungry.
I don't wanna have to have a nip and a tuck.
After the big blowup with Melissa last night,
Kelly, Holly, and I decided to go to Mohan's.
It's nice to go out and blow off steam.
Especially with people who you can commiserate with,
who understand exactly where you're coming from.
-I was just thinking of Abby. -What exactly?
How she sits up at night and dreams up all these themes.
Well, she was dreaming big this week.
She has too many things on her plate.
I think she bit off more than she can chew.
The girls work really hard on those dances
and then someone will get shafted.
There's gonna be something that's compromised
and it's not gonna be a quality dance.
Because there's no way
she has enough creative juices in her brain...
-Well, we already saw the trio. -I know.
Maybe she's saving all of her creativity for the solos.
I try really hard to stay neutral and objective
and stay out of the way
but I want Nia to do well for the Joffrey Ballet scout.
And I don't think Abby's giving her enough time or attention.
Abby helped Maddie's solo and Chloe has nothing.
Why doesn't she think about all the other kids?
-They don't count. -I keep thinking like,
finally, someone's gonna catch a break.
-It's not right. -Nope.
I feel very defeated.
I think Abby spread herself too thin this week.
And I think that we all know
she's gonna be focusing most of her attention on Maddie
because she wants her to impress the Joffrey scout.
Then what kills me is Melissa plays the "I'm so nice" part
and she's the sneakiest, most underhanded of them all.
She's the one who takes music producers out for coffee.
She takes the judges out for lunch.
She sends gifts to every competition in America.
Be prepared for this weekend
because I am certain that it's gonna be a collaborative effort
to do everything possible to make sure
that Maddie gets back on top.
[dramatic music playing]
[Abby] Girls! [claps] One day!
♪ ...told me I'd be fine ♪
Maddie, Chloe, and Brooke's trio
is called "Somebody Told Me."
It's pretty. It's nice.
I think any judge would love to see this number on stage.
Watch your feet! Ugh!
Sickled feet, Maddie.
I really like doing solos
but I'm also doing a trio in a group dance
and it's gonna be a lot.
Ugh. Sloppy, girls.
[tense music playing]
[Abby]
She just seems a little off right now.
It's just a mess.
You're marking the side aerial.
You're sloppy out of every turn.
[Maddie]
but now that the Joffrey Ballet guy is here
she's gonna be even tougher.