The most recent season of Dance Moms may have just ended, but Abby Lee Miller, her dancers and their mothers are back for another round of fierce competitions and intense fights, starting with the season 7 premiere, titled “Fight for Your Life.”
At the end of season 6, the drama between the Junior Elite moms and Abby reached its boiling point, as the Junior Elites left the ALDC and entered the competition independently. However, the Junior Elites ended up suffering a devastating loss, while Abby and her Minis stole the show.
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The Junior Elite moms may have expressed their hatred for Abby after the competition, but will their loss cause them to realize that their daughters truly need Abby to succeed? Let’s find out in the season 7 premiere.
Abby’s Big Announcement
Since the explosive competition, Abby and the Junior Elite moms have taken eight weeks apart so they could each figure out how they want to move forward. Despite all of the harsh accusations that were thrown around when they last faced each other, Abby has reached out to the moms and invited them back to Los Angeles so she can speak with them.
None of the moms have a clue about what Abby will say to them. They don’t know if she will beg for their girls to return to her studio or if she will try to screw them over one final time. The moms are all in agreement that if Abby asks them back and promises to change her ways, they will have an open mind and allow their girls to dance for her again.
The moms then enter the ALDC studios and face Abby for the first time in eight weeks. In true Abby fashion, she does anything but welcome them with open arms. “Look what the cat dragged in,” Abby says to the moms.
Abby tells the moms that they were completely wrong to let their girls go against her the way they did. The moms, on the other hand, are not letting Abby walk all over them and remind her that she was the one who tried to sabotage the team.
After the usual bickering, Abby does ask the moms to bring their girls back to the studio. The moms quickly agree because they have been losing ever since they went against Abby.
Before the week can begin, Abby has a major announcement to share. When the Minis return, she tells them that they “had a good run,” making it seem as though she is ending their team for good.
Once she fully explains herself, Abby reveals that having two competition teams just isn’t working out. She has decided to merge the Junior Elites and the Minis into one team. However, not everyone will stick around for the entire season. By the end of the week, Abby will be sending some girls home, in an effort to bring the ALDC back to its glory days with only the strongest dancers.
Due to their intense fight during the recent competition, Kerri asks Abby if she is truly wiping the slate clean and not holding any grudges when making her cuts. Abby says she cannot forget the past, so Kerri walks out of the ALDC doors with daughter Peyton. Kerri knows that Peyton would have been eliminated anyway since Abby hates Kerri.
While the rest of the girls and moms are upset to see Kerri and Peyton leave, Abby could care less. She knows that Peyton is not the only student who will be leaving, and her walking out helps her decision become even easier to make.
For the competition, both Brynn and Kendall will have solos. They will each pay homage to a specific strong woman in history. Brynn will take on Eva Peron, while Kendall is playing Cleopatra. The Junior Elites and the Minis will also dance together in a group piece titled “Fight Camp.”
Everyone’s Replaceable
As their girls rehearse, the Junior Elite moms and the Mini moms clash over who Abby will cut from the team. The Junior Elites are confident that their seniority will keep all of their girls safe, but the Minis think otherwise. Even though the Mini moms are usually pretty annoying when trying to create drama on the show, they are right that the Junior Elites are not necessarily safe since the ALDC won numerous first prize awards when the Junior Elites quit.
While watching each of their girls work on their respective solos, Jill and Ashlee become nervous that their girls might be sent home. They know that they are extremely talented, but Abby is always unpredictable. Would Abby really send home two Junior Elites over any of the Minis?
When the team arrives to the competition, things don’t look good for the Junior Elites. Abby decides to speak with the Mini moms in private, where she tells them that the Junior Elites are jealous of their girls. This causes a fight to break out between the moms, but it is Abby who winds up in hot water.
Holly ends up confronting Abby and questions why she would say that the Junior Elites are jealous of the Minis. Of course, Abby denies ever saying this, which completely baffles the Mini moms. Clearly, Abby has refrained from taking sides and has not made any decisions as to who she will be cutting from the team.
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The Performances
Brynn is the first ALDC dancer to take the stage. In the lyrical piece “Evita,” Brynn proves why she has been the most successful soloist this season. She executes her moves beautifully and is connected to the emotions behind the number. Once the performance ends, Abby seems thrilled with Brynn. Will this be enough to keep her with the ALDC?
The pressure is then on Kendall to do even better than Brynn to secure her place on the team. With “Cleopatra,” Kendall has a breakthrough moment. Some of Kendall’s previous solos have been a bit bland, but this one changes all of that. Kendall looks to be completely confident on stage, and she exudes all of the strength that made Cleopatra the fierce leader she was.
In the appropriately titled “Fight Camp,” the Junior Elites and the Minis battle it out for a spot on the team. Abby will have her eyes peeled during this performance to see which of her dancers are truly the strongest and can help the ALDC win again.
Bringing these two completely different teams together ends up being a mess. All of the girls are talented dancers, but the Minis are overshadowed by the Junior Elites due to the age difference between them and the fact that the Junior Elites have had many more years of training. Abby is clearly not impressed with the number because she is completely silent after they perform. If “Fight Camp” does not take first and the Minis are to blame, Abby may end up sending that entire team home.
The first awards given out are for the teen solos. Kendall ends up only winning third, while Brynn takes home first. “Fight Camp” matches Brynn’s success, as they also win the top prize in the group division.
Abby’s Cuts
After yet another fight between the Junior Elite moms and the Mini moms, Abby enters the dressing room to make her cuts. She is completely torn as to what she should do. She loves the Junior Elites since they have been with her from the beginning, so the Minis may be going home. However, she also cannot forget that the Junior Elites abandoned her and the ALDC recently, while the Minis stuck by her side.
Clearly, this is an incredibly difficult decision for Abby to make because she breaks down over sending any of the girls home. She ends up walking out of the dressing room and says she cannot make a decision at this time.
What did you think of the premiere? Did the Junior Elites make the right decision to rejoin the team? Should Abby have asked them back? Did Kerri make the right decision to quit before the week even started? What did you think of the performances? Who do you think Abby will cut? Be sure to let us know all of your thoughts in the comments section and in the poll below.
Dance Moms season 7 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Lifetime. Want even more news? Like our Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of Lifetime)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
