A Reality Television series on Lifetime started in August 2011. The show is about the mothers of daughters who are learning to dance.
This series provides examples of the following:
Age Inappropriate Dress: As mentioned in an episode where the girls received NO awards for their 'barely-there' costumes.
Arguably the outfits the girls wear to practice in as well - most of the time, they wear crop-tops and booty shorts. In the spin-off series, the girl who wears the shortest top is the oldest girl, Jessie, even though she's technically the only one of the group (except maybe Sammi) who actually needs to wear a shirt...
And what about the infamous "topless showgirls" dance? The clothing was picked out to give the effect that they were naked.
Justified. Maddie is constantly on the top of the pyramid and gets all of the solos.
Ambiguously Gay: In the spin-off series "Dance Moms: Miami", the dance instructors, Victor and Angel.
Bare Your Midriff: Practicing or at competition all the girls have their midriffs showing.
To be fair, a lot of studios require similar outfits. It's very hard to move when you're in restricting clothing that isn't stretchy enough, plus this way you can get more of an idea of what you're doing wrong, like if your stomach isn't pulled in.
Dumb Blonde: Averted with Chloe and Paige. All of the girls get straight A's in school.
Has Two Mommies: Possibly Kimmy. In the episode where she has to be a "bad girl," it sounds like Angel asks her, "Have you ever talked back to your moms?" It's unclear if he actually said "moms" or if the accent just made him sound like he said it, though.
Ill Girl: Vivi, apparently. In a season 3 episode, Christi says that Vivi is "always sick".
Nia might also be an example, as she has a medical condition (something affecting the bones in her feet). In the Mother's Day special, it was revealed that she was actually in the hospital for some time over the summer, and was in a wheelchair for a while afterward.
Mac Kenzie apparently has extra bones in one of her feet, making it painful for her to dance, though how painful it is seems to be up for debate. (See Playing Sick below.)
Lady Drunk: Both Christi and Kelly seem to enjoy their alcohol... For example, in the very first episode, they both went out to a bar, and Chloe's headpiece fell forward over her eyes during her trio.
Manipulative Editing: According to the Star Quest dance competition, the show edited the competition to give the impression that certain acts were competing against each other when they weren't, and also edited the award announcements to make certain acts place higher or lower than they actually did.
Out of Focus: As of season 3, Paige, Nia, and Brooke are all this (though Brooke doesn't seem to mind). Chloe was for a little while, but now she is back in Abby's good graces.
Playing Sick: It is strongly suspected that Mac Kenzie faked her injured foot, or at least played up how much it was hurting, so she could avoid competing against Asia.
Sadist Teacher: Abby is strict, but mostly reserves her screaming for the mothers, and isn't in fact especially harsh as dance (gymnastics, skating, etc) coaches go. The mothers, on the other hand, tend to overreact just a bit to any implication their daughter is not a star....
Of course, some of her Villain Protagonist actions (as written below) definitely show this. She yells at Chloe and Nia for choking on their routines, but as soon as Maddie forgets her routine, Abby runs out of the room crying.
Scare Chord: Whenever a dancer forgets her number.
The Smurfette Principle: Inverted. Justice (in the original series) and Lucas (in the spin-off series) are both treated as "special" because they are both male competitive dancers.
In season 3, Cathy replaces her team with a new team, made entirely of males. (Though in episode 18, she does use a girl, however briefly). So far, they have gone against Abby's girls four times, and won against them three of those times.
Stage Mom: All the moms! Especially Cathy, who seems to have no realistic take on her daughter's ability (or lack thereof.)
Suspiciously Similar Song: Used in dance routines. For example, "Candy Apple Style," which even includes PSY's horse riding dance in the routine.
Technician Versus Performer: Possibly between Maddie and Chloe. Chloe is often seen as superior technically, but Maddie tends to get more solos because she is able to use her face (a.k.a, perform) better onstage. Also can be seen in the case of Nia and Mackenzie - neither one is the best in the group, but it's obvious that they both love dancing. Averted with Brooke - she's one of the strongest technically, but her lack of expression is what keeps her from getting solos often.
Not so much anymore, because Asia has joined the team.
The Unfavorite: In comparison to Maddie, Kenzie is. And by team dynamics, this position is shared by everyone who isn't Maddie, Chloe, and now Kendall and Asia.
Villain Protagonist: Abby, at times. For instance, when she pulls out all of Maddie's recent crowns (there are a lot of them), and shows them to the other girls. Of course, seeing as Maddie gets a solo virtually Once an Episode, and the other girls are lucky to get one a month, it becomes insulting. Melissa then comes down, and Abby brutally insults her and the moms for not wanting the girls to get big-headed.
Walking Shirtless Scene: Lucas. In just about every single episode, he wears no shirt during the competitions.
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