Abby Lee Miller just can't help herself when it comes to putting sisters Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler in competition with one another on Dance Moms. Although I didn't disagree with Abby's decision to switch Mackenzie with Maddie on Dance Moms as the lead in the group dance number during the June 23 episode, "West Coast Strikes Back," the moms of Dance Moms were displeased. Well, I should say most of the moms didn't like Abby's choice. Melissa — the mother to both Maddie and Mackenzie — agreed that Maddie had stronger facial expressions and was OK with Maddie being placed in the lead for the lyrical number "Voices In My Head."
The June 16 episode was called "Maddie vs. Mackenzie," and unfortunately, the sisters keep being placed in direct competition with one another. Mackenzie's acro-jazz number on June 16 was very impressive and she beat Maddie in the solo dance part of the competition. And while the focus should have been on Mackenzie winning, the moms kept accusing Melissa of favoritism toward Maddie when she admitted she thought Maddie's dance was better. (Agree to disagree, Melissa.) In "West Coast Strikes Back," Mackenzie was on the top of the pyramid thanks to her first place win, but the triumph was short-lasting.
Abby gave Mackenzie the lead in the group number, but told her that if it seemed like she couldn't dance well enough to get them first place, she'd be replaced. While the young dancer looked beautiful technically, she wasn't expressive enough and Abby decided to sub in Maddie. And since the girls were dancing against Erin Babbs's Murrieta Dance Project (MDP) at the Fierce Talent Competition, there was even more pressure to place in first for the ALDC, so that probably also heavily influenced Abby's decision to pull Mackenzie.
The moms jumped on Melissa instantly when the swap happened and asked her why she wasn't advocating for her other daughter. After sarcastically calling herself a bad mom, Melissa told Kendall's mom Jill to "go to hell" when she kept being pushed to defend Mackenzie. When the ALDC girls lost first place to MDP after a beautiful performance, the moms took the opportunity to say that maybe they would have won if Mackenzie had been in the lead, further annoying Melissa.
While I understand the point of defending your child to Abby, Melissa is absolutely right that she gets to make decisions about her daughters — not the other moms. And yes, she can be a bit complacent with Abby's actions, but she's also usually the most level-headed of the Dance Moms group. Honestly, I think the moms were kind of using Mackenzie to make the point that they are upset with Maddie being constantly in the spotlight. Well, hey! I'm upset with them constantly obsessing about the Ziegler girls.
And really, shouldn't have all of the moms just been focusing on how Mackenzie actually felt about being replaced with her sister instead of giving Melissa crap? I just hope all of this mom drama doesn't affect the relationship between the two sisters — who are both absurdly talented dancers and shine in their own ways.
