Back to the Barre

"Red plastic rhinestone crap, blue plastic rhinestone crap," utters Christi as one of her most iconic scenes comes into play as these bitches cover the first half of the massive Season 3 episode "The Apple of Her Eye". Joining our moms is none other than newly dubbed Bitch #3, Jill Vertes! There could be no better guest for the occasion as this episode features one of Jill's most infamous attempts to bolster Kendall's standing with Abby, so she's here to explain herself!After a finishing a disastrous 7th place in last week's competition, Abby is determined to bring the ALDC back to the top with a rematch against Cathy at the next competition. With Nia being the only stand-out dancer from the previous routines, Abby decides to focus the next group dance around her with a contemporary dance themed for Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks. But in order to encourage Nia to be the best and "earn it", Abby implies the role of Rosa Parks is up for grabs?!This is especially shocking to everyone involved as the idea of any child not named Nia portraying Parks would be disastrous. Though Jill is seemingly up for the task and begins to promote Kendall for the role of Rosa Parks! Between this development and Abby's nicer than normal attitude, the ALDC is certainly in for an eventful week!Quotes“Christi you were out of the room. You know Eddie came back in and said (of Christi) that bitch is fucking crazy. I agree Eddie I agree.” (22:36-22:44 | Kelly and Jill)“Chloe you suck as bad as Paige. Go dance! That was rotten. That was like the passive aggressive: Oh come here sweetie you dumbass!” (38:44-38:56 | Christi and Jill)“She says that Rosa Parks got arrested because she stood up for something she believed in. That’s the same reason I got arrested, because I stood up for something I believed in: Her mistreating my children! Oh my god you’re like Rosa Parks. I am! I’m going with it. Kelly is Rosa Parks.” (43:34-45:50 | Christi and Kelly)“Kell, I’m teasing cause you were not on my side. You just wanted me to go in there and complain to Abby and get my ass kicked! Exactly, better you than me!” (1:07:16-1:07:25 | Kelly and Jill)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhylandFollow Jill on IG: https://www.instagram.com/jillvertes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"We're not very smart, we haven't done Back to the Barre for a while," Christi confesses as the bitches get ready to ease back into the Barre with a quick look at some of Season 3's Promos. It's been a busy few weeks of filming and traveling for both Christi and Kelly. Between producing and Dance Moms Reunions, they managed to miss a whole episode!But fear not Bitchettes as this week they're dissecting two classic Dance Moms promos, featuring homages to both Flashdance and Take on Me. For 30 second clips they sure do take a long time to film, and no mom came out unscathed. You'd be surprised how easy it is to get hurt when a whole group of moms rush a door at the same time! And how giddy was Abby when she got to douse the moms with ice cold water? The answer won't surprise you!Quotes“Their wigs were horrible. Oh my god they were intentionally horrible. Like where did we get those?” (20:02-20:09 | Christi and Kelly)“All of a sudden it fell, we had no clue. And it was the coldest water of all time. It was probably 50 degrees! It was terrible!” (24:12-24:21 | Christi and Kelly)“She tries to break it. She made Kendall do it. She wouldn’t let it be Maddie, she made it be Kendall it’s hysterical. Well Kendall go her special part! I don’t think Jill wants that special part Kell!” (32:41-32:53 | Christi and Kelly)“Under no circumstances are we mud wrestling. I don’t know I maybe would now.” (46:06-46:13 | Christi and Kelly)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Why do we care?" Christi asks as Bitch #1 and Bitch #2 have it out for Mackenzie on the second half of Camouflaged Maneuvers. Melissa reveals Mackenzie's sprained ankle will keep her from performing for a suspiciously short 72 hours. Abby is upset by this turn of events and insists that Mackenzie sit in a wheelchair for the duration of the episode. But before the moms can even process why the ALDC even has this wheelchair on hand, Mackenzie is caught doing cartwheels on camera which infuriates Abby (and for some reason this also makes Christi and Kelly mad?). After Abby had been getting worked up over everyone not trying hard enough and "lying" for the past two weeks, this event did not go over well and all the kids get interrogated over who saw what.This time could have been better spent with Brooke who hasn't been given the proper attention she needs to prep for a solo. While Abby insists that is because she's older and doesn't need the attention, Kelly points out that's never been true of any of the other older children.But Kelly's problems are only just beginning because she has to awkwardly explain what Don't Ask Don't Tell is all about on national television! Abby insists the moms need to discuss the importance of the theme of the group dance to the girls, despite the fact she herself won't even say the word "gay"! Kelly's resulting heart to heart is certainly a Dance Moms moment to remember and certainly will need a drink to get through!Quotes“I think I’m traumatized and scarred from the mom jeans so I am on a quest. I’m on a quest to find the perfect jeans!” (15:07-15:16 | Christi)“If we weren’t in the dance community our kids wouldn’t have known. I don’t just think they would have been as openly exposed [to the gay community], but again it wasn’t anything I don’t ever recall ever having a conversation about specifically? The only time I did was on national television!” (30:10-30:30 | Christi and Kelly)“We had to have every single outfit approved by Abby, and our kids looked gorgeous. They looked gorgeous and then this woman rolls in with the ugliest shit known to man. I don’t understand.” (37:26-37:36 | Christi)“Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. Maybe everything was like a big middle finger to Abby at this point cause she’s a lot.” (1:10:28-1:10:36 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If we did this whole episode it would be like The War and Peace of Dance Moms," warns Christi as our duo begin tackling the first part of the two hour epic "Camouflaged Maneuvers". The ALDC returns for practice after a brief break with a longer than expected five days to go until their next competition. Abby is frustrated with second place, even Pyramid topper Brooke is only given backhanded niceties.The remedy is an extended back to basics training to prep for a group Hip-Hop dance routine inspired by the recent dissolution of the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. The choice of topic is a head scratcher for the moms, but the backroom maneuvers of Jill in the previous episode and Abby's dating life still command most of their attention at the moment. It frustrates Holly to see Jill continuously praised for going behind their backs while everyone else is lambasted for similar behavior. But shady things aren't only happening on the mom's end as Mackenzie has suddenly received a sprained ankle and can't participate in the group dance, an excuse Abby is suspicious of after Melissa claims that it's been a problem for weeks without any prior mention.But the girls take a back seat for Abby when out of the blue she gets called for a date! When a "former stripper" arrives to take Abby to dinner, speculations of what's even happening run wild and of course there's hope that Abby getting laid will help the mom's overall standing. Gross times indeed!Quotes“They stick a tube up there and it flushes you out. My yoga instructor had it done and she said she hadn’t eaten corn in three years, and corn came out! I’m gonna vomit! Imagine what would be in there! Ew! Kelly this is the most disgusting conversation we’ve ever had. Then why are we talking about it? You brought it up!” (05:07-05:35 | Christi and Kelly)“That’ll be our honeymoon. Naked fishies instead of naked pizza.” (35:55-35:59 | Christi)“I hope she goes on a date. Maybe she’ll get laid so she’s not so miserable. I’m mean. I think we’re hilarious. I would want to be friends with us because we’re funny!” (45:50-46:08 | Christi and Kelly)“The funniest part about Jill is that this is how Jill is. And so I am in the Era of Jill right now. I am a big Jill fan, because she fucking makes this show ridiculous.” (1:20:04-1:20:14 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I'm so uncomfortable," Christi says speaking for us all as the moms take Abby on a speed dating excursion in "All's Fair in Love and War". Supposedly love is in the air and Abby decides to center this week's group dance on a tragic love story with Your Dream Will Be My Dream. While the moms welcome the return of Nick Dobbs to bolster the performance, Abby's choice to center the piece around a dying Brooke, who is also deeply uncomfortable with the choreography, doesn't sit well with everyone.The topic of loves leads Melissa to pitch taking Abby on a speed-dating night out, which the moms hope will help to get Abby on their good side. Instead it mostly leads to some uncomfortable Abby flirting and further group segmentation as Christi is asked by Abby not to attend, which Jill happily facilitates. Tensions grow stronger when Jill has Gianna give Kendall some solo practice time, despite the fact Kendall is supposed to be practicing her duet with Nia. When Abby starts to pressure Nia to drop out of the duet at the last second in favor of Maddie, Holly begins to note that instead of working as a team, it's starting to become every mom for herself as Nia is sidelined.Plus, after demanding last week that the kids improv and then promptly scolding them for doing so this week, Abby seems more intent than ever to focus solely on Maddie. The love won't be in the air for long if these divisions grow deeper, and that'll be evident come performance time!Quotes“Those look like avocados. I thought they looked like sperm! I’m not pregnant the sperm are on my shirt people! Oh Kelly, god! You should never let them do that on your shirt.” (21:16-21:28 | Christi and Kelly)“We’re in trouble no matter what we do. If we’re fighting we’re in trouble. If we’re having fun we’re in trouble. If we’r making costumes we’re doing it wrong. We want to be in charge and if we’re not then we are lazy and not contributing. If we’re at work we don’t love our children. If we’re not at work we need a job.” (31:02-31:15 | Christi and Kelly)“Me and Abby want the same kind of man! Ew!” (50:32-50:36 | Kelly)“Abby says don't you think he should get me a ring? And I'm like, but why would you be excited to get engaged to a gay man? Holly says it could be a friendship ring, you say or a beard!” (1:05:55-1:06:09 | Kelly)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This is either the most deranged show of all time or the greatest piece of entertainment to ever hit the airwaves," says Christi as this seemingly sad episode continues to go off the rails as the moms must confront the death of Broadway Baby and one depressed Abby.Christi and Kelly are supposedly still not on good terms, but as they'll attest now they'd long made up by this point so the show must spend time to try and find a narratively satisfying way to capture that on camera. Producers have to do something to fill time as Abby absconds to Florida to mourn the death of her beloved Baby. To cheer Abby up the moms plan to surprise her by creating an all new group dance and crafting their own original costumes. The gesture is not well received and Abby makes the girls perform an improv group piece at the next competition, something that has everyone worried.To make matters worse the girls will be going up against Nicaya in solos, overseen by the confrontational Kaya, aka Black Patsy. Kaya minces no words with the moms and stirs the pot as soon as the competition is underway. But when she begins to really go after the girls, Jill finds too many lines have been crossed and a scene ensues.For a tribute episode for a beloved pet, there's still no shortage of insanity to be had!Quotes“I can’t believe we’re older than an age that I was just going to make fun of!” (08:56-09:00 | Christi)“We’re animal lovers, we would never wish anything upon them. I rescue things from the dumpster on a weekly basis! You rescued me from a dumpster! Oh my god! You’re part of the cat distribution system!” (16:55-17:09 | Christi and Kelly)“She says Broadway Baby kept me sane; she made everything ok when I would come home from work upset or distraught over the mothers. I love that somehow this whole thing about being upset about Baby came back to us being assholes!” (37:17-37:30 | Christi)“Really Melissa, do you have to make everything about your kids? This was supposed to be something the whole group was doing, and in the audience we look furious. We all took the brunt of changing the dance and everything and then didn’t get the glory of her enjoying it. We took all the brunt and then she got all the glory of Maddie being the one to give it to her!” (1:03:00-1:03:24 | Christi and Kelly)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“As the leader of the Bitchettes, I’d like to issue a blanket apology to everyone I’ve let down," Christi laments as she endures Episode 8 of Season 3 "You've Been Unfriended". The mere thought of having a heart to heart moment with Melissa of all people brings a shiver down Christi's spine, but this episode remains a sore spot as it not only features some horrific treatment of Chloe, but contains Christi and Kelly's big fight.As tensions brew between Christi and Kelly over their lack of communication during Christi's absence, things are back up and running with all the girls prepping for Intensity Dance Competition in Fort Lauderdale. While the speakeasy theming of the group number Money is the Root of All Evil confuses the moms, the girls excel with the number. Nia and Paige get another shot at their duet while Brooke and Maddie get solos.Abby thinks she's practicing tough love with the girls, but tensions only grow stronger as anyone not named Maddie struggle to get session time. On top of that, Abby refuses to refer to Chloe by name as petty vengeance against Christi, who now has to juggle her beef with Kelly as well as look out for Chloe.