May, 2012 | Dance Mom Junkies

Archive for May 17, 2012

An Open Letter To Kids Who Pick On Male Dancers

May 17, 2012 sabrina Dance Moms: Miami

On the episode of Dance Moms: Miami this week, the show very briefly touched on a major thing in dance, and I’m kind of disappointed they spent such little time on the issue. For those who missed it, after Lucas was done practicing, he approached Victor and told him he’s being made fun of at school for dancing. He’s being called gay by the other kids, and it’s hurting him. Victor showed disappointment, but that was it. The scene was over and it wasn’t touched on again.

While Lucas said he isn’t gay, that point is completely irrelevant to my post because it really doesn’t matter if he is or isn’t. Someone shouldn’t be made fun of for something they like to do, and it frustrates me to no end to see kids deal with that. There have been so many gender breakthroughs over the course of history, yet dancers (and cheerleaders) and still stuck with the stigma that if you do that, you’re gay.

Here is what I want to say to any boy who makes fun of other boys this age doing these things…

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Look, I know you’re young, generally don’t understand a lot about life, and how you’ll be when you’re older. In a few years, the girls you’re calling gross now are going to be very attractive, and you’re going to want to be around them. I’m sure society will still tell you that in order to do that, you need to do “macho” things like play football, join wrestling or do MMA fighting.

Here are some things to consider, however…

While you’re in a locker room full of guys, the same person you made fun of will be hanging around with cute girls in skimpy outfits as they practice dance or cheerleading.
While you’re rolling around on the wrestling floor with a guy in spandex, that same kid is going to have his hands all over the girls you wish you could get.
While you’re celebrating a touchdown by giving a bunch of guys hugs, that same boy is getting hugged by beautiful women for completing a dance routine.

So tell me, how does what you’re doing sound straight while dancing sounds gay?

Look, I’m not discouraging people from enjoying any activity whether it’s football, wresting, dancing or cheerleading. I’m also certainly not calling football or wresting gay, I’m just pointing out that making fun of people for doing what they love is silly because what you’re doing could look just as bad. It’s the advice to not throw stones while living in a glass house, and it holds true here.

Next time your friends tell you to make fun of someone for doing a “girly” thing, don’t be a follower. Stand up to your friends and show them how that “girly” thing is actually not so crazy when you look at it from the big picture. If you ask any straight guy whether they’d love to spend all day with hot women or guys in tights, they’re going to say hot women 10 out of 10 times.

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Thanks for reading, and I hope people can open their mind a little when it comes to these ridiculous stereotypes.

4 comments dance moms: miami, Lucas Triana

Dance Moms: Miami – Mid Season Review

May 11, 2012 sabrina Dance Moms: Miami

I haven’t really been recapping every episode because they overlap with 16 and Pregnant, which is what I watch instead. So, I DVR the show, forget about it for a few days, then finally watch it. By then, people don’t care about my recaps because they’ve already seen the episode! Side note: Please make sure Dance Moms is back to 9pm EST. I don’t like the 10pm time slot at all.

I’m going to review the season up to this point, not an episode by episode recap, but as a whole. I’ll try not to compare to the original Dance Moms because they should be their own shows, but I know I will because it’s hard not to. Let’s start with the easy one:

The Dancers

The dancers for this show are around the same age as the original cast, which is the 9-14 or so range. That would be too young for me to criticize even if I wanted to, but I really don’t. Jessi’s little issue on week 1 aside, the dancers are fantastic with both their skill and personality.

Hannah, the one who the moms act like is a terrible dancer is actually really great, and has an even better personality.
Jessi is extraordinarily focused, driven and talented. She’s going to be a star without a doubt.
Sammy is also a great dancer, but is still treated as an ‘outcast’, but mostly by the parents.. which I’ll get to.
Lucas and Kimmy are super cute, super talented and I’m hoping in 5 years they end up dating.

The Teachers

Every week I have different feelings towards both Angel and Victor. Some weeks they’re incredible with both the way they run things, and instruct, other weeks they both sound whiny and annoying. Let’s break each one down…

Angel – He’s more of the wild card every week. Sometimes you’ll see him joking with people, other times he’ll be complaining, whining or trashing the mothers. While it’s entertaining to us for him to trash the mothers, I don’t like how he consistently does it in front of their children. I don’t find that very professional at all, no matter how frustrated he gets with them. Susan was exactly right this recent episode when she was upset that Jessi was starting to sound like Angel in the back talking. Let the parents parent, teachers teach, and students dance.
Victor – While a bit whiny at times, he’s far more consistent with the way he acts and handles himself on a weekly basis. His focus is clearly on making the children better dancers, and when he does have problems with the parents, you’ll find him in the mothers room yelling at them.

Both instructors compliment each other very well, and work great together, my only hope is that they ease up on the mother bashing in front of the kids.

The Mothers

As different as Angel and Victor are from Abby Lee, the mothers are the biggest difference between the two shows. This is probably part of the show I dislike the most, and it’s sad because on their own, the mothers seem like great ladies, but together they get really catty. If they’re not bashing one another, they will be bashing the teachers, or even worse, the children. The closest the Pittsburgh moms came to bashing the children was when Payton was in the group and Jill would bring up how she doesn’t look like she belonged with the others.

In Miami, Hannah was on the receiving end of a few shots, and based on the previews, looks like it’ll be even more next week when she’s in a trio. Debi, Abby, and Susan consistently go at each other, and it kind of gets a little old. Ani and Brigette tend to sit back and watch the other three go at it, but Brigette even gets involved on occasion, leaving Ani as the only drama free mom on the show.

Overall

While it’s clear from watching it, and the reactions I see on my fan page, Dance Moms is still heavily favored over Dance Moms: Miami, however I believe it’s mostly because the show simply isn’t Dance Moms. The two are different shows, but being a spin-off, it’s hard not to compare the two the entire time watching it. I’d still watch Dance Moms over Miami if I had to choose, but when I watch the Miami version, I do find myself entertained, even if it’s for different reasons than the original. Hopefully they’ll give it a second season so we can try to form the connection we have with the original cast.

What are your thoughts on the show so far?