This is strictly an opinion piece, and I am not an expert on dance teaching techniques.
There has been controversy following Abby Lee Miller since the first season of Dance Moms debuted. Many say that her teaching style is too harsh and abusive. She is known for saying rude and derogatory things to her students in order to set them straight.
So I called your daughter roadkill. Get over it lady.”
— Abby Lee Miller
Many people are also upset about how she favors Maddy over many of the other students and gives more opportunities to certain students
Here’s what I think: I feel like Abby definitely takes it too far, however, it works.
That’s what I feel like everyone forgets about Abby, including the moms. They get so upset with Abby and don’t realize that what she’s doing is working and is giving their girls more attention from the media.
For example all of season 5, Holly and Abby were at each other’s necks about Nia’s opportunities while in LA. Holly felt like Abby wasn’t giving Nia the chance to branch out like Maddy and Kendall were so she took it into her own hands to find Nia a music producer and create a music video. She then got mad at all of the other moms for not backing her up when Abby started not including Nia from certain team functions and not giving her the same amount of attention anymore.
Empty chair do a solo!”
— Dr. Holly
While I can see why Holly would be upset, I believe that she did it to herself. She chose to go against Abby and fight with Abby about it. That is obviously going to limit your chances of Abby giving Nia more opportunities.
I think what people need to realize is that Abby Lee Miller gives more opportunities to the girls when the moms do what they are asked to do. I understand that not everyone agrees with this, but it’s the system. If you don’t like it and choose to go against Abby, you can get upset when she takes your daughter’s solos away. It isn’t a new thing for Abby.
Maddy has gotten so popular because Abby gave her more opportunities as a reward for Melissa doing what she is told to. She built up her reputation with Abby from the very beginning as the other moms didn’t. This made them so far behind that Maddy just continued to get ahead.
The structure of her teaching is designed to either put you way ahead or keep you were you are.
Either way, the kids are getting more opportunities simply from being on the show.