“This is a really hard episode for me," says Christi, and she means it more than ever.Quotes“Abby says shit wrong all the time. An example is she said to Cathy you’re red and white and black all over, because people read you in the obituaries. Remember that joke when you were little, what’s black and white and red all over? The newspaper. Like she gets shit just a little bit wrong. Like if we’re going to use those insults lust just try to get them right.” (09:34-10:06 | Christi)“I’ve got big man balls. I didn’t know that! I didn’t either! Well I am going to say if I have big man balls, I shave them. Oh good, we like some manscaping done. We don’t want disco balls. We already have disco bush we don’t need disco balls.” (19:12-19:47 | Christi and Kelly)“This scene was clearly like an episode of the Twilight Zone because Melissa and I are both drinking beer! I’ve never seen Melissa drink a beer. Have you seen me drink a beer!?” (46:23-46:35 | Christi)“Good thing we didn't fight very often cause we weren't very exciting. We go down as probably the stupidest fight in Dance Moms” (1:24:24-15-53:48 | Christi and Kelly)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Chloe and Paige took their first dance class 20 years ago, probably early September right after Labor Day," Christi remembers as these moms realize they've been officially been friends for 20 years this month! Few friends have ever gone on quite the journey that these two have, but 20 years later they're still the baddest bitches in town!With the help of their trusty intern Matt, Christi and Kelly are going to answer questions to see how much they know about one another. The catch? If they get a question wrong they have to drink and they're both already hungover! What is their go to drink at the bar, what age did they have their first kiss and what was the name of their first boyfriend? Whose memory will prevail with Christi's elephant brain and Kelly's bird brain each sorting through 20 years of insanity?Plus, will a TikTok finally prove these moms right in one of their longest running Dance Mom arguments? Tune-in to find out!Quotes“That's a dirty little secret from Dance Moms. We used to go to interviews and from the waist down we had on pajama pants! We weren't pretty down bellow.” (01:33-01:46 | Christi)“When your doctor tells you that you don't get pregnant when you're nursing, they're full of shit! It happened to me twice.” (10:57-11:04 | Kelly)“I was playing spin the bottle in sixth grade. It wasn't because I liked the boy and I kissed him because I wanted to kiss somebody. I had to kiss him because my stupid bottle landed on him. Oh my god I'll never forget him because he's such a nerd.” (25:23-25:38 | Kelly) “We would go in these backrooms in New York. Chloe and Paige were like three years old and we would take them into these backrooms to buy fake purses! What horrible people we are! You were nine months pregnant with Clara!” (44:37-44:59 | Christi and Kelly) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I'm like five feet behind everybody, like you guys go ahead I'm just going to stay back here," Kelly remarks as the second half of "Rotten to the Core" sees bottles and bags being hurled left and right.Cathy's limo entrance in Detroit draws the immediate ire of the moms, which only worsens as Jalen's dad starts to pick a fight with Abby. If that wasn't enough, Holly requests that Abby acknowledge Nia's RND which results in Abby not only insulting both Holly's intelligence and Nia's pain, but also triggers the cancelation of Nia and Paige's duet when Holly pushes back at Abby.While Maddie's big solo return wins first place, the group performance of Avalanche leaves a lot to be desired and Cathy's team takes first overall. Abby tries to avoid Cathy after the show, but their inevitable confrontation becomes the stuff of legend when Abby takes her Wicked Witch joke too far and throws her open bottle of water at Cathy.Is the resulting fight a little overkill? Maybe, but it's certainly something these moms will never forget!(Also pardon the brief sound of the fan in Christi's audio, it was 101 degrees!)Quotes“Cathy says you know what Ab, that hair is not going to make that limo look any worse. I don't know what that means.” (17:51-17:57 | Christi)“So Cathy pulls out a dog whistle, and then she starts blowing it. She says Abby you know what, this is a dog training tool. It makes the dogs sit down and shut up. I'm actually cackling at this point, where doe shtis woman come up with that shit? Although to be fair Abby had that blue whistle in season one that she used for the girls...somebody left a dick whistle at my house this week.” (19:12-19:47 | Christi)“Jill wonders if Holly and Kelly are coming to see Kendall perform, cause that's what's important right now right? God forbid I try and not make Holly be upset. It's not like we were trying to avoid Kendall's dance. Holly was having a breakdown and I was trying to calm her down to get her into the audience.” (38:23-38:43 | Christi and Kelly)“Abby turns around while she's arguing with Jalen's dad at one point and screams at him - My child just went out there and won. I'm pretty sure Maddie did not come out of your vagina.” (53:31-15-53:48 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I'm recapping this week and I have to say, it's not all that bad! says Christi. "Yeah, cause you ain't in it!" Kelly points out. It's Christi's dream come true as she can shit-talk all she wants and shares none of the embarrassment as Dance Moms Season 3 Episode 7 begins.Abby is thrilled by Cathy's defeat in the previous competition, but takes the opportunity to chastise the girls for only winning by a tenth of a point. Pointing to Christi and Chloe's absence, Abby threatens to suspend any dancer who isn't performing up to her standards. This frustrates the moms as Abby doesn't have that authority, but it matters little to the girls who continue to feel the pressure Abby forces upon them. With the next competition quickly approaching the group begins to rehearse Avalanche, Kendall and Maddie receive solos, and Nia and Paige prep a duet.Maddie's had weeks to prepare her solo, finishing her prep well ahead of Kendall who is left appearing under-prepared by comparison. After Kendall ends up in tears over the situation, Abby strips her of the solo and offers a solo spot to the newly returned Sophia.However, what behind the scene trickery resulted in Jackie and Sophia's sudden midnight departure? Tune-in to find out!Quotes“How many pairs of underwear have you found under a seat in your car? Gross, that's so disgusting. I know but our kids would change, they had too!” (11:05-11:14 | Kelly and Christi)“Maybe you have a spot on the pyramid Brooke! Here's to hoping, got to have some kind of hope! Maybe I should take out everyone in the group. Then we might be on the top!” (14:00-14:14 | Kelly and Christi)“I was out the other day and somebody asked someone if they had seen the show. He was a guy and was like no, but I'll have to look it up and watch it. No please don't! Please don't! It's like humiliating. I tell people all the time I like them better if they don't watch it.” (1:02:17-1:02:38 | Kelly and Christi) “I really like it, it's got a lot of personality. Just so we all know, personality is code word for not a lot of choreography.” (1:07:58-1:08:06 | Christi) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes. See you Monday for all new episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"It was an acting job for me," says Cathy of how she approached working on Dance Moms. Yes, today Christi and Kelly finally welcome Abby's on-screen rival and former Dance Mom Cathy Nesbitt-Stein to the show! Cathy was seemingly the only person on the show who was keenly aware of what reality TV expected of them. She always played a heightened version of herself. In regards to being Abby's primary foil, Cathy discusses how much of the bitterness was played up for camera and how she really feels about Abby (and of course Jill).Plus Cathy shares some life updates for her entire family. Does her husband still sell beef jerky? What's Vivi's current stance on dancing? But more importantly, was the purse Cathy used to smack Abby actually a designer bag?Quotes“I would say Cathy is exactly like she is on TV, except Cathy understood the game. You understood it was TV and to be a bigger, more grandiose version of yourself.” (08:03 -08:16 | Christi)“You weren't even filming the first episode. You were on the bus to the first episode and you were like, I can't do it! I cannot do buses.” (19:52-20:00 | Christi and Cathy) “The crew used to judge what we had on. Really, they judged our clothes? Yeah, like who was at the top of the pyramid? I think you won a lot Kelly. Did I? Yeah. Well you and your mom jeans weren't winning anything.” (22:03-22:20 | Christi, Kelly and Cathy)“Her dinner was literally a cough drop and licorice. After the show all the little Newsies wanted to meet us. We go up on stage and all of a sudden I look over at Vivi and she's like...BBBBAAARRRFFF...she's throwing up all over the stage! The boys were so sweet; they came and cleaned it up and told her we'll think of you every night we tap dance on this stage.” (40:23-40:59 | Cathy)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhylandFollow Cathy on IG: www.instagram.com/cathynesbittsteinofficialFollow Cathy on FB: https://www.facebook.com/poodletoes1/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I'm not yelling at children!” exclaims Christi as things get heated on the second half of the "Boys Are Cuties, Girls Have Cooties". Abby is fuming over Cathy's all boys team, which Christi correctly guesses will result in their girls getting pushed that much harder. Abby launches directly into harsh criticisms of the soloists and starts getting on every girl's case about their hats for Pink Lemonade.Cathy's boys bring the charm as OnStage America commences. All Abby needs the girls to do is be better than Cathy's group. Things look rocky fast as aside from Kendall's 3rd place, none of the soloists rank highly. It's all up to Pink Lemonade, but a successful performance is marred when Chloe drops her hat.It's a worst case scenario for Christi as Chloe's been the target of Abby's ire for some time already. Even if the performance is well received; any and all faults will be placed squarely on Chloe's shoulders, especially if they lose to Cathy. This marks a low point for Christi, whose already had a very rough go of it this season. As she collects Chloe to leave, Christi is recorded yelling at bystanders in the hallway.Having been unable to escape this clip for a whole decade, Christi would like to share that it isn't what it looks like! What really happened? Well join us today for what's sure to be, for Christi at least, a lose-lose situation.Quotes“Cathy is telling her team it smells like something's burning. Woo, it's us because we are hot. Oh my god get a life. She's so cheesy. Her and Abby. God, they're having like, a lame-off.” (13:38 -13:54 | Kelly and Christi)“The whole thing went on with the costume. Then Jill on the bus and the costume. Then we just never heard another word about it. It just disappeared! Yeah, that was the main story of the first half.” (19:59-20:11 | Kelly and Christi)“Season 3 remains a very dark time in my life. This remains one of my low moments, especially when it aired and people were like Oh My God Christi is yelling at children!” (32:51-33:03 | Christi) “Then you come back and fight with me. You have more on your mind this week, then you take it out on me bitch! I don't take it out on you as much as I think I'd fucking had it. Didn't we all have it at that point? Yeah, on me.” (42:37-46:45 | Kelly and Christi) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I love when she says wild shit to the kids,” says Christi. “Because the kids just look at her like she's crazy.” On the sixth episode of Dance Moms’ third season, Abby gets angry with the kids. After having come 4th in the last competition, no one is awarded the top of the pyramid. An upcoming On Stage America competition in New Jersey aims to pit the girls against Cathy's all male group; Abby is not prepared to take home