Last week, Paige won her category at the small competition they found at the last minute in Texas. Will it be enough to put her at the top of the pyramid?
Dance Moms Week 7 Pyramid
Abby tells the dancers that they are going to have a busy week, preparing for the Hollywood Vibe competition in Pittsburgh, PA. Since Abby Lee Dance Company is based in Pittsburgh, she says that the dancers will have targets on their backs and the other studios will be after them.
First on the bottom of the pyramid is Mackenzie. Abby says that she went from "first to worst in one routine", since she had won two first-place trophies and then didn't place last week in Texas. Apparently winning and then not winning is worse than never winning at all. Next up is Nia, who had a pretty routine last week and no problems, but didn't place. Next is Kendall, who Abby says still has some technique issues to fix.
The final person on the bottom of the pyramid is Maddie, who looks surprised, but that's because she actually didn't get carried off the stage in the middle of her dance last week (as the editing made it appear), and came home with a second-place finish. Abby tells her that she needs to realize that she made a mistake, and she can't change her mind in mid-air during a trick.
In the middle of the pyramid are Chloe (who Abby says just wasn't good enough last week, even though she won second place to Paige), and Brooke (because she apparently "fizzled at the end" of her solo). At the top of the pyramid this week is Paige, and deservedly so, for her first-place finish in Texas.
Hollywood Vibe Competition Rehearsals
Abby announces that their group routine, including all dancers except Mackenzie, is called "Private Eyes". The dancers will have prop guns, which makes the moms nervous about how they will be perceived by the judges.
In addition to the group, Chloe and Maddie will perform solos. There will also be a trio with Chloe, Maddie and Paige (taking her spot back from Kendal, who performed in the trio a few weeks ago). Kelly is upset that Paige is not performing a solo, after her win last week, but is happy that her daughter is back in the trio.
Jill, on the other hand, is livid that Kendall is not in the trio. The next day, she brings in what looks like a park bench to put in the lobby area of the studio, with a plaque that reads "To Abby Lee - Love Jill & Kendall". Abby says she likes it, but the moms think it's ridiculous the way Jill tries to buy Abby's attention for her daughter. Christy is worried that Melissa may try to out-do Jill now.
All the dancers have a bad day on the first rehearsal day, and Abby has them doing pushups for bent knees during group rehearsal. Jill goes downstairs to confront Abby for singling out Kendall, but Abby is ready for her. She says that Kendall is getting sloppy in her technique, and Jill needs to be as tough on her daughter as she is.
Later, in the trio rehearsal, Abby reveals that they are performing an older trio routine that they learned months ago. She hopes that this will just be a refresher for them, but the girls don't remember the choreography and are messing it up. Paige cries when Abby yells at her, prompting Kelly to go downstairs and take her out of the room to calm her down. Abby finally lets the girls go home, since they all end up "crying and yawning" at the end of the night.
The next day, during the group rehearsal, the girls start using their gold, plastic, toy guns. Chloe has the best line of the night: "Miss Abby said that, for our group dance 'Private Eyes', we were going to use plastic guns. And then she said we were going to blow the competition away. And I really hope she doesn't mean literally, 'cause we could get disqualified."
When the moms confront Abby about the guns, she defends herself by saying that prop guns are used in many shows on Broadway, including "Chicago", and that she has used them in routines before. The moms argue that there is something in the competition rules that prohibits the use of guns as props, but there is nothing on the Hollywood Vibe website other than that the routines need to be family-friendly.
In the final rehearsal for the trio, Abby has Kendall running the music in the studio, much like she did with Paige when Kendall was performing in the trio. Abby says that it is because Kendall is the "swing" dancer for this routine, in which case she would need to know the routine in case she needs to fill in for an injured or sick dancer. Jill sees it as just a waste of time, and a time when Kendall could be doing her homework instead. She pulls her out of the room and leaves.
