‘Dance Moms’: 1 Dancer’s Doctor Predicted She ‘Wouldn’t Be Able to Walk’ if She Kept Competing
Though being on Dance Moms made household names of many of its cast members, the show also took a toll on its dancers. Not only were they grappling with the innate drama of the show, but filming the show was incredibly demanding for the young girls. Learning and competing at least one new routine every, single, week was no easy feat. And for one dancer, in particular, the physical stress that dance caused her body was staggering.
Brooke Hyland had been dancing for a decade before ‘Dance Moms’
Diehard Dance Moms fans will easily recall Brooke Hyland. An original member of the cast, Hyland was the oldest member of the Abby Lee Dance Company Junior Elite Competiton Team. Though the dancer was in her early teens when the show premiered, she had already been dancing for over a decade. And her love for the sport was already beginning to dwindle before the show started filming.
“I started dancing when I was 2 and quit when I was like 16, I want to say,” Hyland shared in a recent TikTok video “And I was dancing so much. Even before [Dance Moms] I was dancing a lot and was already like ‘Nah I don’t wanna do this, I wanna do cheerleading.’ And then when the show started, it was dancing even more all the time. We were leaving school early to go film and we were traveling every weekend.”
Fans will recall that Hyland also competed acrobatic and contortion solos during her tenure on Dance Moms. While some viewers may recall that she was injured in a few episodes, they may not realize just how dangerous competing had become for her.
Competing every week was taking a massive toll on Hyland’s body
“It was also taking a toll on my body,” the Dance Moms alum shared. “I was competing with dislocated shoulders. My back hurt so bad even when I was breathing. My doctor literally told me that if I was continuing to do the contortion that I was doing that I probably wouldn’t be able to walk by the time I turned 21.”
As Hyland once had dreams of using her contortion and acrobatic skills in a professional capacity, learning she’d have to give it up wasn’t the best feeling. “I never wanted to be on Broadway,” the Dance Moms cast member revealed. “I wanted to be in a Cirque du Soleil show, so all that news was not good for Cirque du Soleil.”
The ‘Dance Moms’ alum doesn’t regret quitting dance
Fortunately, Hyland had other dreams that she was excited about pursuing once she officially ended her career as a dancer. She pursued her passion for education by earning her college degree. These days, she works in influencer relations and has no regrets about not pursuing a career in dance. According to the Dance Moms alum, she’s not only able to walk, but she’s still dancing in bars.
