This past week's episode of Dance Moms was unlike any episode before! It featured the original team members of the ALDC and was formatted as a talk-show reunion rather than a normal episode. All of the girls sat together and answered questions that viewers asked using nothing but one of our favorite social media outlets - Twitter! I thought it was so cool that this entire episode featured questions from fans via Twitter using the hashtag - #AskDanceMoms. It was really cute to see the girls speak for themselves without their mothers or Miss Abby present because you could tell they were a lot more comfortable and honest. Miss Chloe proved to remain one of my favorite gals on the ALDC because of how polite and sweet she is :)
After learning that all the questions were prompted via Twitter, I discovered online that the @DanceMoms Twitter page is awesome! They post multiple times a day and receive a lot of feedback from consumers. They must have a lot of success with their social media because a large part of their fan base is young girls that are very active on social media. I thought this was a really neat connection to our class!
Check out the Dance Moms Twitter here!
Monday, May 5, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Reflecting on MY year as a Dance Mom for BU Orchesis Dance Company
This past week I was WAY too busy to watch Dance Moms, so I have decided to write this blog post about the past year being my own Dance Mom to 11 wonderful dancers :)
I have been dancing since I was three years old and have never wanted to stop. It was great that when I came to Bradley freshman year there were so many options of dance teams to join. A friend of mine from home was a Senior Orchesis member at the time and told me about Orchesis, so I took the plunge and auditioned & four years later - here we are!
This past week my team held our annual recital and I could not be happier with how everything turned out. I was elected as President of the team this year and I really wanted to push myself and the rest of the girls to learn as many routines as possible for our show. It really was an honor to preside over the girls this year and I am so proud that we accomplished all of our goals and put on the best show that I have been apart of as a member of BU Orchesis. It is such a great feeling to hear my friends and family that had come to our recitals over the years express how impressed they were with our performance. Dancing with such a talented group of girls really made for a perfect ending to my dancing career. I will miss each and every one of them so much! It's so refreshing to bring together 12 COMPLETELY different girls, yet have us get along just because we all love to dance.
Now here I am on a Monday night writing this blog when at this time the past four years I have been at dance practice! Not sure how I am going to move on from something that has been apart of my life for the past 19 years but I am really hoping I will find a way to continue to dance through life :)
I have been dancing since I was three years old and have never wanted to stop. It was great that when I came to Bradley freshman year there were so many options of dance teams to join. A friend of mine from home was a Senior Orchesis member at the time and told me about Orchesis, so I took the plunge and auditioned & four years later - here we are!
This past week my team held our annual recital and I could not be happier with how everything turned out. I was elected as President of the team this year and I really wanted to push myself and the rest of the girls to learn as many routines as possible for our show. It really was an honor to preside over the girls this year and I am so proud that we accomplished all of our goals and put on the best show that I have been apart of as a member of BU Orchesis. It is such a great feeling to hear my friends and family that had come to our recitals over the years express how impressed they were with our performance. Dancing with such a talented group of girls really made for a perfect ending to my dancing career. I will miss each and every one of them so much! It's so refreshing to bring together 12 COMPLETELY different girls, yet have us get along just because we all love to dance.
Now here I am on a Monday night writing this blog when at this time the past four years I have been at dance practice! Not sure how I am going to move on from something that has been apart of my life for the past 19 years but I am really hoping I will find a way to continue to dance through life :)
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
The New Team Has Arrived
This week's episode of Dance Moms was everything we had been waiting for all season - the "new" team. As I mentioned in previous posts, Abby had been traveling all over the country searching for talent for her new team. This team will now compete against her already prestigious competition team comprised of our favorite little gals - Maddie, Mackenzie, Chloe, Nia, Kendall, and Kalani.
This page does a great job introducing each new girl and provides you with a video of each dancer as well as some photos! But there is a twist... Abby has decided to put Maddie on the new team. ruh roh....
