One of the dancers of the new Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC) Mini group on Dance Moms is Alysa Owen (in orange in the above photo), a talented nine-year-old performer. In the Jan. 19 episode, "Mini Dancers, Big Drama," her mom, Mary, said that she left her home and family behind to support Alysa being on Dance Moms. While the Minis seem so young compared to the ALDC junior Elite competition team comprised of girls like Maddie, Nia, Kalani, and Kendall, the Minis are around the same ages that some of the original Dance Moms girls were when they started competing with Abby Lee Miller six seasons ago. And, if Alysa and Mary can survive the drama of Dance Moms, Alysa could have a successful career ahead of her, too.
Since the inception of the Minis in Season 6 of Dance Moms , Alysa and Mary have gotten the least amount of screen time, which may actually be a good thing since it could mean that Mary is one of the rare drama-free moms on the current season. And, though she hasn't been a big focus of the show so far, don't confuse Alysa with Alyssa Chi who was a part of the Candy Apples and appeared a few times on Dance Moms in Seasons 4 and 5. Alysa with one "s" is just starting to gain notoriety as a dancer and her mom is understandably using the Dance Moms attention to manage a YouTube and an Instagram account for her daughter.
So, although Dance Moms hasn't shown fans much of Alysa, she does seem like a smart, talented dancer. When Abby asked Alysa who her favorite dancer in the whole world was, she replied by saying fellow Dance Moms star Maddie. While I would have been more astounded if Alysa said Gene Kelly or something (I realize that might sound preposterous for a nine-year-old, but he was one of my icons when I was close to that age), she said Maddie was her favorite dancer for the Abby-approved reasoning of "because she works hard and she tries her best." That's a pretty good rationale for respecting someone, so I was more than impressed with Alysa's response.
While drama equals attention on Dance Moms, I respect that Mary hasn't really been engaging in the fights with the other moms. Although I may be speaking too soon about what Alysa's future on Dance Moms holds, the young dancer's YouTube channel shows that she's got the goods to continue on the show — even without the drama. Check out some of Alysa's best dances off of Dance Moms.
"Heartburn"
At eight years old, Alysa performed this solo for her dance studio Innovation Dance Company. She is so sharp hitting the beats and has great musicality — not to mention boatloads of sass — in this jazz performance.
"Queen Bee"
Alysa shows again that she really excels when she has to have a lot of personality in her performance with this national title-winning dance. Although she does have a lot of work to do with her technique, turns, and jumps, her flexibility and extension — especially highlighted during her leg tilts — are pretty phenomenal.
"Simply Irresistible"
I'd venture to say that Alysa, the smallest of the three girls dancing in this trio to Robert Palmer's song, was the strongest performer in this number. While she could still use a little help with technique and pointing her back foot in jumps and leaps, the girl is nine years old! She has the talent to really become a great dancer as she grows up — as long as she and her mom can handle the drama of Dance Moms along the way.
Images: Richard Knapp/Lifetime; Lifetime
