In recent years, the reality TV show “Dance Moms” has seen a resurgence in popularity, likely due to its arrival on streaming services and the ease of sharing video clips on social media platforms like TikTok.
With the return of the show’s cultural relevance, former “Dance Moms” star Nia Sioux has written a memoir, “Bottom of the Pyramid detailing her experience as a part of the Abby Lee Dance Company. Most notably, Sioux alleges she faced racist and body-shaming comments from her dance teacher, Abby Lee Miller.
Although it was evident by watching the show that Sioux was not one of Miller’s favorite students, the memoir reveals more details than previously realized. On “Dance Moms," Sioux was frequently assigned culturally stereotypical dances, including those that did not pertain to her actual cultural background, including a Bollywood-inspired dance and a Cuban-inspired dance.
Sioux highlights in “Bottom of the Pyramid” several off-camera moments that were deeply damaging. For instance, Miller allegedly once asked Nia if she wished she had “white-girl hair," to which Sioux reflects in her memoir she knew she didn’t want to be white, no matter what Miller said to her.
Additionally, Sioux wrote Miller had a belief that Black people “were physically predisposed to having flat feet.” To an extent, this could be seen on “Dance Moms," as Miller was often seen criticizing Sioux’s ability to point her feet.
Miller allegedly also critiqued Sioux’s “thighs," “butt” and “muscular legs,“ implying Sioux was “fat” because she was “not working hard enough." This was also evident in the show with a confrontation between the mothers and Miller, where Miller said she could see Nia was “not working” because of the “size of the thighs.”
A key part of Sioux’s life story Lifetime neglected to portray in “Dance Moms” accurately was her struggle with Reflex Neurovascular Dystrophy. This condition is characterized by disproportionately severe pain, typically at the site of a previous injury.
Sioux’s RND was mentioned on “Dance Moms” once, which Sioux claims is not representative of her journey, as she had to relearn to walk and dance, causing it to take her “more than a year to get back on track.” Considering Miller’s tendency to accuse Sioux of being an unskilled dancer, this revelation is particularly relevant to Sioux’s mistreatment on “Dance Moms."
In terms of more general drama on the show, Sioux reveals in “Bottom of the Pyramid” that when the titular moms went on strike, which was portrayed as being due to mom Kelly Hyland choosing not to return to the studio with her daughters, Brooke and Paige, it was actually about the desire to improve the working conditions on the show.
Sioux details how Pennsylvania did not have strict child labor laws at the time of filming. Sioux states that the moms wanted their daughters “to be compensated fairly, to be fed before the crew, to have a designated area to rest and eat (there were no chairs and tables) and to have tutors.”
Also, Sioux explained the tension that arose when Jojo Siwa joined the show. Allegedly, Siwa told the others that they were “washed up” and that she would be the “light of the team." Sioux additionally implied that Siwa was only on the show with the hope of becoming a reality TV star, not to become the best dancer possible.
So far, the only notable response from other cast members has been from Hyland, who said on her and Christi Lukasiak’s podcast, “Back to the Barre that she wishes she had been given a heads-up on her and her daughters’ names being mentioned in the book.
There has yet to be backlash from other cast members; most notably, Miller has remained silent.
