A pinnacle of Gen Z pop culture, “Dance Moms” was a popular reality tv show airing on the Lifetime Network that centered around Pittsburgh native Abby Lee Miller and her dance studio affectionately titled the “Abby Lee Dance Company”. The show focused around seven dancers on her elite competition team and their mothers, as well as many other guests who appeared along the way.. Since its premiere on July 13, 2011, it has become a hit and ranked in millions of views and gave the stars massive followings. People often associate Abby with her harsh and cruel teaching methods and her favoritism towards one dancer on the show, Maddie Ziegler. Here, I will be ranking the OG dancers (including Kendall Vertes) based on who Abby favored the most.
#1: Maddie Ziegler
Yes you guessed it! Maddie is ranked #1 on this list. Throughout the show, viewers can see Maddie and Abby’s close relationship. From Abby giving her opportunities such as solos and special parts, to even taking her out to lunch, it was no surprise that Maddie would be considered her favorite dancer. Abby always made sure that Maddie succeeded, even if it was at the cost of the other girls. It was easy for Maddie to get favoritism due to her technique and performance quality, on top of her mom Melissa being a friend of Abby and following her every command to get her daughter opportunities. Despite Abby and Maddie no longer having any relationship, Abby did go above and beyond to give Maddie opportunities in the dance and entertainment industry and help her achieve the career she has today. However, her obsession with Maddie was controversial to most audiences..
#2: Brooke Hyland
Even though we don’t see a lot of good moments between Abby and Brooke on the show, Brooke was known as the “Maddie” of the team before “Dance Moms”. Brooke was well known for her incredible acrobatic and contortion skills, with dreams of becoming an acrobat in Cirque Du Soleil. However, once Brooke became a teenager, she lost her passion for dance and became burnt out. Abby openly complained about Brooke not putting in the effort to be a good dancer and make it revolve around her life. As she grew older, she started having back and shoulder issues due to the constant contortion and not being suitable for her growing body. By season three, whatever liking Abby had towards Brooke was gone, but even after her departure in season four, she still seemed to maintain a soft spot for Brooke.
#3: Mackenzie Ziegler
I would’ve ranked Mackenzie as #1, however, Abby wasn’t really fond of Mackenzie as a dancer. She got advantages and favoritism due to being Maddie’s sister, but was often compared to her. Abby definitely loved Mackenzie as a person and one time even called her “her daughter”. Mackenzie was underestimated in her dancing abilities and gave her cutesy dances even when she was twelve years old. In the earlier seasons, Abby took Mackenzie under her wing and was easy on her due to being the youngest in the group. She even was able to get a jumpstart to her music career by Abby in season four with the release of her first hit song “It’s a Girl Party”. Although Abby had a soft spot for Mackenzie, and may have considered her as a daughter at some point, her comparison to Maddie, body shaming, and underestimation damaged the relationship the two had. Personally, I think Abby just didn’t want Mackenzie to grow up.
#4: Kendall Vertes
Kendall is not technically considered an “OG” since she didn’t join the team until season 2, following Vivi-Anne Stein’s departure from the ALDC. She was picked to be a member because she was deemed to be “the right fit” and “blended in” with the girls on the team. Abby most certainly didn’t hate Kendall, however she wasn’t a favorite or had star potential in Abby’s eyes. In my opinion, I don’t think Kendall was a strong dancer or brought a lot to the table, especially as a solo dancer. Additionally, her mom was a stage mom who sucked up to Abby and bribed her when they first joined the show. Her mom also pushed for Kendall to have opportunities. Because of this, Abby wasn’t too crazy about Kendall and was more neutral towards her. I would describe the relationship between the two as a roller coaster with many ups and downs but, there seem to be no hard feelings between the two.
#5: Paige Hyland
Unfortunately, Paige was one of the dancers who got the short end of the stick from Abby. Although she wasn’t a technical dancer, she had amazing acrobatic and jazz skills and could do any dance style, making her a well rounded dancer. It is also important to point out that she was underestimated and was more capable of more than she was given. After she left the show, Abby at one point said that she thought Paige was “never meant to be a dancer” and how “she was never cut out for it [dance]”, furthering how she was underestimated by Abby. For what it’s worth, at least Paige held somewhat of a special place in Abby’s heart. She had even said that Paige could’ve been a model. I think that us as fans should give Paige some grace and think of her as more capable of dancing than what was portrayed on the show.
#6: Nia Frazier
Although not the best technical dancer, Nia has improved a lot over the course of the show. Her journey on Dance Moms was anything but easy, especially with being the only black dancer on the show for the majority of the time. Abby would significantly underestimate Nia and hinder her abilities to get opportunities. She faced a lot of microaggressions from Abby including being given solos that stereotyped her race, making fun of her braids, and once being told by Abby that she didn’t “want any little tootsies on her team”. Of course the last part never made it to air to protect Abby’s image. The worst of Nia’s experiences on the show would have to be season 5 when she embarked on a music career as the team moved to LA. Abby made several digs about her music video, her body, and took out her frustrations from Holly on Nia. In the end, despite admiring her hardwork, Abby dismissed Nia as a person and even refused her visit in the hospital when diagnosed with cancer in 2018.
#7: Chloe Lukasiak
As everyone knows, Chloe was one of the students that Abby hated the most. Abby’s hatred towards Chloe was mainly due to her hatred towards Christi, Chloe’s mom. Us as fans may laugh at the fights between Abby and Christi, however, it is important to take into consideration how it made Chloe’s experience on the show harder. She was one of the best technical dancers on the team and was the only one with ballerina potential since she was shown to have won the Joffrey Ballet School Scholarship. With Abby’s attention and time, she probably would’ve been just as good if not better than Maddie. Although she was tolerated in the first two seasons, by season three is when Abby tried to get rid of her. In season four, she was kicked out of the ALDC, but not the show due to refusing to sign a contract. Chloe was excluded from everything including Mackenzie’s music video, Todrick Hall’s music video, and Abby even tried to take away her win at a dance competition. What was the final straw is when Abby made fun of Chloe’s eye issue caused by a medical condition. The hatred that Abby had for Chloe was sad and so unnecessary and she truly had a hidden gem in having her as a dancer.
Love or hate her, it is clear that Abby Lee could either make or break you in the world of dance. Based on her favorites, it is clear that she favored and elevated some dancers over others. Given how harsh and cruel her teaching methods are, it’s surprising how the show was able to remain on the air for as long as it did. In conclusion, Dance Moms was a pinnacle part of the 2010s and greatly defined a generation through talent and entertainment.