Dance Moms – Season 4 Comes to an End!
The Dance Moms Finale of season 4 aired last Tuesday, September 7th in an episode titled Hollywood Here We Come Part 2.
The Abby Lee Dance Company teams headed to Los Angeles to compete in the Nationals Competition against other teams. As expected, the episode was filled with emotions, complaints from the parents, drama from Abby Lee Miller, and spectacular dancing from the girls.
Previously in Part 1 of Hollywood Here We Come, Abby announced that the soloists in the Nationals were Kamryn, Kendall, and Chloe. Much to Maddie’s shock, Abby declared that she would not be doing a solo. The mothers were worried that Abby had not spent any time with the soloists and that this would negatively impact the girls.
Abby was not pleased with the performance of Amber Alert that the girls planned on doing and called it a “hot mess” to the parents’ dismay. As in every episode, Abby demanded that her dancers give it all they’ve got and threatened to kick them off the team.
Tensions arose among the moms after Abby asked Maddie if she wanted to do a solo, to which the young dancer replied in a positive way. The moms demanded that it was not fair and that others should be given a chance, striking down the idea of giving Maddie a solo. To me, this seems unfair to Maddie and I feel like everyone should be able to get an equal chance. If Maddie deserved to have a solo, she should be doing one and not listening to the complaints coming from the moms.
Meanwhile, the dancers at Candy Apples Studio were practicing their routines to Chandelier by Sia. And yes, this is the same song that Maddie danced to in the music video. Now, her rivals were performing it in the Nationals and Abby’s team was not too thrilled about it. In addition, the team is being coached by the winner of So You Think You Can Dance?, which should give booster points for their dancers.
Back in Abby’s studio, the girls were rehearsing their number for Amber Alert one final time before they would be taking the stage at Nationals. The moms were angry that Abby had not spent time on the dance and was pushing the girls through boundaries that were too far for them.
To everyone’s surprise, Abby told Maddie out of nowhere to go and practice her solo. It seems that Abby is really trying to win the competition and wants to do everything that is possible and in her hands. Perhaps she had seen the dancers of Amber Alert and was worried that they were not good enough. Obviously the moms were once again against the idea of Maddie performing a solo and began to argue with Maddie’s mother.
The episode continued with arguments between the moms and Abby, which is what Dance Moms is mostly about anyways. Eventually the situation began to really heat up after Chloe’s mom called Abby a wicked witch. It certainly seems that the moms despise Abby, for various and personal reasons.
Abby Lee Miller has much expectations for Kendall and the dance she performed looked amazing. It seems that Abby doesn’t have as much faith in Chloe, which continues to anger her mother. In my opinion, Abby should work on encouraging her dancers more instead of putting them down. Chloe’s mother is frustrated with her, and blamed her loss of joy and passion on Abby, with much pressure coming on the dancer from all directions.
The day of the Nationals finally comes and ironically begins with Cathy handing out apples to the other teams. It was actually hilarious seeing all the dancers hold up apples when Abby came out of her car, which she referred to as a “cult.”
What really angered Abby was when she found out that Cathy’s team would be dancing to Chandelier and as always, Abby goes to pick a fight. Although Abby doesn’t get very far, the incident leads to Maddie dropping out of her solo performance. It was hard to see how Maddie pulled out of something she wanted to do and brought much shock to the situation.
First to dance was Kendall to My Name In Lights in the style of jazz. Personally, I loved her uptempo dance and her personality shined through her routine. Abby seemed happy and I would be too because her performance totally rocked. It reminded me a bit of a gymnastics routine mixed in with a bit of dance. (See Kendall and Jill’s Full Exclusive Interview on Feeling the Vibe.)
Kendall’s Performance during Nationals!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE7j4DxwFeQ
Next was Chloe with Soaring with the contemporary dance style. The song was a bit more down to earth than Kendall’s and there was less energy than the previous performance. Abby and Kendall’s mom did not look pleased, although I do not know why since Chloe was amazing.
Finally up for dancing with a solo was Kamryn’s contemporary dance to This Is The Start. Her acting ability shone on stage as she danced to the soothing song. Unfortunately right when she was going backwards, she tripped and fell down. Kamryn did not even blink an eye and covered the mistake with a back flip. It was totally professional and what any dancer should do in case of a similar situation. I loved that Abby was encouraging and gave her a warm hug in support, which is unusual.
Kamryn’s contemporary dance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiTGM4kTqPI
Definitely a favorite part of this episode was when a member of Candy Apples walked in playing Chandelier just to annoy the ALDC, and Maddie rose and began to dance to her routine. Talk about getting back at rivals!
When the Candy Apples were dancing to Chandelier, Maddie looked really angry and kept pursing her lips. Abby was sitting in the audience with a negative expression, even worse than the one she usually has. The audience loved the performance. In my opinion, the dancers did a great job but something makes it seem odd that Maddie wasn’t the one dancing.
There was no time for disputes as the dancers came on stage soon after to dance to Hollywood Star. This was definitely my favorite dance from the whole show, and the dancers did an excellent job with everything being done in tone. It was fantastic!
Amber Alert was the final performance for the ALDC and the girls danced their hearts out on stage. In my opinion, Maddie’s final few seconds in front of the audience were incredible. She should really consider acting in the future, well apart from reality television.
The winning team dance to Amber Alert!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QajOwj1l4ZE
The moment of truth finally came when it was time to give out the awards and everyone was anticipating excitement. Kendall got the 9th place Overall Solo Award, although her mom felt she deserved better. 6th place went to Kameryn and 5th for Chloe, to which Abby was shocked and upset that Chloe once again beat Kameryn.
To Abby’s happiness, Chandelier ended up getting the 5th place Group Award.
The Hollywood Stars received 2nd place and finally the top spot went to Amber Alert!
Abby looked pleased, although she was still angry that none of her soloists got 1st place. She seemed more upset that Maddie had not done a solo, as she figured that would have won them the top award.
As expected by previous events, a huge drama fight began between Chloe’s mom and Abby. It went back and forth and eventually led to Chloe leaving the ALDC team. Abby kicked out the Select Team, although they had beat the Junior Elites three times.
Overall, Dance Moms is well suited for someone who likes to watch reality television and enjoys seeing performances of dance. There is constant drama between the moms and Abby, which in a way adds constant thrills and excitement to the show. Abby is very unpredictable and it is very likely that a dancer will get kicked off if something doesn’t go as she wishes. I did not like how Abby constantly brought Chloe down and made her feel less than the others. Instead of giving her support, there was only nagging and rolling of eyes involved.
Abby has revealed that season 5 has already began taping and will be filmed as she opens another dance studio in Hollywood.
A special reunion episode is set to air this Tuesday 10/14 at 9/8 c on the Lifetime Channel. It will feature new dances, secrets, and more drama between Abby and the moms.
Are you excited for the next season of Dance Moms?
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