<p>Apparently Lifetime is putting together a “reality” show about dance moms, modelled roughly after Toddlers and Tiaras. The blurb talks about “overbearing dance moms pushing their daughters to the brink while vicariously living out their own dreams through their young performers.” </p>
<p>I’m seriously dreading this. Everyone who knows me knows that my D has danced competitively, and I imagine I’m going to get alot of questions about those crazy dance moms. And then of course, the general public watching will assume that we’re all crazed, ambitious, heartless maniacs. I’m sure there will be a scathing thread on CC too, just as there was for T & T. :(</p>
<p>OMG. They beat me to it! I was a Dance mom for years and another mom and I contemplated making a reality show or sitcom about it. During those long hours between dances waiting in the cramped dressing rooms and wandering the hallways, we heard and saw a lot! As I’m sure you do, LasMa! lol. We used to come up with ideas for each episode.</p>
<p>I will say, I miss those years, in spite of the craziness. Spending time with my D and and my friend and her D were some of the best times ever.</p>
<p>Does the show have a title or release date yet? I couldn’t find anything on a quick search…but as a mom who has logged a few zillion miles in the car on the way to ballet class, has tried to explain “summer intensive” as a concept…well, let me know more about this show…so I can watch, cringe, and be ready for the “discussion”.</p>
<p>Ugh. I was a dance mom, too. While I did see a few negative things (the worst being a studio director yelling at some of her dancers, our own studio director was horrified), I saw far worse behavior from soccer, swim and (especially) little league parents.</p>
<p>Another former dance mom here. I actually wonder why this hasn’t happened before - it’s reality TV gold. How would you do it, though? What credible studio owner would agree to let a camera crew in to film? What sane dance parent (and there are some) would agree to be filmed, and have their child filmed, in a reality show with the premise that dance moms are nuts? I think there would be a lot of blurred-out faces in background shots.</p>
<p>Who reads this:
and thinks, “I’m in!”? </p>
<p>FallGirl, I’m still shaking my head over the things I saw at my ds’ studio. That said, the single wackiest stage mother I ever met was a flute mom. Lots of opportunities for crazy out there.</p>
<p>Just joining in to say hi to the other dance moms. I lived that life. At least it was an indoor activity! </p>
<p>Of course, they’ll show all the 5 year olds with false eyelashes and loads of makeup, showing too much skin. I bet we’ll never see how those girls never go through an awkward stage, not even in middle school. Have you noticed that? You’ve got this kid who is skinny with bad hair, braces and glasses, but if she’s a dance company girl, she carries herself like she’s the most beautiful girl in the world. I loved that about dance.</p>
<p>Another dance mom here, although we shifted from competition dance to prepro ballet at 10. </p>
<p>missypie-you are correct about the lack of awkward stage. These girls had more discipline, stage presents and self esteem than any of the other girls in school. Not just my daughter, but all of the girl’s parents would be complimented on the way the girls carried themselves.</p>
<p>They also learn fabulous organizational skills. You have a 5th grader, who competes maybe 4 dances with 5-7 costume pieces each-gloves, hats, chokers, bloomers - plus all the shoes and makeup and earrings and hair clips. And she gets dressed in a room so crowded that the fire marshall would shut it down if he only knew. And somehow, she comes home almost all of the time with all the things she brought. Six years of dance company and six years of school dance, and I think D only forgot one hat one time.</p>
<p>As a dance mom myself I also cringe waiting to see how this world will be portrayed. No doubt there will be the token girl with the eating disorder (or at least a girl made to look as if her mother will not let her eat). The girl whose parents are spending more than they can afford to keep up with the girl whose parents have more money than the girl has talent. All of the stereotypes. Sabotage, backbiting, politics…the sad part is we all know these exist and now they will be magnified and dramatized for the world to see. </p>
<p>I believe the studio being profiled is out of Pittsburgh. I have not liked previous, smaller incarnations of shows like this (My Kid is going to be Famous, Showbiz Moms and Dads) as they did nothing to make the world of competitive dance look any better than the pageant circuit. My DD is not in competitive dance (ballet only) anymore but I feel bad for those still in it as they will be defending themselves ad nauseum after this.</p>
<p>One of my daughter’s was an elite-level rhythmic gymnast and those girls always get a bum rap like the dance/cheer competitors. People will comment about the leos/costumes and makeup and can’t see the level of athleticism, dedication, and practice/discipline that’s required to perform in many of these programs and to compete. Girls may get pushed in dance or gymnastics by their moms–but it’s no different than dads who push their sons in soccer, ice hockey, baseball, tennis, or football. There are nasty, pushy parents in every sport and that’s unfortunate.</p>
<p>“What sane dance parent (and there are some) would agree to be filmed”</p>
<p>Sane ones would be boring to watch. They don’t WANT sane ones. The crazies will agree to be on the show and provide all the entertainment value.</p>
<p>I have heard some stories over the years, like the dancer who had finally had enough and refused to get out of the car when her mother took her to the studio!</p>
<p>Around these parts (or maybe just in the classes Frazzled S and D took) it seems to be the science fair parents (many with amazing networks they can access on behalf of their children) who are over the top… But I suspect that most would be way too embarrassed to consent to be filmed.</p>
<p>Around here we have a couple of dads who come to every football practice. Starting freshman year. They’ve got their chairs out there every day. </p>
<p>We knew a choir booster club officer who was at the choir room *every day *helping the teacher. (This was high school.)</p>
<p>Just sayin’ that I bet you could get at least one season of a reality show out of just about every kid activity on the planet. The sane parents could fill you in on which kids and parents were unhinged.</p>
<p>With all my years at the dance studios, I really have only come across a couple of mom’s that really were wacko. Guess which of the children (now young adults) have some serious issues and how many of those girls still dance? The answer to the first question is all and the second none!</p>
<p>To date I have yet to hear about a dance mom who planned to kill, or killed, someone in the context of their child’s dance. I can name at least 3 instances where that happened in sports/cheerleading. </p>
<p>Yuh, this is exactly what the dance world does NOT need! It is hard enough for dancers to be taken seriously, and to get good work…
I had hoped that So You Think You Can Dance would have changed people’s opinions of Dance. I guess not yet!
Watch SYTYCD and support a show which is definitely advancing the cause in a great way!</p>
<p>As a dance teacher who has seen a great deal of damage done to girls who participate in competition dance (many, not all programs), IMO if this show discourages participation in competition studios, so much the better. Snowball, you did the right thing changing to pre professional ballet training. Putting young kids up for competition does NOTHING for their dance training, in fact in many cases it holds dancers back. The kids are practicing the same steps over and over instead of training their minds and bodies. So if all these moms look crazy and people start dropping like mad from these studios (again, they are NOT all bad, but many are), that will be a good thing for the dance world. I see a lot of dance students who have great performance energy, but they’ve been built up by their teachers to think that they have real technique. They get injured constantly because they don’t know how to jump, plie, warm up correctly, and safely stretch. Then, when they try to gain this technique, they really have no idea how to work that hard, and with the detail needed to train to become a professional. So I say, I hope the show demonstrates the ridiculousness of competition dance…</p>
<p>Then we can move on to real dance training. :)</p>