We officially have a trailer and a release date for the Dance Moms reunion, and yes, we’re still embarrassed to say we’ll be watching. We’re even more embarrassed to say the clip of the kids — now all young adults, which is wild to think about — doing their pre-competition ritual has us weirdly emotional. But such is the very bizarre, “good with the bad,” legacy of this show. And that seems to be something the former cast at least tries to grapple with during the reunion. Although, we’re not expecting much emphasis on the deep reflection part. We are, after all, still stuck in a reality reunion special format.
Anyway.
So, what do we know so far? Well, there’s the who’s in and who’s out of it all. Nothing new on that front, but we’ll give you a refresher. Kalani Hilliker, Brooke and Paige Hyland, Chloe Lukasiak, JoJo Siwa, and Kendall Vertes are all part of the Dance Moms reunion. But, notably, some other big names are absent. And, if anything is news here, it’s that we can now confirm there will be shade thrown in those missing cast members’ direction. As you’ll see in the trailer, JoJo has an opinion — or, more likely, someone told her to have an opinion — on the likes of…we’re going to guess Mackenzie and Maddie Ziegler. (The other option would be Nia Sioux. But the series was always nothing if not consistent in making the Zieglers the center of negative attention.)
“Them not being here is kind of like, ‘let me erase my past, pretend it never happened, shove it down the drain. When it’s like…that’s why you are who you are.”
While we’re sure we’ll have plenty more to say about the “why you are who you are” bit once we’ve seen the full reunion, we already have some thoughts. First up: What you do is not “who you are.” So, even though Dance Moms was, in fact, a stepping stone to stardom for these girls, that whole take gets a no from us. Just no. Who you are is who you are. Sure, suffering through a trauma for everyone else’s entertainment might even shape you a little bit. But that’s…not exactly something to be proud of.
Which brings us to our second point, actually. It’s fine to look back and have no regrets. Additionally, it shows a lot of maturity to understand your privilege and be grateful, to be like, “you know what? I made it through, and look how it all turned out. I’m good.” But maybe…glorifying the experience, expecting someone else to still want to be attached to it instead of dealing in their own way, or — God forbid — allegedly engaging in similar behavior might just be a bad idea.
Basically, what we’re saying here is we won’t tell these girls how to feel about their complicated relationships with Abby Lee Miller, or with dance, or even with their mothers who put them in this vulnerable position in front of cameras in the first place. But for them to fail to extend that same grace to girls like Maddie, Mackenzie, and/or Nia is…not it. Worse, we’re assuming this is just more nonsense from producers trying to stir sh— up. So, good to see they haven’t grown to the same extent these former child stars did. Bravo. Slow clap. Feel shame.
Honestly, Kendall sums it up best:
“It’s just so bizarre that dance can get to that.”
And, well, it’s not like we an add anything positive to that. Because, unfortunately, dance is still getting to some very low places — even for all the highs it gives so many of us — to this day. No one ever learns, really. That, however, continues to be a story for another place and time. Not to mention, it will forever be a point that fills us with heartbreak and rage because we know how much of a life-saving thing dance can be, too.
Watch the trailer for the Dance Moms reunion here
The Dance Moms reunion premieres Wednesday, May 1, at 8/7c on Lifetime. Yes, we’ll be watching. No, we’re not proud of it.