‘Dance Moms’: Abby Lee Miller Didn’t Actually Control the Pyramid or Who Got Solos
It’s hard to think about Dance Moms without thinking about the infamous pyramid. It caused no shortage of fights between the cast and often dictated who might be performing a solo, duo, trio, or featured part at the competition. Whether the cast was shooting in Pittsburgh, PA, Los Angeles, CA, or abroad, the pyramid was usually along for the ride. But, even the most loyal Dance Moms fans might not know the whole truth about the pyramid.
Recently, some popular members of the Dance Moms cast sat down with Entertainment Tonight to promote their new podcast and to dish the details of their days on the popular Lifetime show. Dr. Holly Hatcher-Frazier, Melissa Gisoni, Kelly Hyland, and Jill Vertes all dropped some unknown gems for fans, but one of the biggest surprises surrounded the weekly pyramid. The moms revealed that Abby Lee Miller, dance teacher and owner of the Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC), didn’t actually have control over the pyramid.
The ‘Dance Moms’ producers controlled the infamous pyramid
Hyland shared that in Season 1 of Dance Moms the girls were affected by having a visual representation of how they ranked in Miller’s eyes. But, after Season 2, the girls realized that the pyramid was only for the sake of the show. In fact, Miller wasn’t even the one who made the pyramid. “They figured out that the producers were the one that actually made the pyramid,” Gisoni shared about her daughters and the other dancers learning not to put too much stock into the pyramid.
But just because the dancers learned not to put too much stock into the pyramid doesn’t mean that Miller followed suit. In fact, she often argued with the Dance Moms producers about who should be placed where on the pyramid. And the pyramid wasn’t the only thing that Miller didn’t have control over. The producers also were the ones that handed out solo, duo, trio, and group assignments. Naturally, this caused tons of friction between them and Miller.
Miller was constantly fighting with producers
“It always started with Abby being angry with the producers because she didn’t like either a storyline or the title [of the dance],” Vertes, who joined Dance Moms cast in Season 2, shared. “Because that’s when she would give out you have a solo you have a duet these people are in the group. And the producers would determine that and Abby never agreed to it. She always wanted to change their plans, their pyramid, their solos, so we would wait, we would come sit ready to film and sit there sometimes for hours waiting for Abby and the and the producers to quit their fighting and arguing.”
But why was Miller so insistent about changing the pyramid to one that she personally agreed with? According to Dr. Hatcher-Frazier, though there was never a pyramid in the ALDC studio prior to filming Dance Moms, Miller was constantly ranking her dancers in her mind. Therefore, it was important for Miller to see a pyramid that reflected where she felt her dancers were.
The ‘Dance Moms’ cast thinks some people would never dance if Miller controlled the pyramid
Furthermore, since the pyramid dictated who danced, Miller was also very adamant about who she felt should be given the opportunity to perform in what pieces. But, ultimately, Dr. Hatcher-Frazier shared that the producers making the pyramid was for the best because it allowed everyone to have an opportunity to perform rather than just those who Miller favored.
“If it wasn’t a directive then some kids would never dance and would never see another spot on the pyramid except for the bottom,” the Dance Moms cast member shared. “So I think there had to be someone else looking out sometimes because otherwise some people would be absolutely neglected.” Clearly, there’s a lot more that happened behind-the-scenes than Dance Moms fans thought. We’re interested in seeing what other secrets come to light now that the show has officially ended.