After Abby introduced the new team, she started teaching choreography and theses were the routines she assigned: Kalani and Kendall were to perform a jazz/hip-hop duet against Ava and Sarah R. who were to perform a lyrical duet. It is a known fact that lyrical numbers score better at competitions, and this instance was no different. The new girls beat Kalani and Kendall by only a few points, even though I believe the K's had a way better performance.
For the group routines - the old team performed yet another hip-hop/jazz routine against the new team's lyrical piece. With Maddie on their side, the new team had yet another victory under their belts. Once again, I do NOT think the new team outperformed the old team, but lyrical routines are taken much more seriously at competitions.
Finally, Abby assigned a solo to Chloe and one of the new girls, Kamryn. Abby made Kamryn appear to bounds better than Chloe, but when it came down to their performance Chloe came out on top! Chloe is my favorite dancer on the show so this was very exciting to watch :) I am not liking this "new" team aspect all too much and I hope it doesn't last long!
The New Team from left to right:
Sarah H., Kamryn, Ava, Jade, Sarah R., & Tea
After Abby introduced the new team, she started teaching choreography and theses were the routines she assigned: Kalani and Kendall were to perform a jazz/hip-hop duet against Ava and Sarah R. who were to perform a lyrical duet. It is a known fact that lyrical numbers score better at competitions, and this instance was no different. The new girls beat Kalani and Kendall by only a few points, even though I believe the K's had a way better performance.
For the group routines - the old team performed yet another hip-hop/jazz routine against the new team's lyrical piece. With Maddie on their side, the new team had yet another victory under their belts. Once again, I do NOT think the new team outperformed the old team, but lyrical routines are taken much more seriously at competitions.
Finally, Abby assigned a solo to Chloe and one of the new girls, Kamryn. Abby made Kamryn appear to bounds better than Chloe, but when it came down to their performance Chloe came out on top! Chloe is my favorite dancer on the show so this was very exciting to watch :) I am not liking this "new" team aspect all too much and I hope it doesn't last long!
Friday, April 11, 2014
Abby has a heart!
This blog post is dedicated to Miss Abby's late mother Maryen Lorrain Miller. This past week's episode of Dance Moms focused on the fact that Abby's mother was dying and was not going to get better. Abby did not travel to the competition this week because she was so emotionally distraught, and the audience saw a side of her that had not been seen ever before.
The girls reminisced on memories they had with Mrs. Miller and Abby choreographed this week's routines in honor of her mom. Maddie and Chloe both performed solos at the competition that were musical theater style. Chloe placed 5th and of course yet again, Maddie placed 1st. Finally, the group of girls performed a lyrical routine to Amazing Grace in honor of Mrs. Miller. This piece was beautiful and at any other competition would have won by a landslide. But unfortunately that was not the case. Another studio called "Studio Larkin" which has a very good reputation and a strong group of dancers placed first in the group routines. When the girls called Abby to break the bad news to her, she responded unlike anything I could have predicted! She said "Girls, this week it was not about the competition. It was about my mother and honoring her in your performances and you did that." This was the most compassionate and human-like I have ever seen Abby behave and it was quite refreshing to see that!
One more episode before the mid-season finale!
Also - I found this super hilarious dance parody video to "Don't Drop That Thun Thun"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWaL2q38xdE
The girls reminisced on memories they had with Mrs. Miller and Abby choreographed this week's routines in honor of her mom. Maddie and Chloe both performed solos at the competition that were musical theater style. Chloe placed 5th and of course yet again, Maddie placed 1st. Finally, the group of girls performed a lyrical routine to Amazing Grace in honor of Mrs. Miller. This piece was beautiful and at any other competition would have won by a landslide. But unfortunately that was not the case. Another studio called "Studio Larkin" which has a very good reputation and a strong group of dancers placed first in the group routines. When the girls called Abby to break the bad news to her, she responded unlike anything I could have predicted! She said "Girls, this week it was not about the competition. It was about my mother and honoring her in your performances and you did that." This was the most compassionate and human-like I have ever seen Abby behave and it was quite refreshing to see that!
