What specific qualities made Maddie stand out? Musicality, performance, adaptability, picking up choreography quickly, consistency, emotional expression, stage presence or technique etc.
And who on the show do you think actually came closest to fitting that definition?
I can’t tell if I’m tripping or not but this sounds like a fart😭
You can hear it right after she says “make me” it’s kinda low and in the background.
The only reason I caught it was because I was feeding my twins and I thought they were farting I was like which one of yall is tearing it up rn 😭
It’s S3 E39😭
I've always thought this about Brooke.
By Seasons 1-3, she was a teenager with arguably some of the strongest technique on the team. She had incredible flexibility, control, and acro ability, yet she was often dancing behind 9, 10 and 11-year-olds.
I know people will say she lost her passion for dance, but I wonder whether her role on the team contributed to that.
As a teenager, imagine constantly being put in the back while children several years younger were the stars. Instead of being treated like a leader or mentor, Brooke often felt like another background dancer despite being arguably the most technically accomplished dancers there.
I sometimes wonder whether Abby missed an opportunity. If she'd highlighted Brooke's strengths, given her more mature choreography and made her the senior leader of the team, would Brooke have enjoyed dance for longer?
Obviously we'll never know, but I can't help thinking her age and ability weren't really reflected in the role she was given.
I've always found it interesting that Abby seemed to present Kendall as the "jazz girl," but when I watch her dancing, I actually think lyrical and contemporary suited her much more.
Kendall's movement quality was naturally softer and more fluid. Even in jazz, her facial expressions were usually quite subtle and she rarely had the sharp attack or big performance quality that Abby seemed to want from her jazz solos. She had some great jazz routines, but a lot of them blur together for me.
On the other hand, her lyrical and contemporary solos often placed extremely well. Whenever she was given a more emotional, flowing routine, I thought she looked much more comfortable and convincing.
This is where I get more speculative. I sometimes wonder whether Abby knew Kendall had the potential to be a genuine competitor in lyrical, but preferred to keep her in jazz because Maddie was the studio's standout lyrical dancer. Whenever Kendall got what fans would call a more "Maddie-esque" solo, she often won or placed very highly.
Obviously that's just speculation, but I'm curious what everyone else thinks. Was Kendall actually better suited to lyrical, or do you think jazz really was her strongest style?
I've always found this fascinating.
In Seasons 1–4, it felt like production often framed Christi and Kelly as the difficult, dramatic moms while a lot of Abby's worst behaviour towards the kids wasn't explored in much depth according to what cast members have said since.
Then Season 5 happens and it's like the gloves come off. They show Abby arriving late, missing rehearsals, arguing with random people over parking, sitting in her car eating, showing up looking dishevelled, in her bra, excluding Nia, and they even start using flashbacks to expose contradictions in what she's saying.
They also seemed much more willing to support Holly and Nia's side of the story than they ever had with Christi and Chloe.
Obviously we can't know exactly what production was thinking, but why do you think the edit changed so much? Did Abby become harder to work with? Were they just following where the drama naturally went after Christi and Kelly left? Or was something else going on?
Mine is a Kelly quote in her last episode - Big Trouble in the Big Apple.
Abby is walking into the dressing room with Kira and Kalani and Kelly can be heard saying:
“She wanted us to sell t-shirts with her name on it? No!”
What an icon 🤣