Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Dance Moms is a T.V. series about little girls, most of them between the ages of 9 to about 16 who want to dance. This appears to be a pageant show where little kids where makeup which is not acceptable for their ages. And there is way too much drama, conflicts, injuries and crying through out. I do not like watching a bunch of kids going through all this pressure.What is wrong with these dance instructors? Do they hate kids? If they have such a short fuse with kids, why are they working with a whole bunch of kids? They shouldn't even have jobs for having such intolerance with these dancers. They should have learned about patience before they signed up for this job.

Have you ever noticed that when the moms leave they always come back? It's because it's for the show! No dance studio that isn't on TV show would be run like that. Think of it like this, DRAMA-PEOPLE WATCH YOUR SHOW NO DRAMA-YOUR SHOW IS NOT INTERESTING SO PEOPLE DON'T WATCH IT! If this wasn't a TV show and my daughter was going there and she's not Maddie, I'm out. Dance Moms is for your watching pleasure and I'm sure if you were to try and say something rude to her face she wouldn't even listen. 'Cause I mean you already know Abby. And yes, Abby might have actually hurt people, lied to people, and called the cops on one mom, but it's all for the show.

I've kind of made it a rule to not review reality shows. Why? It turns out I will keep having the same complaints over and over in most cases. It's scripted and obviously so, people on it are extremely vapid, it forces emotional reactions by playing music you can easily get out of a stock, copyright free music library... So many things contribute to my overall hate for the genre when really I'm someone who tried to stay open-minded. However, while there might be a gem like Kitchen Nightmares, with a likable lead and doesn't feel scripted, there's also this.So Abby Lee Miller (probably a contender for my most hated person in front of a camera and broadcast to television) recruits children to be the big-name stars either they or their mothers (and if you think I'm sympathizing with them, I'm not - trust me after Abby Lee, they'll have their turn) and she's relentless to all of them about winning, even going so far as to list her favourite to least favourite student (even saying she has a favourite overall) and the mothers usually clash with Abby Lee's practices, almost never changing where to get dance lessons (because THAT would make too much sense!) and pretty much the show boils down to people being bitchy to one another and the kids being forced to live in this toxic environment.Essentially the only ones that I sympathise with are the children. Why? Well, I'm guessing Abby Lee is supposed to be conveyed as a tough love figure... Okay, fine. When it comes to children they may need it sometime, but here's my problem. I don't think I've ever heard her give a word of encouragement to a single kid other than her favourite. And the attitude she takes of "Second is the first to lose" among many other things. It also doesn't help when the rival dance studio happens and they go to competitions they went to in order to stop them from winning anything... Yes because this atmosphere wasn't nearly as toxic! I am not going into what obvious self-esteem damage she's giving these children and it's obvious that she is! If these kids lives aren't committed by lifestyle to this and don't work professionally and pretty much be at the top standard all the time then it's not worth her time.. Good god! These are children.Then there are the mothers. Oh god! Pretty much the entire time is spent trying to get them into the spotlight, they clash with each other and Abby Lee because they want their kids to be stars either that or clashing with Abby Lee. This is insane! It's just so bad. All of it.Okay, while I can re-tread my own points of reality shows of awful music, obviously scripted scenes, nobody to sympathize with... So much more I'll just end it here. Point is, I hate reality shows but this has a new kind of hate for me. The fact that there's 2 dozen spin-off shows and this is still going on makes me think Abby Lee is a master of publicity and the show's fan base has a sense of loyalty or respect to these people... I don't usually only see one side but I genuinely don't know how!

Now in its fourth season and only getting more and more ridiculous, this show attempts to represent the world of young dancers who compete in dance competitions and the mothers who love them. Unfortunately, these folks are all victims of Reality TV as they dream of the chance to become stars. All good performers need great mentors and positive forces behind them. The force behind this group of lovely young ladies from Pittsburgh is a vitriolic, loud-mouth who owns the dance school they attend. The owner of the dance studio and self-proclaimed patron saint of the dance world is a woman named Abby Lee Miller. Ms. Miller trains her young team by humiliating them, pitting them against each other and getting into absurd battles with their mothers. The only thing she truly cares about is winning another title for her dance school. These titles are basically meaningless proclamations that will never lead to anything except another chance to compete in another dance competition. Why these dancers and their moms have not figured that out yet is quite the question. Each week, it's the same old plot, Ms. Miller screams and rants at the girls, the moms pipe up, Ms. Miller threatens to send them all packing and they go to a competition with their poor little knees shaking, but with tons of "mommy love." Somehow they usually pull off a win, which only reinforces the "method" Ms Miller uses in her training. Too bad none of these moms have a google map, so that they could find other dance schools in the neighborhood. Last time I looked, Pittsburgh was not a small town. This is Reality TV so we should expect several "gotcha" moments, but the verbal abuse of these young girls along with the covert sexuality often found in their dancing and costuming has gone too far. Until a dancer's body reaches maturity, whether she will become or want to become a professional dancer is an unknown factor. Talent is always a needed factor, but you will not make it in the world of dance if you do not have what's known as "a dancer's body." Their mentor/teacher is a great example. It is apparent that she was not blessed with this body type, so she chose to teach. There is nothing wrong with that, what is wrong,is her style of teaching, which in the long run can never produce anything but humiliation and disappointment, she could eventually sour many of her students on the art of dance. The young dancers are gifted and strong, which is why many folks tune in each week. But, because it is reality TV, everyone on this show should wait for the "other shoe" to drop. These producers hopefully have a great final episode in mind, wouldn't it be great if Ms. Miller, was replaced!