Ballet and Dance Parents - Ever Concerned About The Pressure And UN-Reality of Dance Reality TV?

Dance parents! Please read THIS post at Dance Studio Today.



"How To Open A Dance Studio...Dance Moms Reality TV

UPDATE 1/9/2012:
GMA had a clip this morning of this show and I understand that there is now DANCE MOMS 2 being filmed at Stars Dancers Studio in Miami FL. The studio is owned by a season 6 So You Think You Can Dance Competitor Victor Smalley and part of the Federation of Dance Competitions machine. I understand that the Dance Moms series is now going franchise with plans for shows from the Midwest and the west coast. I still feel the way I did yesterday, this show hurts children and that is the point of this blog. BOYCOTT THE SPONSORS and to use a cliche, "save the children". It isn't about the adults it is about the bullying of children and right now that is a popular topic. If I still owned a studio I would boycott the advertisers of THE FEDERATION OF DANCE COMPETITIONS too!!

DANCE MOMS and its effect on the Dance Studio Industry

The intent of reality TV is to present real life situations in a scripted format (sorry fellow dance aficionados this includes SYTYCD). If that is true then the producers of this show see the dance studio industry in the following format:

* Overweight women, poorly trained in the dance arts who obviously no longer train and lack body tone, limited education past high school, egotistical control freaks who enjoy bullying for bullying’s sake especially those who are better educated than they are
* Parents, mainly women, who want to live their lives through their children, who accept inappropriate treatment by those to whom they pay a fee to do so, even the well-educated are vulnerable
* Competitive venues that promote and encourage teachers who exhibit the Abby Lee behavior (this is obvious since the first event to allow this woman to be videotaped did so gleefully)
* Costume manufacturers who create inappropriate outfits that encourage young girls to mature too quickly, the designs are inspired by previous competitive performances
* Young choreographers who design routines based on their personal level of achievement and not the children they are entrusted with to train


If you believe that Abby Lee’s methodology and model for running a dance studio is the correct one, stop reading this blog and move on. If you think your business is in jeopardy because of this show (which it is) then continue reading.

Due to illness I am no longer a studio owner, BUT I still think it is the best job I have ever had. My resume shows the industries I have worked in. I have created a petition to get the sponsors to drop their advertising on this show based on the website ads for it, the biggest is Macy’s. We need to come together as a community of learners who are concerned how this show, in its second season (usually the season that establishes it will continue), affects our bottom line. This includes ALL who are involved in the dance studio industry, owners, teachers, bloggers, costume manufacturers, competition companies, event venues, makeup companies, and presenters of educational seminars, ANYONE who is involved in our industry in any format.

I was a “dance competition pioneer”; I had one of thirty-five entries in the first New England based private competition in 1973. I created the original ADJUDICATED competitive scoring system that many at first ridiculed but are currently using/abusing, in 1977 for my own competition based on concepts I developed with my partner, a corporate attorney. About the same time the persona Abby Lee portrays began to develop, marketed by those who decided they wanted all the pie not just a piece of it. Routines promoting negativity emerged including a routine that portrayed mentally ill people in an 1800’s health care facility format, incorporating gaudy hair design, gothic makeup and children dancing in strait jackets. My clientele contained professional people who encouraged me to stop entering their children into these venues and only allowed them into my event, as I also felt discouraged that this was to be the “new” trend for the dance studio industry for children on an intensive level.

I transitioned into public education in 1991 first as an English teacher then as a technology integration specialist. Through professional development courses sponsored by my employment districts I learned better approaches to teaching than those emulated by others in dance studios, then and now.

I know many wonderful teachers who agree with me, they do not manage their businesses using this model. They promote positive behavior on all levels as administrators. Professional dancers shudder that this woman represents the many hours of training they have engaged in to be as polished as they are. The show is a misrepresentation of our industry on many levels.

I encourage you to sign the petition I created on December 20, 2011, after viewing the advertising promotions for this show. As the show progresses this season I think more of you will begin to realize your livelihoods are in jeopardy.

Please share this blog post with others; we are all in this together. I believe, in dance there are no strangers only friends who haven’t met yet.

Thank you for reading,
Jann Davis

Petition is here:" and the rest of the post.