8 Original Dance Moms Girls: Where Are They Now?

*7-Minute Read*

Front Row: Paige Hyland, Vivi-Anne Stein, Cathy Nesbitt Stein, Chloe Lukasiak, Nia Frazier, Kendall Vertes, Mackenzie Ziegler, Maddie Ziegler, Brooke Hyland
Back Row: Kelly Hyland, Christi Lukasiak, Holly Frazier, Jill Vertes, Melissa Gisoni, Abby Lee Miller
(Photo Credit: cheatsheet.com)

On May 5th, Abby Lee Miller broke the news that she was leaving Dance Moms after nine years. Interestingly enough, the Instagram post has since been removed. Is she changing her mind? Who knows! But what we do know is that all of Abby's original dancers have already left the show. So, where have they gone?



1) Nia Frazier

Nine-year-old Nia became a fixture on Dance Moms; she was the only dancer to be featured in seven straight seasons. Her strength was definitely stage presence. When she ended one of her solo routines with her signature death drop, the competition's audience gave her a standing ovation. Now, she should have a standing ovation for her educational success. Soon, the now 18-year-old will start her freshman year at the University of California, Los Angeles and have her book Today I Dance published. And she's not ditching her singing career—she released her new song "Low Key Love" a few months ago. She constantly updates her fans on all these news (and her reunions with fellow Dance Moms dancers) on her social media accounts and YouTube channel.

Nia announced her college acceptance on YouTube a few weeks ago.

2) Brooke Hyland

Brooke was the lone teenager (aged 13) of the group and was known for her acrobatics/contortion. The poor girl was Abby's former favorite student who suffered from several injuries on camera. However, it was not made known on the show that Brooke is a petite 4'11'' because she broke a growth plate in her back. She stopped dancing consistently since she, younger sister Paige, and mother Kelly were dismissed from the show after a fight between Kelly and Abby. But her happiness didn't rely solely on dance. Brooke graduated from Ohio University in Athens an entire year early with a bachelor's degree in marketing, management information systems, and business analytics. During her time at OU, she worked as a learning community leader and was a part of the International Business Society and the Phi Chi Theta sorority. Now, she lives in Los Angeles and is very active on YouTube. Will there be a Nia-Brooke reunion in LA? One can only hope.

Brooke elaborates more on her life post-Dance Moms on this YouTube video.

3) Paige Hyland

Like Brooke, nine-year-old Paige was talented in acro. Unlike Brooke, she was never an Abby favorite. She put on great performances, especially considering that she was (understandably) afraid of Abby. Just the fact that she filed a lawsuit against the dance instructor proves that. Paige has since moved on from competitive dance. But she didn't move to Ohio, nor California. Instead, the 19-year-old is a freshman at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Paige looks so much happier than she ever did on Dance Moms! Also, she, Nia, Brooke, and Kendall (whom you'll read about later) recreated the infamous fight from season four, and it needs to be seen:

(Uploaded to YouTube by hollywoodclips22)

4) Chloe Lukasiak

Nine-year-old Chloe was considered to be one of the best on the team. And you couldn't help but root for her. Even though she came across as humble and kind, she was subjected to Abby's overly harsh criticism. Her final insult was during the season four finale, telling Chloe's mother Christi to get Chloe's "ugly eye fixed" (which was not seen on camera). Unsurprisingly, they left the show. Chloe then revealed that this "lazy eye" was actually silent sinus syndrome, in which she did get surgery to correct the problem before she briefly returned to Dance Moms (without being taught by Abby) in season seven. After touring with some of her teammates from that season she, like Nia, was accepted to a California college. She is now an 18-year-old freshman at Pepperdine University in Malibu, but she hasn't halted her professional work. This year, Chloe starred as Devin Dupree in The Message and as Ashley in Beautiful Scars. Like Brooke, she is very active on her YouTube channel and still seems as sweet as ever! 

Before she had to move out due to COVID-19, Chloe gave viewers a tour of her dorm room at Pepperdine.

5) Vivi-Anne Stein

Six-year-old Vivi-Anne was the newest member of the Abby Lee Dance Company. Her mother Cathy owns Candy Apples Dance Center in Ohio, but wanted Vivi to have the experience of being taught by a non-relative. Cathy struggled to abide by Abby's rules and, after just eight episodes into season one, left the team and decided that her dance studio would be the ALDC's rival. And boy were they, including Vivi in season two. Afterwards, she made occasional appearances and was featured in a CADC dance in season seven, where you could see how much older she had become. Today, she is fifteen and still dances at her mother's studio. She's also a cheerleader at her school and is probably relieved that that experience isn't being filmed for national television. 

Vivi was featured in a CADC group dance at the 2019 Industry Dance Awards in Youngstown, Ohio. 

(Uploaded to YouTube by btscomp)

6) Kendall Vertes

Okay, Kendall technically isn't an "OG." However, she became such a regular on the show that it felt odd to not include her. Eight-year-old Kendall's mother Jill, like Cathy, hesitated to follow Abby's rules at first. Unlike Cathy, they stuck around—from season two through season seven. Kendall joined Chloe on the Irreplaceables Tour but reportedly prefers singing and acting over dancing. From her social media accounts, it looks as though she's pursuing her dreams while also being a normal 17-year-old.

  Kendall uploaded a vlog from the Irreplaceables Tour on her YouTube channel.

7) Mackenzie Ziegler

Mackenzie was the other six-year-old on the competition team. She was mostly known as an acrobatics/jazz dancer, in contrast to her older sister Maddie's forte for lyrical. But even though she was quite different from her sister and talented in her own right, Abby still saw her as "Maddie's little sister." Despite their teacher's constant comparison, the two Zieglers have no bad blood. Mackenzie did a tribute to Maddie during her stint on Dancing with the Stars Juniors (she placed fourth). Most recently, the sisters were guest judges on Floored, a competition show on the Quibi network. The 15-year-old was also nominated for "favorite social music star" (as "Kenzie") by the Kids' Choice Awards, but lost to JoJo Siwa (who was on Dance Moms in seasons 5 and 6). She has portrayed Cassie on the web series Total Eclipse since 2018 and is cast as Ivy in Let Us In, an independent film in post-production. And she still dances, as you can see below:

"Kenzie" dances to "McCavity," one of the songs from the new Cats movie at a class led by JoJo Gomez.

8) Maddie Ziegler 

Last but not least (especially in Abby's eyes) is Maddie. The eight-year-old was the dance instructor's favorite student, winning about 85-90% of the time she competed a solo. But today, the now 17-year-old has taken advantage of opportunities outside of the competition world. She recently had a cameo role in To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and a supporting role in the New Hope Club's music video of their song "Worse." She is cast in three upcoming films—Sia's Music, Megan Park's The Fallout, and Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story. Maddie has also modeled for various companies, most recently Fabletics athletic wear. And I'm sure her success will only continue!

Maddie starring in "Worse" by the New Hope Club

I admit, when the Hyland girls left the show, I stopped watching. The appeal was gone. These newer dancers, while extremely talented, would've never moved to Pittsburgh for the ALDC if there was no show. The original cast members, for the most part, already knew each other, had danced together, and were even BFFs. It put the "real" in "reality show," a TV genre that we all know gets quite scripted.

Did you watch season eight? Was Abby's behavior any different? Which "OG" have you missed the most? Comment all your thoughts below.


- Liv