Kelly drops off her daughter, Brooke, at a restaurant. Brooke says that she "invited Miss Abby to come out with me so I can tell her that I want to come back to dance." She interviews that, while she tried cheerleading, it's not her "thing." Most viewers saw this coming, and apparently Abby did too. She is upfront with Brooke, telling her that it's not that easy. Abby says that Brooke should have talked to her about cheerleading ahead of time, instead of just not showing up at rehearsals. She can return, but will need to prove herself.
Dance Moms Week 5 Pyramid
Back at the studio, Abby presents Kendal with a team jacket, officially taking her off probation. This week, the dancers will travel to Long Island, NY, for their next Starbound competition (their second Starbound regional this season).
In this week's pyramid, the bottom row starts with Mackenzie. Abby says Mackenzie did well with her solo last week, and she will do even better this week. She is not in the group dance, but will be performing an acro solo. Nia is next in line, and Abby says this is because her mom pulled her off the featured role of the "bully" in last week's group routine.
Paige is third in the bottom row, because she only performed the group number last week and so, according to Abby, there is "not a lot to judge on." Finally, Kendal is the last one in the bottom row. Even though she is no longer on probation, there is a lot of work she needs to do with her technique.
The middle row of the pyramid has Madde (who won her category and overall, but needs to continue to be challenged, according to Abby), and Chloe. Abby tells Chloe that she needs more confidence and arrogance backstage and while at competitions.
With this, the moms all start questioning Abby's judgement by putting Peyton at the top of the pyramid. However, Peyton is just not on the pyramid at all, and Brooke is revealed as the top dancer. As Brooke enters, the younger girls embrace her and then realize that Peyton is crying, so they run to hug her as well. Abby tells Brooke that she is doing a solo this week, and she "demands" that Brooke win to regain her spot on the team.
Abby explains to Peyton and Leslie that Peyton was just not the right replacement for the group. Leslie shouts back, since she thought that her daughter would be permanently on the team, even though she was still only on probation. They both storm out of the studio.
Competition Rehearsals in Week 5
With the moms up in the observation room, Kelly mentions that she feels bad for Peyton, and all but Jill agree. Jill starts what seems like an episode-long tirade without a breath, when she says, "Are you kidding me? How could you feel bad for her?" Christi aptly states, "Because she's a kid."
The group routine is a jazz dance called "Avalanche", which Abby says is about the "rise and fall of cheerleading." Paige begins with a "special part" and Jill is immediately upset that this part (and all the others) isn't given to Kendal. She marches downstairs and confronts Gianna, who is choreographing the group dance with Abby, saying that Kendal should have a special role in this number. Gianna relays the message to Abby, who remarks, "Maybe she doesn't understand that it's inappropriate to question a choreographer."
Mackenzie rehearses her acro solo, "The Party Starts Right Now", and blows Abby away. Abby starts crying when she is done, and says, "This is why I do what I do." She is very impressed with 7-year-old Mackenzie for learning an entire routine in 30 minutes.
On the other hand, Brooke has been away from dance for two weeks and somehow is already rusty. She practices her acro solo, "Starry Night", and Abby is not impressed and says she needs to work very hard in order to win.
Fighting Between the Dance Moms
In this episode, the moms are going crazy. Now that Jill's daughter is off probation, she definitely lets everything out. At a get-together at Kelly's house, Jill talks about what she plans to offer Abby in order to get her daughter the best parts. The other moms accuse Melissa of kissing up to Abby by working in the studio for free, but Melissa insists she pays for what her children get. Christi says that she "plays a game," and Holly theorizes that the "root of all the tension between the dance moms is that Melissa is Abby's friend."
Melissa thinks she may have an ally with Jill, but Jill takes the friendliness and gift-giving to a whole new level when she brings a "surprise" to the studio for Gianna and Abby. She has massages arranged for them in one of the studio rooms, which she has redecorated to look like a spa. The teachers enjoy their massages while, apparently, someone else teaches the dancers, since all the moms are also at the studio. The other moms find the spa setup, and attack Jill for her over-the-top display. Abby says "she's playing the game, but it doesn't make her kid a better dancer."
Starbound Competition in Long Island, NY
The bus takes the dancers to East Islip High School in Long Island for the Starbound competition. Again, it is mentioned that the girls are "national champions" at Starbound, so everyone expects them to win. Mackenzie does very well in her solo, while Abby thinks that Brooke did not have her best performance. In the Junior Petite Solos, Mackenzie takes the 1st Place prize. In Teen Solos, Brooke comes in at 3rd Place.
Kelly is nervous, because Abby told Brooke she had to win. However, when Abby returns to the dressing room, she says that Brook did well, but didn't give 100 percent.
As the moms begin to argue again, Gianna wisely takes the group dancers into the hall to rehearse. Before joining them, Abby tells the moms that whatever is going on between them needs to be fixed, because this is about the group and the team.
The group performs well, but not to their best. Christi questions to choreography, thinking it doesn't actually go with the song and the whole cheerleading theme was lost. They end up winning 2nd Place in Top Junior Groups, with a score of 290 out of 300, which the announcer says is impressive. However, another studio came in ahead of them. Abby says (incorrectly) that this is two weeks in a row that they didn't win, and next week they either need to win big or lose big, but no more 2nd places!
Jill once again starts in with questions about when Kendal will have a solo or a special part. Abby retorts with: "Abby Lee Miller was not put on this earth to make your kid feel special, understood? It's about getting these kids to where they need to be." Abby threatens that, if she needs to lose someone in order to gain a cohesive group, she will.
Actual Results at Starbound
This week, the results that were shown on the episode were correct. Mackenzie actually did place 1st in Top Junior Petite Solos. Brooke also did place 3rd in Top Teen Solos, and the group really did come in 2nd place in Top Junior Groups.
However, what you didn't see were three other acts: Maddie performed the same solo that she did last week, "The Girl I Want to Be", and took home 1st place in Top Junior Solos. Chloe also performed a solo, and competed in the same category, which the show usually enjoys playing out. Chloe came in 3rd place Top Junior Solos with "I Want to Be a Rockette". In addition, Maddie and Chloe also performed a duet in the Junior Duet/Trio category, called "Inside of Me", and they won 1st place.
Maddie and Chloe apparently didn't get much screen time this week, to focus on Brooke coming back, Peyton and Leslie leaving, and Jill turning into (more of) a crazy person. Next week, Jill goes even further off the deep end!
Terry Finch - Terry Finch is a dance teacher and choreographer in Central PA with an extensive training and teaching background in many forms of ...
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