Do you remember that disturbing viral video that went around showing a dance troupe of young girls, like 7-years-old young, grinding provocatively to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies?” Well Lifetime television is giving its viewers a full understanding of just how something like that could happen in the form of their reality show Dance Moms.
Abby Lee Miller runs a renowned dance studio and she’s head strong and determined to do what it takes to win. Imagine Toddlers and Tiaras but just a little bit older. Abby’s actions can be shocking enough but the parents who come along for the ride with their daughters in tow are perhaps even more provocative.
On Wednesday night’s episode (which I have in full below) Miller concludes that for her 8 and 9-year-old students to compete successfully they needed to up the sexy factor. I’m not kidding you, this is real and apparently not so rare in the world of youth competitive dance. Abby tells one of her students that:
“You have to be really hot. Sexy. Make it like you’re 17 years old.”
Before I go any further, here is the following full 2nd episode of Dance Moms:
If you don’t have time to watch the full clip, some of the parents actually had a problem with the routine and seeing their children spreading legs and spanking their own backsides. The real kicker is how Abby defended the routine:
“Go ask your 9-year-old if she likes what she’s wearing.” She goes on to explain that, “When a parent opens their mouth they are ruining their child and that’s what they need to think about.”
That’s right, her defense is that the young girls who aren’t mature enough to know any different really like the costumes and that when their parents speak in defense of them they just hurt their chances at becoming a great dancer. Here is the dance in question, which I think Lifetime even felt like it needed to censor, that the girls ended up performing:
I’m interested to hear from some readers who are involved in youth dance and how you feel about Abby’s aggressive approach?
