I was a huge fan of Dance Moms, but as a parent, I’m totally excited about Hulu’s New Era revival
A revival of Dancing mothers has hit the Hulu programand let’s face it, ever since Abby Lee Miller was introduced to the world in 2011, this show was meant to be polarizing. If the dance teacher wasn’t yelling at someone, the moms were. There was just so much bickering, whining, and screaming, and I was 100% into it.
13 years later, a prison sentence and a few lawsuits later, and Miller’s ALDC is gone, replaced by Coach Glo’s Studio Bleu on Hulu’s Dance Moms: A New Era. But this time, at this stage of my life, I think this show is no longer for me.
The faces and location may have changed Dance Moms: A New Erabut fans of the original know how it goes. Glo Hampton is the owner of Studio Bleu in Virginia and has put together a junior elite team that learns new dances each week to perform in competitions. The pyramid is back. The solos fight is back. The. Moms. Are. Back. Aside from a few rounded edges (we live in a different world than 2011, after all), there’s really not much that sets Coach Glo’s show apart from Abby Lee Miller’s. So what’s changed? Me. I’ve changed.
Since my daughters are the same age as these dancers, I no longer find dance mothers entertaining
Back in 2011, I had just become a mother, but today my daughters are basically the same age as Audrey, Mina and the rest of the Dance Moms: A New Era Occupation. Thirteen years ago, my own upbringing in sports was a little fresher in my memory – the yelling coaches, the arguing parents, the science teacher who got arrested for yelling at the referees. (What, didn’t that happen at every school?)
I can’t take this anymore. I guess I see things through a different lens now, and when I saw the revived series arrive in the middle of the 2024 TV schedule, I felt so sorry for the young dancer. They shamed poor Ashlan and laughed in her face as she cried because she couldn’t dance for fun. Look, everyone raises their kids differently, and I’m not going to judge other parents’ choices; I’m just no longer thrilled with the path these families have chosen.
Of the four episodes I saw (all 10 episodes of Dance Moms: A New Era can now be streamed with a Hulu Subscription), Episode 2 was very promising, as the grief of a mother and her daughter is partly reflected in the Group dance choreography. However, two episodes later, the women were back to calling each other sluts and even getting into physical altercations.
I’d like to think that I’m not the only one who has grown up in the last decade. Aren’t younger generations of women being taught that we don’t need to compete with each other? That we’re stronger when we stick together? Have I been listening to too much Taylor Swift?
Glo Hampton is an improvement over Abby Lee Miller
One aspect of Dance Moms: A New Era that seemed to be a big improvement – at least in the episodes I saw – is Glo Hampton. Her methods are far from the terrible experiences of JoJo SiwaNia Sioux and others at the ALDC.
It was refreshing to see the coach take responsibility for the team’s less-than-optimal finish on the premiere, rather than blaming it on team leader Audrey (who, if you’re counting, is definitely the new-era Maddie Ziegler). I also loved when Hampton told a student that it’s OK to make mistakes, but it’s not OK to not try.
For me and my position as a parent, the positive qualities Glo Hampton has over Abby Lee Miller are not enough to compensate for the still pretty abhorrent behavior of the mothers. However, I recommend fans of the OG Lifetime series to check it out Dance Moms: A New Era and decide for yourself. The 10 episodes of the first season are now available on Hulu, one of the best streaming services subscribe.
