One show I have been binge watching during quarantine is “Dance Moms.” I was a huge fan of the show from the beginning and still follow a few of the OG’s on instagram. However, as I started rewatching the show, I got tired of all of the drama so I went on YouTube and looked up so of my favorite solos from every dancer that was on the show up to season six. So if you also want to just enjoy some dances without all the added drama, here is a list of my favorite solos from every girl that was considered an official member of the ALDC Junior Elite Team or Select Team up to season six!
- Nia Sioux Frazier- “Goodbye Maya” (Season 4, Episode 28)
-
Nia was a dancer who was easy to root for. You just wanted to see her win! It was wonderful to see her perform such a beautiful and mature piece. She is so strong throughout the dance and has great control of all her movements which allowed her to deliver her spoken parts with great poise.
PLACEMENT: 1st in Teen Solo, 1st Overall Solo
- Brooke Hyland- The Diary of Anne Frank (Season 2, Episode 26)
-
This was one of my favorite solos by Brooke because while doing some unbelievable contortions, she was also telling a story with her emotions in this dance.
PLACEMENT: 1st in Teen Solo, National Teen Miss Energy in 2012
- Paige Hyland- “Make Some Noise” (Season 2, Episode 6)
-
I think we were all rooting for Paige whenever she had a solo. She was always so supportive of the other girls, I just wanted to see her succeed in her dances. As a result, “Make Some Noise” is my favorite solo of Paige’s because it shows off how great of a dancer she was. Her technique is fantastic and she executes all of her tricks so cleanly. Best of all, she looks like she is having so much fun. I wish we were able to see more Paige solos like this so I am also recommending her “Boys, Boys, Boys” solo that she did before she was on Dance Moms!
PLACEMENT: 1st in Elementary 4-6 Solo, High Energy Solo Award
- Chloe Lukasiak- I Know It’s Too Late (Season 3, Episode 34)
-
If there was one skill I could steal from Chloe, it would be her turning ability. In all honesty, Chloe was my favorite solo dancer on the show so it was hard to pick a favorite solo of hers. I chose “I Know It’s Too Late,” because of her beautiful turns, her stunning technique, her emotional execution, and because of the side aerial! If you remember, Chloe had a hard time with acro skills and I was always proud of her whenever she was able to execute a trick such as a side aerial!
PLACEMENT: 1st in Junior Solo
- Mackenzie Ziegler- Out of My Mind (Season 4, Episode 26)
-
One thing that always annoyed me on “Dance Moms” was when Abby told Kenzie she had to dance more like the older girls but then she gave her a “cutesy” solo. Mackenzie had lots of amazing solos on the show, this girl could do tricks I could only dream of doing. “Out of My Mind” is my favorite Kenzie solo though because it felt like one of her first “mature” solos. Yeah, it still has Kenzie’s signature tricks, but you can also appreciate her technique and the fluidity of her dance moves.
PLACEMENT: 3rd in Junior Solo
- Maddie Ziegler- The Hostage (Season 6, Episode 18)
-
I think every Dance Moms fan has tried to do “The Maddie Face” at least once. Well this is my favorite Maddie solo because she shows that her emotions go far beyond just “The Maddie Face.” In addition to that, I felt like this dance was not loaded with so many tricks but instead showed off how beautiful her technique is.
PLACEMENT: 1st in Senior Division, 1st Overall (Maddie received a near perfect score on this dance, scoring 298/300 points)
- Vivi-Anne Stein- “Honeybee” (Season 1, Episode 4)
-
Vivi didn’t have many solos on the show. To be fair though, she was around 6/7 when she appeared on the show and her bee solo is actually iconic. With that said, I dug around a bit to find better dances of Vivi’s. I recommend watching this tap trio she did. However, I also wanted to look at some of her solos and found this one called “Dream to Dream.” What I love about this dance is that you can see her flexibility has improved a lot! Most importantly, she seems happy and I think that’s what makes this dance so wonderful to watch.
PLACEMENT: Did not place
- Kendall Vertes- “VooDoo Doll” (Season 3, Episode 41)
-
This might not have been Kendall’s best solo, but I love this solo! You can tell how confident she was beause of how she used her emotions in this piece. She nailed her turns and she kept her feet pointed. Jill’s little Kendall killed this dance!
PLACEMENT: 2nd in Junior Solo
- Payton Ackerman- “Can You Predict the Future?” (Season 4, Episode Special)
-
We didn’t get to see a lot of Payton’s solos on the show and, in my opinion, I don’t think her performances on “Dance Moms” reflected her best dance abilities. However, I chose this as my favorite solo of hers because it’s very different than what we usually see on the show. While she doesn’t do many tricks or turns, all of her movements are very sharp which is why I think she placed so high. In case you’re wondering, Payton’s forte has always been hip-hop. In fact, Payton is now a dancer in LA, you can see her dancing in this video (skip to around 9:16 to see Payton!)
PLACEMENT: 2nd in Teen Solo
- Sophia Lucia- “New Reality” (Season 3, Episode 2)
-
Sophia might have been considered a “guest dancer,” but I had to include her in my list. Before coming on Dance Moms, Sophia found fame after doing a record 55 consecutive pirouettes. With that said, the solos Sophia did on the show are nowhere near her best solos. However, I chose “New Reality” because it was my favorite solo she had on the show. What I find most impressive is how much control she has when she is turning. It’s mesmerizing. Beyond the show though, my favorite Sophia Lucia solo of all time is “Requiem.” In fact, this is probably my favorite dance solo of all-time from any dancer. Her moves are so fluid she makes everything look unbelievably easy.