anything but first place. The girls begin rehearsing Pink Lemonade while Kendall, Chloe and Nia compete for solo rehearsal time.Melissa struggles to come to grips with her daughters being at the bottom of the pyramid. She fails to stand up for herself, which angers the other moms. In an attempt to bolster's Kendall's standing in the group, Jill hires a costume designer to make Kendall's dance outfit. This upsets Abby so much it results in Kendall being removed from the performance all together, leading to a massive blow-out with Jill.It's a tense week that can't be contained to one episode. Join us for this part 1 look at the events that would eventually lead to the infamous "Chloe's Hat Incident" and discover just how dirty Broadway Baby really was.Quotes“Well we always sound btichy, but come on. You don’t get to come on a show like that where everybody’s fucking tortured and never be fucking tortured.” (12:49 -12:56 | Christi)“Somebody asked Paige are you embarrassed or do you get upset when your mom fights like that with Abby? Her comment was that no, I don’t understand why a lot of the other moms don’t stick up for their kids.” (28:22-28:35 | Kelly)“Kendall doesn’t come first, my dog comes first.” (43:43-43:46 | Kelly) “Broadway Baby sees Abby. She barks. You say I guess Broadway Baby can sense evil too. Yes, dogs are very sensitive. Dogs didn’t like Ted Bundy either.” (46:32-46:45 | Kelly and Christi) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Me? I'm the biggest bitch of them all," says Dance Moms choreographer Ed Phelan on this episode of Back at the Barre. Ed has been choreographing for over 25 years, including working with Abby well before Dance Moms was conceived.As someone who was there at the beginning; Ed offers insight into why he thinks the show could have only worked with this group of moms and girls. He addresses many of his concerns going in and how producers originally pitched him as Abby's villainous foil.Christi and Kelly cite Ed as the one responsible for some of their favorite routines. Ed gives a little backstory on those dances, including what Abby contributed and what she took credit for (and how that got her kicked out of Dance Masters). Ed could actually teach kids how to dance whereas Abby never taught them anything, though credit is given for her skills as a choreographer.Also, how many Big Macs could Abby fit under one car seat? The answer may shock you, though it certainly didn't shock these three.Quotes“People. They'll talk about the show and things that they think they know and I'm like you don't even know these ladies, they were like my buddies. We used to go out and have a good time. It was so laid back when we were all together. Abby would usually ruin it with some kind of tantrum.” (15:01 -15:18 | Ed)“Those were the five kids on the show because those were the five kids left in that class.” (17:33-17:36 | Ed)“Wait you got Abby thrown out of Dance Masters? Well when they were thrown out of Dance Masters it really had nothing to do with Dance Moms, that was just the icing on the cake.” (21:30-21:37 | Christi and Ed)“Listen, I was married. I have a gorgeous ex-wife. If I'm going to be with a woman I'm going back there.” (42:03-42:08 | Ed)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please excuse the non-intro and lack of description as we are working through some technical difficulties....what else is new? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“How exactly do you immigrate home?” is the question that hangs over the latest episode of Back to the Barre. The Dance Moms and their girls are headed to Dance Troupe Incorporated in Greensboro, North Carolina to perform an immigration-themed group number. Abby proves that she doesn’t know what immigration means, the difference between Ellis Island and Staten Island, or quite where the Titanic went. She praises Sophia, who has gone to film a movie in L.A., despite having nothing to do with her success, while she criticizes Brooke for being at school, just as she once criticized Chloe for missing a dance class to witness the birth of her sister.The Moms have been tasked with finding props in Abby’s hoarder-level garage and Holly quits when she sees mouse droppings. Melissa cleans out the studio’s equally messy room to try to get back into Abby’s good graces. Jill calls her out for being two-faced and lying about being upset that Maddie has a duet with Kendall instead of a solo, while Jill tries to cover it up with bad acting. Jill continues to understand how Christi and Kelly feel as Abby is nasty to Kendall, as opposed to constructively critical. Christi shares the tragic event that occurred just before the group boarded the bus that made Abby look like even more of a fool. She also explains what they caught fans doing in the bathroom at this week’s competition.Quotes“I didn’t go to Miller Street. I was having Clara…I chose for Chloe to be part of a monumental family occasion. Shame!” (24:06 | Christi)“I like that it's a very serious number, as opposed to all those fun, upbeat, fancy, easy numbers we do. This is serious. Okay. It's serious, Kel.” (27:40 | Christi)“I’ve just got to hand it to Jill. She is unbelievable. In an interview when they're clearly asking her about the Maddie and Sophia situation, she somehow manages to spin it back to Kendall.” (Christi | 38:31)“I wonder why Abby had a black eye, though? Somebody else had to punch her out.” (43:58 | Kelly)“Your boobs are out of control in that dress. You talk about not having boobs. Your boobs were ba-BAM. They were Ba-bammy.” (1:12:35 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I got so much hate for this episode,” explains Christi as the Dance Moms return to the ALDC and bring the excitement back to the show. Emotions are running high all around. Abby makes the Moms sign a crazy new contract before allowing them back in the studio. Melissa remains genuinely scared that Sophia–famous for performing 54 consecutive turns onstage–will replace Maddie as Abby’s new star. Sophia’s mom Jackie refuses to argue or get catty which makes the Moms question what she’s doing on the show. Christi makes two bad jokes that she regrets to this day. She and Kelly argue about who really should get due credit for coining some of the show’s recurring insults, and discuss the difference between being tough and being mean. Their definition of mean, of course, looks a lot like Abby, whose insults toward Chloe and Paige reach a new low.Christi first bonded with Kelly over a particular phone call, and today she gives Kelly a tutorial on how to take a basic picture with her phone. She also shares what she taught her daughter Clara about the law, and how one night out clubbing with Abby sent her to the emergency room.Quotes“Do you know how many times Abby has made comments? She would only refer to me as ‘the nose.’ ‘Christie has her nose up in the air.’ She talks about Holly’s thighs, her butt, her clothes. Her cleavage.  She talks about everybody. Let's not forget Nia’s long hair. I'll never get over that.” (22:05-22:31 | Christi and Kelly)“I go out with Abby one night and I get roofied. Coincidence…Ish?” (57:57-58:01 | Christi)“Abby goes ballistic. ’Christi look at Sophia!’ What? You can't tell me where to look. Now, my eyeballs are only ever going to the right, ever. If you want them left, never. They're only going to the right. You cannot command my eyeballs.” (1:15:52-1:16:13 | Christi)“Chloe's very jittery backstage. She crosses herself before she dances…Can you imagine the butterflies these kids had? And people wonder why they forget their stuff. You’re losing your mind back there.” (1:24:15-1:24:40 | Christi and Kelly)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Abby is so gleeful that we’re gone,” says Christi. “Dumbass, you obviously need us.” On the second episode of Dance Moms’ third season, the Moms are sitting in the parking lot, refusing to speak on camera until their contract negotiations are met. Producers have spun this into a protest to get Kelly back on the team. Abby brings in new girls to participate in competition in Indiana, including Hadley who appeared on ‘Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition’ and whom Abby repeatedly called “roadkill.” The Moms and their daughters choreograph their own dance to prove they don’t need Abby.Plenty of TV and movie favorites get shoutouts in this episode. Abby says new dancer Sophia sounds like Mickey Mouse. Christi looks like Miss Piggy and Abby acts like the T Rex from Jurassic Park. Jill’s infamous wardrobe choices take a hit as Kelly’s wearing more aggressive fur, mom Jackie’s Bumpit is much bigger, and Cathy insults her Louis Vuitton purse with a classic Dance Moms line. Melissa’s genuinely worried Maddie could be replaced by a better dancer. Things are changing, but the fun and craziness stay the same. Join the fun to find out how the girls ended up toilet paper-ing Abby’s parking lot and the strange connection between the girls and infamous grave robber Ed Gein.Quotes“Abby says, ‘They're all going to the ladies room together?’ She doesn’t have a friend to go to the bathroom with. She’s jealous.” (19:27-19:38 | Kelly and Christi)“I love that Abby says, ‘They're not speaking…‘You never want us to talk. You should be reveling in this.” (20:42-20:49 | Christi)“How about Gianna’s face when Abby calls the cops on us? Rachel, too. They're both laughing. They love it. ‘Oh, this is great.’ Everybody always asks us about Gianna. Here's your answer: Watch that scene.” (37:25-37:41 | Kelly and Christi) “This is a woman who, two weeks ago, asked why Holly would wear a dress. You have on a felt star that a kindergartener cut out and that you had Kelly rhinestone upstairs as a fashion accessory. I am not taking credit for rhinestoning that.” (55:20-55:42 | Christi and Kelly) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We're getting into the deepest recesses of Dance Moms hell. I can feel the heat,” says Christi about the show’s Season Three opener. Abby has returned from filming her spin-off show more arrogant than ever, but still so jealous of the girls’ success and newfound opportunities, she’s now scary cruel. This only bands the Moms closer together, everyone but Kelly, who has kept Brooke and Paige away. Of course, Abby’s worst offense is her blue rhinestone jewelry and matching eyeshadow, not to mention her day-glo orange tan. With two new shows on Lifetime, she has real power which she uses to punish the girls by holding auditions to bring in two new dancers, Ally and Ava. Kelly immediately recognizes Ava’s mom Jeanette as a suck-up. This of course is all set up by production and Christi and Kelly explain all the hidden giveaways including a blink-and-you-miss-it scene with Paige that pokes holes in the illusion the reason other studio moms were always mad at the Dance Moms. Cathy and Vivi plot their next move in a scene that made Christi fall to the floor laughing. Kelly explains the scandal behind her former “date’s” appearance.Kendall gets a solo, and she and Jill start to catch on to Abby’s game. Maybe Christi and Kelly weren’t such dumb bitches, after all. They just sometimes throw up on their babysitters. Quotes“You see us all pulling into the parking lot. Note to all: We are a worldwide phenomenon.There's lots of money to be made but there are still potholes.” (13:33-13:43 | Christi)“Holly and Jill say, ‘Work with what you have.” Abby’s been working with what she had for 39 weeks…She does not want to sleep with dogs anymore. She wants quality dancers from other teachers.” (1:02:49-1:03:30 | Christi)“I hope at some point there is a psychology class that does a deep dive on all of the mental illnesses or personality disorders displayed in ‘Dance Moms.’ We each have one. All of us do.” (1:14:26-1:14:40 | Christi) “My side-eye is so strong… if anybody ever told me to walk into that studio and go after you or I'd say, ‘Oh, no, f*** you.’” (1:36:34-1:36:56 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If this is a foreshadowing of Season 3, Back to the Barre might be ending soon,” says Christi. This Dance Moms reunion episode made both her and Kelly physically ill to rewatch as it marked the beginning of dark times for the show. Producers were accusing them of dirty off-camera behavior, including Christi choking Cathy, which Christi vehemently denies. There was major drama involving meet-and-greets, who did them first and what they charged, the hypocrisy of it all and the early insight it gave into Abby’s shady dealings. Christi reads a letter that Abby wrote accusing Christi of “pimping” Chloe, and discusses a plan for an ill-fated jewelry line that left certain Moms out. Abby’s diva attitude was beginning to outgrow the dance studio. Her greed, entitlement and jealousy began to affect the cast in more ways than one. They accuse her of staging paparazzi shots showing off fake boyfriends and of always trying to bring Holly down a peg. Abby has even gone after Christi’s husband Mark spreading a bizarre lie about him. On the lighter side of things, they discuss the crazy lengths Jill would go to to look good at all times, and Abby’s misguided choice in style icons. Christi shares which serial killers the girls might have resembled by now, and the sweet thing Cathy always did for Chloe.Quotes“You know what else I find really interesting about Abby, is that she always puts so much weight on pretty…‘Why is she always talking about who's pretty?’” (59:43-1:00:23 | Christi)“This is before there were brand deals and social media managers, like there are today…They were very much trailblazers.” (1:06:01-1:06:34 | Christi)“It's amazing that they're all good kids. I said they should be serial killers. We should have a Jeffrey Dahmer amongst us, for sure. At least a Lizzie Borden. Somebody murdering their mother with an ax, at minimum.” (1:36:50-1:37:09 | Kelly and Christi) “That’s one thing I’ll give Cathy: she always came to Chloe and me, whether off camera or not, and said, ‘Chloe, you are a beautiful little dancer. Please don't let her destroy that in you.’” (1:49:25-149:35 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You tortured us for years, now we get to torture you,” Kelly says to Bryan Stinson, co-creator of Dance Moms and today’s guest on Back to the Barre. He shares funny moments and memories from the show which he credits with sending dance class registrations across the country skyrocketing with its debut. He, Christi and Kelly discuss the show’s legacy and what they would change if they could do it all again. He answers the long-standing question as to why production didn’t show more fun and funny moments with the kids and reveals the show’s one strict drug policy that Christi managed to break.Though he recognizes Dance Moms as “lightning in a bottle,” and marvels at how unlikely it was to find such perfect kids in one small dance studio in PA, he is nonetheless rebooting the series and explains how it will differ from the original. Kelly and Christi give their best advice to potential future cast members and Kelly reveals why she was so angry with Bryan back when they were filming, and why all was forgiven when Bryan showed his abs. They dispel common misconceptions fans still have about the show’s rehearsals and competitions.Christi and Kelly have their own plans for future reboots involving the two of them as grandmas living in a retirement home. Christi reveals the unlikely group of parents who embraced the show while Bryan names the cast member who genuinely scared him.Quotes“You guys have to be really proud of what you accomplished and what the show did around the world. It really did fill up dance classes around the world. Registration doubled based on the TV show…You guys did that. It was the first of its kind.” (30:57-31:28 | Bryan)‘We were never anything but ourselves. Real people in ugly dresses and that's why people related. They said, ‘I saw that dress at Walmart, too. And we’d say, ‘I'm wearing it on national television.’” (1:04:34-1:04:51 | Christi)“When Kelly and I finally move into our Golden Girls house together…That's going to be a show.” (1:18:28- 1:18:45 | Christi and Kelly)LinksDance Moms Reboot Casting: www.dancemomsrebootcasting.comSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I did not have time to make a drink because I was being chased by a bear,” Kelly explains in one of many revelations from this latest episode of Back to the Barre. Before launching into their review of Dance Moms Season 3, which they admit will take a dark turn, she and Christi wanted to have some fun answering fan questions. They reveal their most drunken moments both on and off camera and the key to determining which of their famous fights were the most authentic. They explain their favorite holidays and give the story behind the dog tags that the girls are often seen wearing at competition ceremonies. They discuss their wild times in college, give advice on keeping love alive in long-term relationships and describe the difference between raising their oldest daughters versus their youngest. Christi describes the crazy thing she used to do for her husband every day before finally telling him “no more.” Kelly describes how she met her husband, her son Josh’s time with the ALDC and the biggest issue that her girls ever fought about. They discuss their favorite mealtimes, dishes, and of course, their go-to drinks. They play Marry/Smash/Kill using the other cast members of Dance Moms and reveal the surprising third member of the original trio. Quotes“I did not have time to make a drink because I was being chased by a bear.” (27:53-27:56 | Kelly)“I like the fireworks at night, although now I know fireworks are totally un-PC because they scare animals, whatever. But I'll always like them. Well, we need some over here so they’ll scare away the bear. I’ll start lighting off fireworks every night before I take my dog out.” (35:49-36:04 | Christi and Kelly)“The best piece of advice anybody's ever given me about any relationship–not just  a romantic one–is never do anything at the beginning of a relationship that you're not willing to do forever.” (39:58-40:11 | Christi) “I think my other favorite dances would be maybe the first solos they ever did, like bird dance and the inchworm. God, I would just love to go back to those moments.” (48:21-48:33 | Kelly)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I have to sit here and take it, and be the one who says, ‘Yes, I'm a terrible human on every level, sure,” says Christi, as she and Kelly walk us through the second part of the Dance Moms Season 2 reunion. They explain which statements were taken out of context, attributed to the wrong people, and just flat out made up. One of the most difficult aspects of filming the reunion–and filming the show in general–was the struggle for the ladies to tell their side of the story or to defend themselves without breaking the fourth wall and revealing manipulation from producers. As Kelly points out, most of the issues the Moms had, which were made to look like they were directed at specific people, were actually with the show as a whole. Cathy was made to look like the show’s “gremlin” who always lost to Abby, when actually Candy Apples had often beaten the ALDC. Christi now has more sympathy for Kaya’s experience, but like Abby, Kaya was allowed to say whatever she wanted and no one could rebut. Kelly divulges more of the complicated history between her and Abby, which goes back to high school–where Kelly kissed a boy Abby liked–and beyond. She and Christy hint at what more will be revealed about this shared history in the upcoming season. They also discuss what it was like filming in and touring soundstages in L.A., Abby’s strange obsession with lingerie and their plans to open a male version of Hooters. Quotes“They still hate each other. 100%. To this day, if you say ‘Cathy’ in front of Jill, she says, ‘Ugh,’ and Cathy, the same way.” (19:25-19:42 | Christi)“I listened to my kids because I know what it felt like. I did that, I danced every day and I never had friends in school and things…So I just felt, if they didn't want to dance, they didn't want to dance, you know?” (45:09-45:45 | Kelly)“To this day, if you go to dance competitions, moms all over the world are having a cocktail at a dance competition. Yep, that's just the way it is. It really is.” (53:12-53:26 | Christi)“No mom who steps foot in the door can claim that it's not about them in some capacity. You don't go on a TV show if it's not about you.” (1:14:31-1:14:39 | Christi) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They always asked me the most stupid things, Kelly says, about Dance Mom reunion shows, the first of which is the subject of today’s podcast episode. Christi reminds us that the Moms were the real stars of the show and they got up to a lot while their daughters were endlessly rehearsing with Abby. They attempted to work out at the gym but always got sidetracked to the same place. Christi reveals why she would sit outside of the studio at the bus stop and who she spent hours talking to there. Abby spent much of her free time seeing hundreds of Broadway shows, which she always managed to brag about.The Moms have an unbreakable bond that far precedes and has long outlasted the show. Christi recalls what she said to the officer who pulled her over while she was rushing Nia and Chloe to a competition, as well as the incident during Clara’s birth that Paige and Chloe still talk about every time they see her. No one talks to Abby anymore, but they still think of her and the lingering influence she and the show had on the girls’ psyches, and the Moms’ careers and parenting styles. If Abby had had a child, things might have been very different, since she would have understood the extent of the Moms’ responsibilities, and the lengths to which they were willing to go for their children. They give suggestions to improve Jill’s reunion show wardrobe and discuss the hit job Kelly’s stylist did on her hair.Quotes“It's funny because I said nobody understands like us, we all have each other's back and Abby's rolling her eyes. The five of us still talk and nobody talks to her. So roll your eyes all you want Abby.” (41:12-41:24 | Christi) “Abby said, ‘I can always create another family.’...None of those little families worked out as well as us. No, they were all just trying to be us.” (41:42-42:06 | Kelly and Christi)“Abby was trying to take Jill to etiquette school to teach her how to glide down the stairs. You can't sit in a chair, but you're going to teach Jill how to glide down stairs. OK. Whatever.” (1:44:49-1:45:03 | Christi) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We thought we’d take you guys on a little jaunt down memory lane,” says Christi, who describes, along with Kelly, what it was like, as regular moms from Pittsburgh, to attend the 2012 Teen Choice Awards. They recall which celebrities acted like fans toward the cast and which were really rude to them. The drama that went into getting ready–including Kelly throwing a pair of shoes at Christi– reflected the gray area between their old lives and their newfound fame. While it wasn’t always as much fun as it might have seemed, the thought of that time still makes them emotional. Later in the episode, they answer fan questions about the state of their friendship and how their time on Dance Moms has changed the way they view reality TV. The real drama, they explain, took place behind the scenes among the crew, including a strange image that one of the cast members found on one of the crew member’s laptop. Fame still feels strange though people still refer to them–literally–as icons all these years later.  Despite not seeing each other as often as they used to, Kelly and Christi always pick up right where they left off. Hear them find out which of the Golden Girls best represents each of the Dance Moms, their plans to open a bar/laundromat and why Kelly hates Mother’s Day.Quotes“This is before we realized that people had stylists…When people brought it up, I thought, ‘The Kardashians have stylists, not Kelly Hyland from Pittsburgh…‘That's just weird.’ (21:06-21:34 | Christi and Kelly)“I intentionally keep those shoes in the front of my shoe rack. They make me smile every time I look at them, because it was such a moment where I thought…‘How did we get here?’...” (28:43-29:07 | Christi)“I remember them saying, ‘Everybody practice ‘Call Me Maybe’ because they're going to have us sing it…’ I did not know the song. The entire world sang that song over and over and over and over again. I’m old. A little behind the times...still wearing a f***ing banana clip.” (30:43-31:18 | Christi and Kelly) “They give you Dixie cups of wine at the awards show. So, we had 27. I had one between each finger.” (34:52-34:58 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to Chloe for being our very special guest this episode!LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s finally time,” says Brooke about making her long-awaited guest appearance on Back to the Barre. Throughout the episode, her references reiterate the robust second life that Dance Moms has been given on TikTok. She explains what the platform has dubbed “The Brooke Effect,” and that she learned from many of her followers that her inability to remember much from her time filming the show is actually a trauma response. As Kelly points out, Brooke was the worst age to film the show, not only because she was basically going through puberty on camera. She was old enough to teach the younger girls how to kiss on the back of the bus while traveling to competitions, but too young to join Kelly and Christi as they passed wine back and forth through the cracks in the seats. Producers of all kinds continue to sell the Hyland girls short, as this episode shows Brooke recording her “Summertime Love Song” in L.A., where the girls have stayed to compete at Intensity Dance ahead of Nationals. Music producers autotuned her naturally lovely voice beyond recognition, and the show forced her to work with small-time producers who buried her singing career. According to Kelly, Brooke never made a penny from the record or the merch. Abby appointed herself director of Brooke’s music video which featured all the girls, even directing Maddie to dance in heavy traffic. Throughout today’s episode, they discuss behind-the-scenes stories and clips that were never aired, like what the big lips on Kendall’s costume were a tribute to and what Brooke’s young male co-star said about Brooke off-camera. We also learn why Kelly sat in a dumpster all