One more episode before the mid-season finale!
Also - I found this super hilarious dance parody video to "Don't Drop That Thun Thun"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWaL2q38xdE
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Underdog
This week on the Dedicated to Dance Moms blog, I would like to focus on a member of the group that usually goes unnoticed, Nia! Veteran member Nia usually flies under the radar, but this week she was given a solo by Miss Abby! Up until this point in the season Nia has only had two solos, neither of which have placed in the top ten. That is unheard of for the ALDC members who usually win first place in their age divisions.
Nia's solo was called "Damsel in Distress" which was a very animated, musical theater style piece. She executed the piece very well and the moms and girls were very impressed with their performance!
Nia's solo was called "Damsel in Distress" which was a very animated, musical theater style piece. She executed the piece very well and the moms and girls were very impressed with their performance!
Below is a video of Nia's performance:
All of Nia's hard work paid off - she placed 3rd in the competition! I was very happy to watch Nia excel since she usually is not noticed in a positive way. Way to go Nia!
Monday, March 31, 2014
Boys vs. Girls
Ever since the caveman era, there has been competition between genders - I remember running around on the playground when I was younger yelling "girls rule, boys drool!" This week's episode of Dance Moms definitely plays into the gender competitiveness that exists today.
As you all know, the Abby Lee Dance Company is comprised entirely of girls. These girls are unstoppable and have been completely unbeatable this season. There is another team that the ALDC competes against every so often - the Candy Apples Dance Center. Candy Apples and Abby Lee have had a budding rivalry over the years because even though the Abby Lee girls are phenomenal dancers, the CADC has something that the ALDC doesn't - BOYS. The male gender is a minority when it comes to the dance world, so a team with boys definitely has a leg up on the competition!
The CADC performed a routine that they had been practicing for a few weeks at the competition while the ALDC performed a routine that they had just learned that week! Crisis ensues when the music for the Abby Lee routine "Frost" is too quiet for the girls to hear. They get off to a rocky start but manage to pull it together and execute a great performance. Below are videos of the two routines. Did you enjoy watching boys perform over the girls? Also - any guesses on who won the competition?!
As you all know, the Abby Lee Dance Company is comprised entirely of girls. These girls are unstoppable and have been completely unbeatable this season. There is another team that the ALDC competes against every so often - the Candy Apples Dance Center. Candy Apples and Abby Lee have had a budding rivalry over the years because even though the Abby Lee girls are phenomenal dancers, the CADC has something that the ALDC doesn't - BOYS. The male gender is a minority when it comes to the dance world, so a team with boys definitely has a leg up on the competition!
The CADC performed a routine that they had been practicing for a few weeks at the competition while the ALDC performed a routine that they had just learned that week! Crisis ensues when the music for the Abby Lee routine "Frost" is too quiet for the girls to hear. They get off to a rocky start but manage to pull it together and execute a great performance. Below are videos of the two routines. Did you enjoy watching boys perform over the girls? Also - any guesses on who won the competition?!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Sister, Sister
Hello DM lovers. This past week on Dance Moms, the two sisters on the team - Maddie and Mackenzie - were put head to head at the competition. The two sisters are extremely strong dancers and have proven to be two of Abby's favorites. The funny part about their duel is that Abby made Mackenzie perform a solo that Maddie had performed when she was Mackenzie's age. The solo is called "Cry" and when Maddie performed it years ago, she won first place in her division. This put a lot of pressure on Mackenzie because everyone on the team is always being compared to Maddie. When Mackenzie is challenged to perform not just against Maddie, but with a solo that Maddie perfected, she is scrutinized the entire episode for not being enough like Maddie.
Below are two videos, the first is Maddie's performance of "Cry" from 2011, and the second video is Mackenzie's performance of "Cry" from 2014. Any opinions on who executed the solo better?
Below are two videos, the first is Maddie's performance of "Cry" from 2011, and the second video is Mackenzie's performance of "Cry" from 2014. Any opinions on who executed the solo better?
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