PLACEMENT: 1st
- Asia Monet Ray- “The Robot” (Season 3, Episode 18)
-
Asia was not just a dancer, she was a performer! All of Asia’s dances were so advanced, I often forgot she was only 7 on the show! My favorite solo she performed was “The Robot.” To begin, look at her faces! She really knew how to get into her role. In addition to that, her energy is off the charts, and just look at her a la seconde turns! Honestly, this child was a dance robot.
PLACEMENT: 1st
- Kalani Hilliker- “Swan Solstice” (Season 4, Episode 9)
-
Kalani was one of the most talented dancers to ever appear on the show. While she had many beautiful solos, my favorite was “Swan Solstice” which was one of the first solos she had on the show. Kalani had the most beautiful technical abilities. Her legs and feet are so beautiful in this dance. Most of all, I love how graceful her acrobatic tricks are in this lyrical piece. Everything is so clean, it’s honestly hard to not admire how much control she has when she dances.
PLACEMENT: 1st in Pre-Teen Solo
- Tea’ Adamson- “No Crybabies” (Season 4, Episode 26)
-
In my eyes, this was not the best choreography for Tea. I think she is capable of much more so it was unfortunate this was the only Tea solo we got to see on the show! She did a great job in her dance though but I think some more challenging choreography would have helped her place higher!
PLACEMENT: 5th in Junior Solo
- Kamryn Beck- “Fate” (Season 4, Episode 16)
-
I really thought it was too bad we didn’t get to see more of Kamryn’s dances on the show because she was a great dancer. I chose “Fate” as my favorite solo of Kamryn’s because I thought the choreography was beautiful. Her turns and her flexibility shine in this dance. It’s just gorgeous to watch.
PLACEMENT: 1st in Teen Solo, 3rd Overall Miss Energy
- Jade Cloud- “Far East” (Season 4, Episode 26)
-
I think Jade was one of the strongest dancers to appear on the show. I also thought it was too bad that she had to do an acro solo as her only solo on the show, because we could tell from the group dances that she was a great all-around dancer. With that said, her flexibility is amazing. Her dancing in general though is extremely fluid. She makes every move look so easy.
PLACEMENT: 3rd in Pre-Teen Solo
- Ava Cota- “Hurtful Words” (Season 5, Episode 18)
-
Ava was in a lot of episodes of Dance Moms but was only an official member of Abby’s team for a few episodes. Due to that, I did feel the need to include her in my list. However, I decided to choose a dance she performed against Abby. This solo is haunting. Her lines are beautiful and she does a wonderful job conveying a story, especially because she is dancing to a song with no words. I’m so glad Ava has been able to find success after her appearance on Dance Moms. Last year, she starred in Netflix’s “Tall Girl” last year!
PLACEMENT: 1st in Junior Elite Solo, 1st Overall
- Sarah Hunt- “On My Own” (Season 4, Episode 26)
-
If you can’t tell yet, this episode was jam-packed with great solos. I loved this solo of Sarah’s. Despite being so young, her dancing was extremely mature. This solo specifically reminded me of a dance Maddie would do. Her technique at only nine years old is great and she has such great fluidity when she dances.
PLACEMENT: 1st in Petite Solo, Petite Miss Energy
- Sarah Reasons- “Sun Goddess” (Season 4, Episode 28)
-
Sarah Reasons was another dancer whose flexibility meant she would be doing an acro solo on the show. However, if you’ve seen any of Sarah’s solos with Club Dance, you can see how beautiful of a contemporary/lyrical dancer she was. Here’s the solo she competed at The Dance Awards for Best Dancer in 2015. However, going back to the solo. Sarah’s tricks in this dance are great but I just feel like she never really got into the character. Sadly, this is the only solo she competed on the show.
PLACEMENT: 2nd in Teen Solo, 4th Overall
- Jojo Siwa- “Fancy” (Season 5, Episode 13)
-
Before Jojo Siwa was Jojo Siwa, she frustrated me with how many turns she could do despite having such a low releve. However, that’s not important right now. In all honesty, this is not the greatest solo in terms of technique. However, Jojo pulls you in because she is performing. When you watch the dance, aside from the turns, the side aerial, some leaps and her signature move (the one-handed handstand), there weren’t very many difficult moves in this dance. However, she reels you in because that girl is performing onstage. Honestly, I’m not surprised she has built such an empire. That girl knows how to entertain.
PLACEMENT: 1st in Junior, 2nd Overall
- Brynn Rumfallo- “Botched” (Season 7, Episode 9)
-
Brynn is another dancer who found fame before Dance Moms. If you didn’t know, Brynn was a part of the group “Fresh Faces” who appeared on America’s Got Talent a few years ago! My favorite solo Brynn ever performed on Dance Moms was “Botched.” Before I start though, I hated the conversation around her inability to emote when she danced. As you can see in this solo, Brynn emotes through her dancing. She is telling a story without using over-the-top facial expressions. One of the most mesmerizing aspects of this solo is her musicality. The song she is dancing to doesn’t have any words but the audience is able to understand the story she telling because of how she synchronizes with the music. I will say though, this is not my favorite solo of all-time that Brynn has done. Check out “Enter One” if you want to see how wonderful of a dancer Brynn really is!
PLACEMENT: 1st in Teen Division, 3rd Overall
- Camryn Bridges- “Breaking Free” (Season 7, Episode 26)
-
Okay, I was only going to look at official ALDC dancer through season six but I made an exception for Camryn because I think she deserves some more recognition. She is a fantastic dancer and honestly, this solo is one of my favorites I have ever seen on the show. There is so much actual dancing in it, she doesn’t have to rely on lots of tricks which is part of why I found this dance so amazing. You can see how passionate she is about dancing by just watching this dance.
PLACEMENT: 1st in Teen, 1st Overall