The lifetime reality show “Dance Moms” isn’t exactly a reality. In the show Abby Lee is the dance teacher who takes her advanced competition team to compete in various competitions. The hit-series portrays that dance is more about winning then having fun. Dancing is a lot more than the catty mothers, competitive dancers, and harsh dance instructors. The show doesn’t mention about how dance is the way to express emotion without having to say a word.
In each of the mothers’ eyes their daughter is the best dancer, of course they are biased. In Dance Moms they voice their opinion in a brash manner. In reality the mothers are supportive and humble of both their daughter as well as the rest of the dancers. As a personal experience I had all of the moms congratulate me on my victory, I was not scolded by them like I would’ve been in Dance Moms.
Not only does the show make the moms look psychotic but the dancers take competing against each other to a whole new level. For example two of the dancers off of the show; Chloe and Maddie compete against each other almost every week. When it comes down to 1st and 2nd they no longer care about their friendship, they care about winning. To prove that competing isn’t ruthless, my friend Hayley and I have been competing against each other for 4 years. One competition we competed for 1st and 2nd unlike Maddie and Chloe, we hugged and knew that our friendship was more important than winning, no matter what the outcome was. Dance brought us together, and it made us stronger friends and better teammates.
The dancers on the TV are trained by Ms. Abby Lee. Abby plays a huge part in why the dancers and moms are desperate to win. With a cruel teacher comes cruel dancers, Abby makes it clear that winning is the only option. Instead of using positive reinforcement like my dance teacher, Abby yells and gets frustrated at the kids when they do something wrong. Another thing that gets the moms fired up is how Abby chooses favorites. In a normal dance studio everyone is held to the same standards based upon your level. Not one person is praised more than another; everyone has an equal opportunity to shine.
I understand that TV producers have to make the show more interesting by exaggerating the truth but this show has given dance a bad reputation. It’s sad when parents won’t sign their child up for dance classes because they saw how Dance Moms negatively portrayed dance. But the dancers, teachers and moms are truly supportive not cocky or conceited. Dance is a passion for many, and it is the hidden language of the soul.