Hollywood Vibe Competition in Pittsburgh, PA
At the competition, the solos run first. Chloe performs her lyrical solo, "Please", and has perhaps her best performance so far this season. Abby says that she did an amazing job, and her "emotional execution" was the best she's ever done. Madde performs next, with her contemporary solo, "Every Little Step", and also does an amazing job.
When the trio begins their routine, something is wrong with their spacing and it is unclear whether Paige started too late or just didn't hit her mark. Abby says that they blew it, and she puts her head down, refusing to watch the rest of the routine. Holly remarks to her that she "can prepare kids to take ownership of their mistakes without belittling them," but Abby just replies, "That's not my way; that's not my nature."
The group routine looks very well-rehearsed compared to some of their other performances, and is more of a jazz dance than a contemporary as it was explained in the beginning of the show. Abby thinks that they are finally dancing like one person, instead of six individual soloists, and that they look gorgeous.
During the competition, the cameras catch Jill talking to some of the moms from her old studio. Kelly confronts her about this, but Jill just says that she needs to keep her options open. Christy mentions offhand that Jill should "go back to Studio 19 if it was so great." [Their website hasn't been updated in a few years, so there are pictures of a young Kendall in their competition results. You would think they'd want to update their site after this free publicity!]
Abby and Jill have a confrontation before leaving the competition that speaks to what Jill really wants from her time at Abby Lee Dance Company. Abby tells her that technique "is a growing process, it takes years to develop." Jill responds, "And I don't think you should run your studio like that." Abby says, "I produce employable, working dancers, NOT 'competition kids'. You need to keep your eye on the ball."
Hollywood Vibe Competition Results and Awards
On the show, here is how the awards were portrayed: Chloe was shown as receiving 2nd place for her solo, and Maddie received 1st place and 1st overall. It wasn't clear what category they were in. The trio of Chloe, Maddie and Paige took home a 2nd place trophy (which Abby says "means they lost"). The group won 1st place, which Abby clarified was 1st place in the Jazz category, but they did not take 1st place overall, so they were disappointed about that.
So, what were the actual results? Although the group really didn't win 1st place overall, they were named a Battle of the Stars Finalist, and so they are able to compete for free at Hollywood Vibe's nationals. They received 1st place in "Intermediate Jazz Small Group" (with no 2nd or 3rd place routines named).
Maddie took home 1st place "Junior Solo", with no 2nd or 3rd place soloists named. The way it is worded on the website, it would appear that maybe she was the only dancer in her category. Her points must have been very good, because she did place 1st overall in Junior Solos. Chloe did NOT place 2nd to Maddie, in fact she placed 1st in "Intermediate Lyrical Solo". The trio did place 2nd in "Intermediate Duo/Trio".
Being that this took place in Pittsburgh, it is certain that Abby would have taken other students to the competition, right? She did take her older students, and they did very well. The competition only lists song titles and studio names on their website, so the dancers' names are unknown:
Teen Open Solo - 1st Place "Amelie" (also won Overall Teen Solo)
Teen Jazz Solo - 1st Place "Sinking Feeling"
Teen Duo/Trio - 1st Place "Miracle Worker" (also won Overall Teen Duo/Trio)
Teen Duo/Trio - 2nd Place "Birds"
Senior Lyrical Solo - 2nd Place "You Can Hear Me Now"
Senior Tap Solo - 1st Place "Easy Love" (also won 'Most Entertaining')
Senior Tap Solo - 3rd Place "Last Warning"
Senior Duo/Trio - 3rd Place "I Don't Feel It Anymore"
Hollywood Vibe also gives scholarships, and some of Abby's "other" dancers won them as well. A Mini Scholarship was awarded to Brooke Kosinski ("Dance Moms Season 3"??), and Teen/Senior Scholarships were given to Payton Ackerman, Nick Dobbs, Elizabeth Rohm, and Auriel Welty. Nina Linhart received a Ballet Scholarship, and John Fiumara was named "Senior Dancer of the Year."
Jill's old studio, Studio 19, did not have any competition-winning routines, but did have one Junior Scholarship winner.
Next week, Kendall goes back on probation!
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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