afternoon and why Christi had to explain STDs to the girls at seven in the morning. Quotes“We're always on the bottom row, huh, Brookie? We lived there. That’s where all my money went. I paid rent on the third row of the pyramid.” (23:09-23:20 | Kelly) “People who grew up watching the show and are coming back have a better understanding of it now that they're adults…I mean, there is absolutely an element of crazy there ” (100:53-1:01:20 | Christi)“McKenzie was sucking her thumb and carrying around a blanket and I had a boyfriend who was driving around.” (1:07:59-1:08:06 | Brooke)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This episode is infamous as far as bad behavior goes,” says Christi. It’s so full of offenses neither she nor Kelly can believe it’s still airing, especially with the way the world has changed in the ten years since it first aired. Kaya and her daughter Nicaya arrive to audition to be on the ALDC, or really, as the other Dance Moms realize but can’t break the fourth wall to say, to be on the show. Producers were always threatening to replace the Moms with new people if they didn’t cooperate, and Kaya and Nicaya were the first to come from far away to join the team/show. The group dance is its own source of cringe. The girls, including Paige, who is trying to learn the dance as her broken foot heals, portray children living in a mental institution. Abby waits until the last minute to include Nicaya in the dance when the girls perform it at Nationals in L.A. Nia’s solo is a tribute to Josephine Baker and Abby’s attempts to emulate it–she only ever attempted Nia’s choreography, Kelly points out–makes everyone react somewhere between a laugh and a shudder. Christi utters the phrase she regrets more than anything she has ever said on the show. She and Kelly explain why their husbands were the true unsung heroes of the show and the rare moment of sympathy they have for Abby in this episode. Quotes“It's amazing to me what an example of bad behavior across the board this show is and people continue to watch it…We wouldn't be doing 90% of the shit that we did.” (28:12-28:31 | Christi and Kelly)“Why does everybody just get to walk in and be in our dances?...You know I’m never on Abby's team, but I would be so pissed if somebody told me to put a kid in that I had never worked with right before Nationals.” (43:04-43:25 | Christi)“Melissa is asking Kaya about her previous relationships, and this actually made me laugh. She says, ‘What made you go from a man to a woman? And I am howling, because I know Melissa, and I know what Melissa likes about a man.” (1:10:11-1:10:29 | Christi)“Everybody makes Paige out to be stupid and can't ever learn or remember anything. She learned the dance in half the time as everybody else did. She punched herself in her face just as well as anybody else.” (1:08:02-1:08:16 | Christi and Kelly) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This show is just about you and me being assholes,” says Kelly about the latest episode of ‘Dance Moms,’ where the girls prepare for and perform in Abby’s annual recital, which Kelly and Christi both admit is incredible. Less incredible is the girls’ ability to dance hip-hop, and since Paige’s foot is still broken she has to figure out how to dance from the waist up. Abby brings Payton in to join the “Light My Fire” group number, which means Leslie is back and lashing out at everyone. She tells Kelly she needs to be in both therapy and AA. Knowing she is being set up by producers to look like a fool yet again, Kelly storms out and Christi curses at producers in her defense. She is also put in charge of gathering together the ALDC alumnae class of 1985, even though most of Abby’s former students want nothing to do with her. She also has to throw a party in which Cathy crashes and tries to steal one of Abby’s potential new students. The more fun task was playing guest bartender with Christi at a local club and seeing Jill get wild with patrons. Holly, of course, refused to step behind the bar. Since this was the first recital since the show had aired, the audience was suddenly packed with adoring fans. Christi describes the feeling of hearing everyone go wild for the girls when they took the stage for their first number. She also explains why for years, she found countless pairs of underwear under the seats of her car. Quotes“At this point ‘Dance Moms’ had been airing. So if any of Abby’s alumni wanted to be found they would have crawled out of the woodwork. Those people did not want to be found.” (25:10-25:20 | Christi)“At this point, I am over being made to look like an ass, based on lies. If you want to air the truth about me, whatever, I live up to what I do. But when you start lying, and have other people saying it on national television, I start to have a problem.” (1:11:26-1:11:50 | Kelly) “I remember us sitting in the audience, sobbing. I think at that point, we thought, ‘How did we get here?’...That's one of my favorite memories of Dance Moms’” (1:22:46-1:23:27 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Dance Moms, the girls are headed to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to compete and they are joined by the Candy Apples. This is the episode where Jill and Cathy truly start to despise each other. It’s a hatred that lasts to this day, though no one can say just why. During rehearsal, Christi and Melissa get into a fight and Melissa pulls Maddie’s solo. She decides she doesn’t have to show up for filming even though Kelly shows up when her girls are out with injuries. It’s part of the contract to be on the show. Still, once they arrived in Myrtle Beach, Melissa and Christi were taking pictures together on jet skis and going out to dinner. The Moms had no choice but to fight with each other, and they had no choice but to get along. Kelly misses going to the competitions and watching the girls dance, although during filming those were the longest and most grueling days. Others aren’t so fond of their time with the ALDC. Chloe, Paige and Brooke were too traumatized to continue to dance, and many of Abby’s former students message Christi and Kelly to share their horror stories. Quotes“I was watching it yesterday, and I actually missed it. I don't know if it’s because I was sick or what, but I was just sitting there watching us on our way to a competition, thinking, ‘Oh, I miss watching them dance.’ It was our life. Since our kids were two. There was probably not a day that went by that we didn't sit and watch them dance. It's crazy.” (10:40-10:59 | Kelly) “All the former students that weren't on the show will DM me and say things about Abby. And they have stories that are 15 times worse. I saw one girl…who said, ‘I was in my kitchen cooking, and  ‘Dance Moms’ came on in the background. I heard Abby’s voice and I dropped my plate on the floor. It just shattered everywhere. Just hearing her voice’… And she was there a long time ago. She was a senior when our kids were babies.” (16:00-16:44 | Kelly and Christi) “I don't know if fans know that. The Candy Apples and the Abby Lee Dance Company kids were friends...It was lunchtime, and we’d say, ‘Look, Kelly's hungry. My brain hurts. We're not on camera, so we don't have to fight.’” (1:09:40-1:10:21 (Kelly and Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I held it in this whole episode but then I went balls to the wall,” says Christi of the explosive fight that ends the latest episode of Dance Moms. This week’s competition takes place in Philadelphia, where the girls dance a ballet routine despite not having had a ballet class in three years. Chloe remembers this as the hardest dance she’s ever had to do. Christi remembers that they had a really nice steak dinner at Palm. Brooke has an acro solo called “The Diary of Anne Frank,” and Kelly says she’s pretty sure Anne Frank wasn’t doing cartwheels. Since Paige has broken her foot, Abby puts Kendall into the group dance even though she is not part of the team. The other Moms are mad because their girls have given up so much of their time and energy not just to dance but to the show. The Moms joke that everywhere Jill goes one of the dancers mysteriously breaks a foot, first Taylor and now Paige. Meanwhile, Brooke’s back has gotten so sore it hurts for her to breathe, and Kelly finally pulls Brooke’s solo. Ever the opportunist, Jill asks if Kendall can take Brooke’s place. Christi shares the story behind Abby calling Chloe a sneak and her a whore who sells t-shirts in a bar. The truth is, as usual, much different from Abby’s twisted narrative and production’s deceptive editing. Quotes“They showed Jill and Kendall trying to make it over the greatest crater I've ever seen. I mean, at this point, it's like a shelf in the ocean. If the parking lot were full of water, you would drown in that bitch.” (26:12-26:27 | Christi)“That's the third time Abby has said Brooke broke her toe, not her foot. Like she’s trying to downplay it. I mean, every time I say something to somebody, am I supposed to say ‘Oh, it was her third metatarsal or whatever?’ It's her freaking foot.” (31:42-31:58 | Kelly)“Abby says that she sees a lot of mistakes and their ballet steps are definitely not up to par. Because we haven’t had ballet class in three years and only a five minute rehearsal. Yeah. ‘Well, we touched the ballet barre this week. We're magically all Anna Pavlova now.’” (1:01:43-1:01:58 | Kelly and Christi) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I can’t believe this is real life,” says Christi on this latest episode of Back to the Barre, “We’re standing there arguing on national television over a bow.” Jill and Kendall are back, having left Candy Apples, and Jill is being accused of stealing a two-dollar hair bow at the Starpower competition in Lancaster, PA. Before that though, at the beginning of the episode, she is accused of stealing Kelly’s hairstyle. Meanwhile, Abby criticizes Nia’s hairstyle, telling her to fix it, and Holly fires back at Abby to fix everything about herself. Seeing famously stoic and diplomatic Dr. Holly act more like Kelly and Christi has all the girls in hysterics.The casting director of Drop Dead Diva calls to say–to no one’s surprise–that Maddie has been chosen for the role that all the girls auditioned for the week prior, even though the part was promised to Paige.A young man named Nick joins the girls this week to perform the part of the vampire in a Twilight-themed group dance and Abby openly directs him to bite the girls and vice versa. She has also given nicknames to both Brooke and Mackenzie’s bellies, which is why Brooke always wears a shirt over her leotard. Still the most shocking part of the episode is that Abby is wearing white in one of her interviews. Quotes“I would pay all of the money in the world to see Abby do an arabesque. And not because of any weight thing. I'm just saying, she can't do it.” (30:07-30:16 | Christi) “That's why Brooke always wears a shirt. Abby had names for both Brooke and Mackenzie’s bellies, which is a horrible thing. ‘Take your belly out of here,’ she tells Mackenzie. But then people get mad at me when I say to Abby, ‘Oh, stop eating. That's why you’re fat.’ But she says that to my daughter and other girls in the studio every day.” (42:54-43:21 | Kelly)“And I love Holly in this moment. I want more of this Holly. Show up, please. She said, ‘I'm entitled to my opinion because I'm 42 years old and a free American citizen. I get to say what I believe, what I want, andI stand on my credentials and my knowledge, something you can never take away.’ Do you see what happens right then? Well, Abby cannot go toe-to-toe with Holly. So she goes after Nia.” (47:03-47:28 | Christi) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I guess everyone is just happy for me to be born!” says Kelly. In this episode, the Moms gather at her house to celebrate her 41st birthday, the only one the show seems to celebrate, she points out. Leslie shows up late and continues to be entitled and to insult everyone before throwing her mic pac across the room and leaving. Christi continues to be annoyed by Leslie but can’t tell if she’s rolling her eyes in annoyance or from all the wine served in Kelly’s Lolita glasses. Christi says it was hard–particularly for their kids, who felt like they had to defend their mothers–to be called drunks on TV when it was so far from reality. Still, her favorite picture is of herself and Kelly standing next to a sign that says, “No Alcohol Beyond This Point,” which college kids across the country have blown up into banners and hung in their dorm rooms. Kelly rolls her eyes in this episode, too, but not at Payton dancing on stage during the Starbound competition in Atlanta like the show made it seem. Early on in the series, the Moms used to try to control their facial expressions so they couldn’t be taken out of context, but they gave up trying because the producers misrepresented them anyway. Chloe returns from her school camping trip with a whole new confidence. Abby keeps calling her park ranger and Yogi Bear, despite the reference clearly going over Chloe’s head. She makes a dig at the Girl Scouts even though she was a Girl Scout herself and recently put her uniform up for auction. Quotes“Leslie was like a woodpecker just pecking at your brain the whole time she would set up there. And I think that we knew when to give each other a minute, the main cast. Sometimes like even when you're fighting, somebody just needs a minute. Like, let it breathe for a minute. She's just relentless. It's like a teenage boy when he first kisses you. And you think, ‘Whoa, whoa, buddy.’ Not so intense. Give me some breathing room.’” (46:34-47:11 | Christi)“I don't know if I rolled my eyes at Leslie or my eyes were just rolling around from all the drinking. One of my eyes was over here and the other one was this way, it was terrible. It was embarrassing to watch.” (1:21:23-1:23:25 | Christi) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s like Cinderella:” says Christi of the latest episode of Dance Moms, “You can go to the ball if you get your work done, but I’m going to give you a lot more work.” The girls are headed to Akron, Ohio to compete against the Candy Apples including Kendall, who has recently joined after leaving Abby’s studio. Abby gives Paige a solo so that she can try for a title and thinks Paige should be thrilled, but Paige knows–like everyone else–that a solo means a week of torture. Especially since Abby does everything she can to make sure Paige can’t rehearse, including holding a random gymnastics class. Kelly notices that Abby was starting to make the Moms confront her in pairs of two so that she can use the camera time to say something nasty about both Moms’ children to the audience. Kelly decides to choreograph Paige’s dance herself with the little knowledge she has left over from her own years dancing with Abby. They have to practice in the dreaded Studio C because if they get caught in Studio A, Abby will get mad and not let Paige compete at all. Watching Paige perform her routine on stage, Christi says she never wanted someone to win so badly in her life, as she wanted Paige to win at that moment. Kelly thinks Paige should have won for going up against Abby and for all the times she was set up to fail for the sake of drama. Viewers figure out that Abby listens to the Back to the Barre podcast and has signed up to their Patreon just to keep insisting that she never threw a chair at Paige. Between Jill’s apple ring, Abby’s necklace that looks like bubble gum from a vending machine and her cheap orange rhinestones–that match Christi’s!--this episode gives the Moms plenty of reasons to drink.Quotes“It’s like Cinderella: You can go to the ball if you get all your work done, but I’m going to give you a lot more work.” (51:31-51:37 | Christi) “Here we are, now Chloe got practice all week, and now she's getting all these corrections in the pep talk. And Paige got, ‘Look at the judges.’ No practice all week and the only thing she's told is ‘Look at the judges.’ And Chloe's not going for a title. It’s just… it's bullshit. It's bullshit.” (1:12:38-1:13:01 | Kelly)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This one’s interesting because Abby is nice,” says Christi of this special episode of Dance Moms, where Abby counts down her top ten favorite dances from the show so far. Unsurprisingly, Kelly and Christi can’t understand her choices. What is most surprising, though–shocking really–is the praise Abby heaps onto Chloe and Brooke during the episode. If she had spoken even a tenth of those words to them while they were still her students, Kelly insists, Brooke wouldn’t have ended up hating dance and may have ended up performing in Cirque du Soleil after all. Instead, she says, Abby always compared people, especially to their closest family members, something Kelly can’t understand and Christi knows still bothers many of those people to this day.Among the dances in the countdown is the “Pinup Girls” trio performed by Choe, Paige and Maddie that, Christi points out,  is where it all began. In fact, the show was supposed to begin from a whole other angle, but the fighting and drama that stemmed from Chloe’s headband falling over her eyes was so good, producers knew they had to open with it. That, and Kelly reminds them, it featured the famous scene of the two of them sneaking off to the bar while Abby was attempting to organize things from the dressing room. Christi says the only thing that was remarkable about Chloe’s headband falling was that she still did a series of aerials while blinded. Discover which dances the Moms are sure would get them canceled today, which of Abby’s many annoying habits is one of Christi’s biggest pet peeves, and why Christi made Melissa sign a contract before she would work on Maddie’s costume. Quotes“Abby had great things to say. They must have offered her a bonus for what she was saying, because I'm telling you, it had to kill her. They said, ‘Every compliment you give, you get a $5,000 bonus. And she said, ‘Christie is my favorite and Kelly's smart.’”  (10:17-10:39 | Christi) “Cathy, aka the hick from Ohio. Again, if I were from Ohio, I'd be so pissed. The whole show. Meanwhile, Ohio’s 30 centimeters over the Pittsburgh border, so if Cathy’s a hick, so are we.” (43:44-44:04 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“These girls were being micro-analyzed,” says Christi about the pressure the girls continued to face as dancers and reality show stars. They’re competing at Starpower this week, the largest competition in the United States, Abby keeps reminding everyone. It’s so big, in fact, it’s split into two venues, and Abby sees an opportunity to sign Maddie up for two solos. Once again, she and Melissa form a secret plan to get Maddie ahead, use bad acting to cover it up, and everyone else has to keep their mouths shut and pretend their daughters have a chance to win. Brooke has taken the weekend off to attend her first school dance, which Kelly had to fight with producers to allow. She always made sure her girls didn’t miss out on big events for the sake of dance–or Dance Moms. Still, she and Christi feel guilty to this day for what they put their daughters through–as well as the rest of their kids–for the sake of both.Kelly can’t share the moment with Brooke because producers need her at the dance studio to fight with Leslie. Payton returns to fill in for Brooke. And considering she had a costume custom-made for the competition, it is obvious that was a move planned by producers well in advance. Previously, Payton had pushed Paige flat on her back and producers saw it as an opportunity for Kelly to confront Leslie and start a fight with the whole group about bullying. Christi and Kelly discuss just how much these young dancers had riding on their shoulders, just from Abby alone. They suspect that immediately after every competition, producers showed Abby footage of each dance so she could analyze everyone’s mistakes. This is why Abby always arrived in the dressing room after everyone else with specific critiques that would have been impossible to see from the audience. Quotes“Isn’t it crazy to think that the baby from Dance Moms is now as old as the oldest from Dance Moms?” (35:35-35:42 | Christi)“We all know a lot of old routines. Why didn’t all the kids go over there and do them? We could have all done our real solos. Why couldn’t we do ‘Ma, He’s Making Eyes at Me,’ because that dance beat “Cry” a bunch of times in real life. Or Paige and Brooke could have done their solos that they didn’t get to do two weeks before.” (1:02:13-1:02:36 | Christi and Kelly) LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This is all bad acting,” says Christi about the episode of Dance Moms titled “I Know What You Did Last Competition.” Like a pair of detectives, she and Kelly spend this episode of Back to the Barre pointing out all the behaviors that gave Melissa and Abby away as cheaters and (bad) liars. Abby and Melissa had conspired before the previous competition to scratch the cd containing Maddie’s choreography music, knowing that judges would automatically declare Maddie the winner just for completing the dance uninterrupted. In this latest Dance Moms episode, Abby wields her trademark hypocrisy, Melissa uses clever wording and the two stage an over-the-top fake fight to try to cover it up. Nobody’s buying it, though, especially with all they’ve learned in the last 11 years.The inherent problem with Dance Moms–and one of the many reasons they both agree children shouldn’t participate in reality TV— is that the Moms are paid to fight, but Abby would take those fights out on their daughters. So Chloe, Paige and Brooke were constantly punished because Kelly and Christi carried the show. Abby knew this and took full advantage of it. Every week, the Hylands  were set up–by Abby and the producers— to look stupid. This week, Abby used the costumes to humiliate them, putting the girls in the wrong sizes and not letting Paige wear the green dress so she could stand out. These days Abby hocks counterfeit versions of Paige’s costumes and props online. The real ones remain packed away in Kelly’s house. Christi shares her favorite-ever Lifetime movie and the random words that make her sick. Quotes“There are a lot of little clues–if you know Abby and Melissa–throughout this episode that I really caught on to…Normally in a situation like this Abby would have thrown it in the girls’ faces, but here she wants to move on. She just dismissed it because…she would have looked guilty.” (20:51-21:23 | Kelly and Christi)“Abby tells the audience that she’s going to take the contract that I signed and make me read it, because she doesn’t think I read. I don’t read. And let me tell you, if I was going to read something it sure as hell wouldn’t be her contract.” (32:36-32:48 | Kelly)“This fight reads so insincere and fake from Melissa. Go back and watch it. It’s so not real.” (41:57-42:09 | Christi)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Every woman in America has this on her refrigerator,” says Christi of yet another line that Kelly uttered in pure frustration that would go on to become one of the most quoted lines in Dance Moms history. Kelly and the other Moms have been spending extra time making costumes that they pay Abby to provide while Abby sits eating in the McDonald’s parking lot. When Kelly fails to get rubber stoppers for the chair Paige was using in her dance number (which Kelly explains was a setup by production) Abby throws the chair at Paige in frustration. Kelly barges into the studio and screams at Abby “Stop eating! That’s why you’re fat!” and storms out, taking Brooke and Paige with her. Now that they’re filming the show, Abby doesn’t need Melissa’s money and Melissa doesn’t have time to work at the studio’s front desk. So, while Maddie is technically on the bottom of the pyramid this week because she forgot her steps at the last competition, she is also there–as Christi points out–because Melissa hasn’t been sucking up as much to Abby lately. Given their long history, Kelly knew instantly what Abby was up to, though no one believed her at the time. She talks about how flustered she felt being made to look like she had failed her daughter because she couldn’t reveal production’s mistake on camera. She also points out the hypocrisy of the fans’ negative reaction to her calling Abby fat while Abby calls her idiot and stupid multiple times per episode, often screaming inches from their face.Quotes“Your experience was giving me heart palpitations. You know how they say that if you have a twin that you can feel their ghost pain? I was that way with all the Moms.” (41:09-41:23 | Christi)“I crack up every time I see those shots of the cameraman running after us. I know they hate life.” (46:26-46:31 | Christi)“Here's my favorite: Abby says, ‘You were a mean girl when you were 12 and you're still a mean girl.’ She just threw a chair at a child.” (48:17-48:27 | Christi) “People get mad at me because I called Abby fat. Once. She calls me stupid and dingbat three times an episode.” (1:23:39-1:23:46 | Kelly)LinksSubscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarreThank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiakFollow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You can tell that things are starting to take a dark turn,” says Christi of this episode of Dance Moms. Abby is starting to take her already toxic tactics to a new extreme. To punish Chloe for winning the Joffrey ballet scholarship and for getting a solo this week, Abby makes her stand at the front of the studio while the other girls critique her. She triangulates Chloe, Brooke and Maddie against each other, telling each one that they are the team’s true leader while also implying they are each its weakest link. She threatens to have Christi arrested and thrown off the show. Of course, Abby can’t take criticism herself. Kelly tells her that her choreography is getting stale, voicing a complaint held by many on the team. Chloe and Brooke had each complained that all of their dances were the same moves in varying order. Additionally, this made them even more difficult to learn in the few hours that the girls (other than Maddie) were given to learn them. Rather than receive this input like an adult, Abby corrects Kelly’s grammar, screaming inches from her face, “Christi and I!!” This phrase was quickly added to the Dance Moms fandom lexicon and is still a frequent inside joke between Christi and Kelly. Showing the team who their true leader is, Abby abandons them at the competition in Upland, CA and heads to Florida. Quotes “I think all of our light and bright fun might be coming to an end.” (10:51-10:54 | Christi) “Holly said it best: Abby is an abomination of evil.” (18:35-18:42 | Christi) “Chloe and Abby are wearing matching outfits. They're both wearing blue with rhinestone crap. Chloe actually has blue rhinestone earrings on so we need to drink because I'm ashamed.” (58:41-58:52 | Christi) “So Abby tells me that I'm always unhappy. And I just say, ‘Abby, your choreography sucks.’” (1:35:56-1:36:02 | Kelly) “I remember looking over and seeing Abby in your face. I can vividly remember my perspective. So it was really weird for me to see it on camera from a different angle because I'm standing on the other side of you. It’s burned in my memory how close she was to your face.” (1:37:38-1:38:01 | Christi) Links Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarre Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510 Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiak Follow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Didn’t you just want to smack Abby?” says Kelly while reviewing this special episode of Dance Moms– the top-20 countdown of “Abby’s Most OMG Moments." Christi is happy to report that this was the second-lowest rated episode of Season 2, despite Abby’s insistence that fans only tuned into the show to watch her. Watching this countdown made the cast aware of several things they had never realized about the show. Kelly realizes how funny Holly really is and that Leslie only complained shout Peyton’s outfit to get more screen time. Christi and Kelly get to the root of Abby’s insults– she always ridicules the thing she is jealous of– Holly’s education, Cathy’s business savvy and her much younger husband, and all of their children. Recently, Christi saw a picture of Abby’s mother as a young woman and noted that Mrs. Miller looked a lot like Paige and Brooke–the two main targets of Abby’s wrath. Abby’s jealousy doesn’t end there–or anywhere it seems. She also hated that producers loved Kelly’s mother’s cooking so much they asked her to cater for the show. She was jealous of the professional management teams the girls began to hire as they became famous, and she threw a 30 minute tantrum when producers failed to offer her a donut. Quotes “So that just goes to show maybe people weren't tuning in for Abby. Maybe they liked our girls. Who knows?” (11:03-11:10 | Christi) “Holly’s funny. I don’t remember her being so funny. I don’t remember Holly being so funny. When we filmed she very rarely spoke.” (24:23-24:34 | Kelly) SM Quote “Anytime there was a dumb errand, Abby would send us. Meanwhile, joke's on you. I can't wait to get the hell out there. Yeah, amen.” (27:06-27:13 | Christi) “Somebody posted a picture of Mrs. Miller when she was young. She surprisingly looked like Chloe and Paige– tall, thin, beautiful. She was very pretty. They said, maybe that's why Abby hated those two. (33:29-33:47 | Christi) “My mother was just the sweetest, kindest woman. There was not a person in the world that didn't like my mother. Abby only stopped liking her when she started catering the show. She sure as hell didn’t mind eating her cookies for the last 30 years.” (54:24-54:47 | Kelly and Christi) “Oh, didn’t you want to just smack Abby? I should have smacked her right then, I could have gotten out of two seasons of filming.” (57:12-57:20 | Kelly) Links Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarre Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510 Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiak Follow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There was a lot of infantilizing of Kendall,” says James Mahan, former “Dance Moms” producer and the rare genuine friend that Kelly and Christi maintain from their days on the show. He returns to share more behind-the-scenes perspectives and brand new stories. Some of his observations a casual fan could make, like noticing that Jill only ever refers to her daughter as “little.” On the other hand, he explains the complicated politics behind staging competitions on reality TV. Christi shares the conspiracy theory that diehard, deep-diving fans of the show have developed as to why Maddie famously forgot her steps. They all laugh at the memory of Abby insisting that everyone awkwardly shoehorn the name of the studio into all on-camera conversations and that they wear nothing but her merch while filming. They admire the clever way Cathy always managed to get around this. The girls start this “Dance Moms” episode by performing for the judges at the Joffrey, and end up at the Starbound Dance Competition in Paramus. Quotes “I just feel like every time I did an interview with Jill, she’d say, “Kendall’s a beautiful little dancer. It was always ‘little.’ You’d hear that word in every interview. There was a lot of infantilizing of Kendall that happened.” (16:18-16:40 | James, Christy and Kelly) “Abby would not say ‘Candy Apples’ on camera because she didn't want to promote Cathy’s business. But we always had to say ALDC. I like that Kathy found a way around saying ‘Abby Lee Dance Company.’ So Cathy and Abby both were quite funny about not giving the other any free publicity.” (26:40-27:03) | Christi and James) “Am I allowed to chew gum in Jersey? Because I got yelled at once for chewing gum in New York. She yelled at me that it wasn't Jersey.” (33:55-34:01 | Christi) “It was hilarious when Jill said, ‘Kendall looks like an angel. A little angel.’ Jill, she's actually dressed as an angel. So, yeah she did.. So did all the other kids in the dance.” (41:54-42:18 | Christi) Links Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarre Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510 Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiak Follow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I hear and validate your frustrations,” says former Dance Moms producer James Mahan. He joins today’s episode to discuss some of the funniest behind-the-scenes moments with Christi and Kelly, and confirm some of their long-standing issues. The off-screen banter between Christi and James during the show’s filming resulted in some of Christi’s funniest on-screen moments. The majority of James’ time was spent fighting with Abby. He had to convince her to stop ripping off famous dance routines, not make obscure dance references that the audience wouldn’t understand, and to let someone other than Maddie be on top of the pyramid every week. On this episode of Dance Moms, the girls are in New York to audition for the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School. Abby tries to teach them two years’ worth of ballet in an hour. Maddie gets upset when she realizes that she forgot her ballet shoes at the hotel. The cruelty many of the show’s producers showed to the girls when they were at their most upset was what made James leave reality TV. But the cast loved him because he acted like a real human, unlike many of the show’s other producers. Hear James tell the story that he calls “the nail in the coffin,” and the one where he got hit by a car in slow motion while walking back to his hotel after a Madonna concert. Quotes:“I would conduct interviews after we'd filmed the week. My interviews were with Christi and Kelly, sometimes Dr. Holly and Abby. Brooke, Paige and I were pretty close. So I was able to work with them and have it sound natural. Because there's an art to the interview and you have to remind people of what happened to get them to talk about the events to make it sound natural.” (17:25-18:04 | James)“We are not the cutest. We’re just disgusted. Always. All the time. Just in a state of absolute disgust.” (28:55-29:05 | Kelly and Christi) “The knock-off choreography from Chicago was a little foreshadowing of Abby's little stint in prison. Or we can say it's foreshadowing of Kelly getting arrested in the Bronx.” (32:28-32:49 | Christi, Kelly, James) “Paige says it's weird being in jail because she’s never been there before. Well, thank goodness, Paige. You’re 11.” (33:16-33:26 | Kelly) “We were visiting in LA and we were in the editing booth. And I remember seeing somebody reach up and pull a piece of paper off the wall that basically had our names and what our characters were because they didn't want me to see it. It wouldn't be that hard to figure out. Christy: jealous. Kelly: party mom.” (39:17-39:38 | Christi)“I mean, a gay club loves a Dance Mom. That's all I'm saying. Yeah. Oh, it's been proven.” (50:22-50:28 | Christi and James)“I block out a lot of things, James. I don't remember a lot of stuff. There's something to be said for selective memory.” (53:59-54:06 | Kelly and James)“When I'm on my home computer our audience says Christi looks like I'm a news anchor and Kelly looks like she's a remote correspondent in Afghanistan. I don't care if you don't like it. Don't watch me. Because it was a war zone in the ALDC. It was a war zone. That's why I have this background.” (1:02:56-1:03:20 | Kelly and Christi)   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You know who gives them body image issues? Abby,” says Kelly of this latest episode of Dance Moms. A scout from the prestigious Joffrey ballet company will be the audience of this week’s competition. Oddly, Abby chooses to choreograph a gymnastics-heavy number with a plastic surgery/body insecurity theme called “Nip/Tuck”. This leads to Christi and Kelly discussing what plastic surgery they and Abby have and haven’t had. Christi credits botox with transforming her signature “angry eyes,” Kelly believes the show still owes her a boob job and they both agree that Abby has had so much work done on her face since the show began that she’s now unrecognizable. During the show, Abby warns the girls not to grow up to look like their mothers. Christi reveals the truly despicable manner in which Abby used the girls to poke at their mothers’ insecurities.Maddie takes after her mother in that they both continue to receive special treatment. Maddie gets extra time and personalized attention from Abby that allows her to perfect her solos. Producers let Melissa opt out of filming whenever she gets uncomfortable. This leaves the other Moms to fight, confess and cause the drama that makes the show a hit and Maddie a star. When Nia injures her foot, Abby treats the situation much differently than when the other girls were hurt. If there’s a bright spot amidst all the chaos it’s the cheese log and chicken wings at Mohan’s. Christi and Kelly’s love of lobster is fulfilled at the airport hotdog stand where they eat bisque squeezed out of a plastic bag.Quotes“It’s always about Abby. It’s always about her. Except when things go wrong. Then it’s about everybody else.” (12:51-12:59 | Christi and Kelly)“I can tell when I'm doing a pickup because I am the world's worst actress. Give me all the Razzies.” (14:25-14:31 | Christi)“Abby tells us the name of the group dance and I am scowling. That’s back when I still could scowl because I didn’t have Botox.” (19:15:-19:19 | Christi) “God forbid the producers had gotten me a free boob job. They gave us a $15 lunch, you think they were going to you boobs? Please. But they’re driving around in Maseratis. (20:43-21:02 | Kelly and Christi)“I think we’re supposed to be trying to teach our girls to be comfortable in their own skin and not change that skin. Well, look I’m going to get back on that because I’ve changed my skin a few times. So, do whatever you want to do to make you happy.” (25:45-21:57 | Christi)“If your kids get to be the superstars of the show, you need to step up and say things, too. Because we as the moms are carrying the drama and your kids are benefitting.” (59:37-59:48 | Christi)“I’m going to tell you something that Chloe has said to me time and time again: the dances were so hard to remember because it was the same steps every week just in a different order. That’s why it was so easy to mess them up. No wonder they got confused.” (1:18:13-1:18:39 | Christi and Kelly) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If we all got lawyers then there wouldn’t have been a show,” says Kelly about this episode of Dance Moms where Melissa sends the other Moms cease and desist letters. In the viewing room, the Moms had asked Melissa why she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring, and Melissa stormed out, while getting in touch with her lawyers. Abby lashes out at both the kids and the Moms in defense of Melissa. This scene sums up one of Christi’s fundamental disagreements with the show: the hypocrisy and double standards for different people. Melissa signed up for the same reality show that Christi and Kelly did, yet she hides behind Abby and doesn’t play ball, leaving Christi and Kelly to carry the show, engage in the kind of conflict the viewers tune in for, and as a result, look jealous and petty. Christi reveals the real reason Melissa wasn’t wearing her engagement ring, why she was so defensive, and the real ‘they’ Melissa was referring to on the phone.Nia has a spot in the trio and is so excited about it. All the Moms want her to do well, especially because they know Abby will make her a scapegoat if things go wrong. Taylor, one of Cathy’s Candy Apples gets injured, and Cathy immediately wonders how well Kendall will be able to fill Taylor’s shoes. Everyone is wearing so much faux fur, ugly sequins and junky jewelry that Kelly can only touch her cocktail to her lips as she reviews, for fear of passing out. Abby continues to be a verbally abusive hypocrite, her desk remains a waste hazard and she carries her pizza box like it’s a book.Quotes “Everyone just thinks we're being bitches. No, there's a lot more to it than what you think. So this is a good episode for us to give behind-the-scenes takes on things because I think people are going to say, ‘Oh, that makes a lot more sense than what we've watched.’” (10:07-10:21 | Christi)“Honestly, our big night out always was Saturday nights after we finished filming. And we were always so exhausted. We would go and lay in a hotel room, drink wine, and have dinner. Sometimes we’d go out to dinner. Or the mall. We went to the mall a lot with the girls. Yeah, because we were gone and needed clothes.” (20:43-21:09 | Christi and Kelly)“We either had no time to eat, or all we did was eat our feelings.” (30:45-30:48 | Christi)“Abby repeats that she chose this topic since the girls are privileged. And a lot of kids their age aren't. Yeah, who else's parents can 16 grand a year on dance? Yeah, just a bunch of assholes.” (52:02-52:14 | Kelly and Christi)“I just want to point out how excited the producers were that there was an ambulance involved. Oh, yeah. They were really excited. Blood. Ambulance. Drama. Yeah.” (1:24:03-1:24:13 | Christi)“We should have gotten a lawyer to protect us. And we wouldn't have been in the positions we are, but the show also wouldn’t be what it is.” (1:28:01-1:28:15 | Kelly) “Happy holidays if we don't see you. Kisses. I hope Santa puts you on the good list. I'm not sure about us. I think we're on the bad list. Naughty list for the win. At least you'll be in the pit next to me in hell.” (1:33:48-1:34:05 | Christi and Kelly)  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“All of those things that we said, it was really nothing. It was just us being us,” says Christi of the exchange between herself and Kelly that would become a viral sensation on TikTok more than a decade later. Christi’s daughter Clara would repeat the meme to Christi in the car, not realizing she was quoting her own mother. In this episode of Dance Moms, the competition takes place in Miami. Paige has surgery for her plantar warts and doesn’t know if she will recover in time enough to compete. So naturally, Abby chooses this week to give Paige a special part in the dance whereas normally Paige is left out, and Abby makes her rehearse it on sore feet instead of just letting her observe. Normally, Abby just harasses the girls verbally and psychologically to keep them off of the top of the pyramid.In another change from the norm, Abby takes a break from screaming at Kelly and Christi and screams at Holly, who, normally quiet and reserved, screams right back. In fact, according to Christi that fight was much longer and much uglier than what was shown on TV, even causing the girls to hide and cry in the bathroom. Meanwhile, in Ohio, Cathy gently and constructively corrects Kendall’s technique in a way Abby never has.Everyone spends the day at the beach before the competition and Abby is the only one who wasn’t forced to wear a bathing suit on camera. She is, however, much more orange than anyone else. Nia has a dramatic moment on stage. Quotes“They show Chloe and Nia doing ‘The Swim’ and they're laughing and having fun and I think, ‘More of this! More of this!’ It’s cute!” (19:56-20:05 | Christi)“Why did two kids have three dances and other kids didn't have one? It's not fair to the kids who don't have the dance, but then it's also too hard on the kids that do. There is a balance: give each kid two dances a week. And then they're not out. They don't forget, and then people don't feel bad. And guess what? Everyone watching the show has different favorites that they want to see.” (21:37: 22:07 | Christi)“Abby tells us she wants to take the girls back to the era of innocence. I mean, I think after having them be naked show girls, innocence is great.” (27:04-27:12 | Christi) “Abby and Holly are down there screaming and they cut to us upstairs. I'm texting with one hand on my phone, drinking my coffee, (air quotes) with the other hand, you're kind of staring off into space, Melissa's glazed over. We're not even fazed at that point that they're screaming. They're screaming at the top of their lungs and we're just sitting there thinking, ‘Thank God it's not me.’” (34:38-35:02 | Christi)“Then we have one of the most iconic scenes ever to come out of Dance Moms. You and I are sitting upstairs and I say, ‘And then there were two. Nobody likes us. The two bitches are left.’ That's so funny. I mean, who would have thought something as stupid as that would get so popular?” (38:34- 39:03 | Christi and Kelly) “You can't replace us and we can't leave, either. So we're all screwed.” (41:44-41:51 | Kelly)“Holly looks like she wants to shoot herself. I know. I've been in that position. You know you have to go back. And producers make you be the idiot– not Abby calling and asking me to come back. It has to be us begging please. Take her. Please, please.” (49:14-49:32 | Kelly)“Abby clearly got a spray tan for Miami because she's aggressively orange. She's so aggressively orange.” (59:45-59:54 | Christi) Follow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We should be in prison for ever being part of this episode,” says Christi of the “lost” episode of Dance Moms titled, shockingly, ‘Topless Dancers,’ in which Abby has the girls perform in costumes that give the illusion of nudity. Needless to say, the Moms were shocked and fought hard with the producers not to film this. Even by Abby’s standards, which have seen the girls perform themes of teen suicide, guns, and childbirth, this was too much. Audiences clearly agreed, and the show only aired only once. A fan sent a link to Christi and Kelly and here they react to it in real time. If Chloe wasn’t humiliated enough by her dance costume, she is also participating in a commercial for Cathy’s husband’s beef jerky startup. This involves her being covered in sausages, a takeoff of the infamous meatsuit that Lady Gaga wore around the time of filming. Things are so absurd that even Holly speaks up, and though it will be lost forever to time, she is even seen wearing a sexy sheer top in place of her usual conservative attire. Quotes “We fought pretty hard against this. And I again, I can't say much, but let's just say it was strongly advised that we keep our mouths shut.” (5:08-5:15 | Christi) “I can't with Abby's necklace. I can't. It's like a barbed wire fence. It looks like what they put at the top of a prison fence.” (17:08-17:15 | Christi and Kelly) “I do look like an Oscar trophy, With my my yellow hair and my gold shirt. Yeah, I'm an Oscar. And the Academy Award goes to us for pretending like Melissa's not getting married.” (30:42-30:57 Kelly and Christi) “I remember the girls standing in the hallway, and they did not want to walk in that room. They were so mortified and upset standing there.” (52:27-52:42 | Christi and Kelly) “The funniest thing is this was aired one time. One time. You can't even find this episode. Do you know how often I'm asked about the beef jerky thing? I'm asked everywhere I go.” (1:06:28-1:06:41 | Christi) “No wonder people watch this because nobody can believe that we actually did this stuff, that this was real. No one could believe their eyes.” (1:07:05-1:07:13 | Christi and Kelly) Links Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarre Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510 Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiak Follow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarre Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510 Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiak Follow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This is only episode 8 of Season 2 and Jill’s already walked out,” says Christi of this latest episode of Dance Moms. This week, Nia is at the top of the pyramid and she’ll be dancing a solo to a bridal theme. It’s inspired by Melissa’s engagement, despite Melissa trying hard to keep it a secret. Christi finds this hilarious considering Melissa will openly tell everyone other private things they’d rather not know about. The Moms go wedding dress shopping, and we find out an intimate detail about Kelly. Meanwhile, Jill has left Abby’s studio in a huff and enrolled Kendall at Candy Apples, putting Kendall in direct competition with her friends. By the end of the episode, Dance Moms' greatest rivalry has begun. Not between Cathy and Abby, but Cathy and Jill. Christi talks about her husband’s refusal to appear on the show. He worked at a children’s hospital and the show was still considered controversial, with Abby being emotionally and verbally abusive toward children including his own daughter. They tell a story that explains why everyone in Pittsburgh hates Abby. Quotes “You know, the best thing I can do if I'm not in a good place emotionally is go rehash the worst days of my life. I like it. Exactly. It makes this time of our lives good.” (7:04-7:12 | Christi) “In Abby's interview, did you notice how her hair looked like she had a helmet on? It was teased but then it was perfectly smooth. We're getting into the Delta Burke hair era.” (13:49-14:06 | Christi) “And Abby knows something's going on with Melissa. She has a secret. But my secret is Abby looks like a sea witch in this interview.” (22:46-22:55 | Kelly and Christi) “Melissa doesn't wear a ring; you don't wear undies. Noted.” (36:29-36:33 | Christi) SM Quote “Melissa will tell you anything about any body part you want to know, but don't ask about that ring.” (50:29-50:34 | Christi) Links Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50aSBAYXH_9yU2YkKyXZ0w Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarre Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510 Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiak Follow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The whole thing made me sick,” says Christi of a key moment in this episode of Dance Moms. For Kelly, it’s the moment where her relationship to Abby began to change. The two discuss how, more than a decade later, they feel physically ill watching it, and still need to reassure themselves that their now grown children are OK. Which isn’t to say there isn’t plenty to laugh about, as always. Jill’s latest attempt to suck up to Abby only proves that she and Kendall don’t know Abby at all. Jill repeatedly frustrates everyone so much that Christi’s voice squeaks, Holly lets out a rare eye roll, while Kelly says nothing but gets blamed for it all. Christi and Kelly give themselves long overdue credit for their makeup skills and discuss their failed personal beauty attempts over the years. Quotes“Guns! Guns!! Because that’s what every nine to eleven year old should be playing with on the stage.” (10:50-10:58 | Christi and Kelly)“I want to know what is up with Jill constantly harping on Holly not being there. I don't remember that in real life. I don't remember that being a point that was brought up over and over at all. And I kind of wish that I had remembered it, because I definitely would have jumped on that argument.” (26:29-26:47 | Christi)“Abby is doing the exact same thing to Paige, with her being on top of the pyramid, that she did with Chloe the week she was at the top of the pyramid. She's going to torture them until they can't stand it because she's pissed that they're at the top.” (40:24-40:38 | Christi)“Someone asked when did my relationship with Abby start changing? This is what it is: my kids look at me saying, ‘Help me.’ There's nothing worse than your child to look at you with that look, and you not being able to do anything about it. I just can't even explain the feeling that you have when that happens. (42:21-42:42 | Kelly)“For all the moms listening: What would you do in that situation? I either let my daughter be in there looking up at me like, ‘Mom, please come and save me’ and my daughter in tears. Or I go down and they get her out, but then she's afraid to go in because I got her in trouble.” (46:44-47:03 | Kelly)“Chloe's home today. She came home for the weekend and she was sleeping on my couch when I was watching this. And the entire time I was watching I was so upset for Chloe, I kept going over to her on the couch just touching her foot while she was sleeping and thinking, ‘Okay, you're okay. It still makes you feel like an actual physical reaction all these years later.” (49:27-49:55 | Christi)I'm gonna start using all these tips and tricks that I learned back in the day on myself when I go to the beach. I'm painting my abs on, and I'll be good. I just can't go in the water because it will wash all off. But I mean, why don't we apply our skills to ourselves?” (1:08:45-1:09:01 | Christi and Kelly)“What's rude about that though, is every week we let those little bitches look great on national television. We did their hair and makeup. They didn’t trust us, but they always looked fabulous. We did it.” (1:10:15-1:10:25 | Christi and Kelly) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.