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Dance Moms season 7, episode 20 recap: Ain’t nothing crazier than you

By Shana Lieberman

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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 27: Laurieann Gibson attends the ‘Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: The Bad Boy Story’ Premiere on April 27, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

In Dance Moms season 7, episode 20, Laurieann Gibson proved she’d had enough. Oh, and Ashlee tried to explain privilege to Holly, too.

When we previewed “Stamina, Stamina, Stamina,” we promised drama, drama, drama. And Dance Moms season 7, episode 20 delivered. Big time. The episode featured Nia Sioux Frazier getting removed from a duet, the most bizarre conversation about privilege in the history of man, and a screaming match between Kira Girard and Camille Bridges.

But wait! There’s more! As if all of that wasn’t enough to keep you entertained and stocked up on drama to last a lifetime — or at least until next week’s episode of Dance Moms — Laurieann Gibson was just done.

As Holly Frazier so aptly put it, “the warm and fuzzy Laurieann has stepped out of the building.” Rightfully so, too.

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With only six weeks left until Nationals, it seemed as if the ALDC was even missing Abby Lee Miller because she “knew the formula for winning dance competitions,” according to Ashlee Allen. Forget about all of those times Abby, you know, didn’t win.

Insert lyrics about not knowing what you’ve got ’til it’s gone here.

So, let’s kick Dance Moms season 7, episode 20 off at the…whatever we’re calling it this week. Alphabet list?

I never thought I’d say this, but I really miss the pyramid, folks. Laurieann ranked the dancers from D-list to A-list this week; and everything was in the shape of a blob.

Some highlights: Yolanda Walmsley tried to get sassy with Laurieann after she D-listed the minis. For her troubles, Yolanda was told to take several seats. Then, Ashlee Allen tried to ask the choreographic icon what she planned to change for this week’s competition.

The answer? This face (I screamed a little):

Kira Girard was incapable of saying “stamina,” so she invented the word “stanmina.” Her daughter, Kalani Hilliker, was only a B-lister because she’s too good to not be throwing up by the time she steps off stage. (It made sense in the moment.)

…and Laurieann Gibson hates Las Vegas, in case anyone was wondering.

Assignments included a duet for Nia and Kalani, another duet for Kendall and Brynn, and zero opportunities for the minis to participate. Yolanda started to miss Abby.

Everybody sing it with me now!

And off to rehearsals we go! But first: the moms have garbage to say.

While Laurieann was trying to teach Kalani and Nia their duet, the moms were doing what the moms do best: gossiping and making excuses. They were all, like, totally shocked that Laurieann didn’t believe her choreography caused the ALDC’s back-to-back losses.

Regina George

Jill Vertes even had an ignorant statement up her sleeve:

"She’s been to two dance competitions in her life."

Sure, Jan.

Laurieann knows how dance works, period. The woman trained at Ailey. Also, the quality of her choreography need not be assessed by someone who’s never managed to learn not to wear street shoes on a dance floor.

Where were we?

Somewhere in the middle of this comparison of Laurieann Gibson and Abby Lee Miller — please tell me I’m not the only one laughing at the need to acknowledge that one exists — Ashlee started discussing Kendall and Nia’s “privilege.”

Um. This is what we shall label the “what the…” portion of Dance Moms season 7, episode 20.

Ashlee Allen repeatedly attempted to assert that Nia Sioux Frazier was privileged compared to other ALDC members. Nia, who was the sole dancer of color for years — save for the random guest here and there — and who was a fixture at the bottom of Abby’s pyramid.

https://lifetimetv.tumblr.com/post/109353465895/say-what

As Holly explained, yes, Nia was privileged because she was on a competition team. But no, she was not a privileged member of said team. The nuance was totally lost on Ashlee, as were the big words Holly used, like “institutions.” Evidently, trying to provide an intelligent counter-argument was just Holly’s way of always trying to be right.

Or maybe I never want to hear a white, bleached-blonde woman telling a woman of color about her privilege ever again? Especially if we’re going to talk about how it relates to Nia’s position at the ALDC, where she’s often been overlooked, shoved to the back, and frequently forced to do “ethnic” solos.

Meanwhile, Brynn showed up as “Maddie’s replacement” and has had at least twice as many good solos in three years as Nia has had in seven. But please, Ashlee, tell Holly about privilege.

Proving just how much privilege Nia didn’t have, Laurieann Gibson pulled her from the duet for not showing enough fight in rehearsals. As a result, Holly was “outta here,” while Nia was just plain hurt.

"This is scary territory for me. Miss Gibson said that I’m missing my fight for dance. And I definitely still have the passion. I’ve definitely been fighting — I’ve been fighting for years —but this is not helping me. At all. I don’t want to self destruct."

All Laurieann wanted to see from Nia was exactly that fight she’s had inside of her all along. But after all this time of learning to be polite and just take whatever Abby dished out, Nia was holding back.

With only two days left before the competition, the dance moms had their hands full with their “omgz yay” cues over Kalani Hilliker’s dress designs. Laurieann Gibson, however, had her hands full with the moms.

“Prom Dress Moms” doesn’t quite have the same ring, so Kalani’s “like, prom dresses!” were basically just there to provide shiny distractions when the drama got too high.

And get too high, the drama did.

Group rehearsals did not go well. At all.

https://twitter.com/DanceMoms/status/905239136944013312

As if the dancing wasn’t messy enough, Ms. Gibson had to tell the girls to “stop the chatter.” She even threw a “Lord” in there. (The Lord will not help you at the ALDC, Laurieann. Just ask Abby.)

If that wasn’t bad enough, Ashlee and Jill decided they needed to confront Ms. Gibson about their daughters’ duet.

"I don’t understand why there’s exercise in it."

Breaking: Jill Vertes, a dance mom, doesn’t know that dance is a form of exercise. Jill also didn’t want to “make a mockery” of the big, important dance competition.

Jill, honey, have you ever watched Dance Moms? Making a mockery is kind of the whole point? By Dance Moms season 7, episode 20, you should know that…

Anyway.

When Jill and Ashlee confronted Laurieann about her choreography, she was not having it.

"I don’t care what you think. And that’s the very truth."

(Put it on my grave, please.)

At this point, Laurieann went full-on meltdown about how many famous people she’d been around. Debbie Allen and Michael Jackson both received name drops, and Ms. Gibson said she “couldn’t even understand that level of magic” in the presence of M.J. But then she made a total 180 and started cooing over Kalani’s dresses.

The dance moms smirked and laughed. Laurieann Gibson verbally murdered them for it.

"Laugh all you want because there ain’t nothing crazier than you. So, if you want to turn and snap when I turn my back? Watch your back."

Iconic.

With precious little time before competition, Dance Moms season 7, episode 20 revisited the “Nia’s privilege” discussion. (And the lord was testing us.)

Ms. Gibson asked Nia if she knew why she’d been taken off the duet. Nia’s response? “Mmmm, no” and a dash of Mama Holly’s perfect side-eye.

As Laurieann explained a little bit more, Ashlee asked Holly why Nia wasn’t demanding to have her spot back. Holly said there was a time and a place for that, and with the competition so close, now was not the time.

As a result, Ashlee…started using words whose meaning she didn’t understand again.

"It’s only the privileged few who haven’t had to fight for stuff."

That feeling when you’re watching Dance Moms season 7, episode 20 and you don’t understand why you can’t throw a computer through the tv.

https://lifetimetv.tumblr.com/post/109354728293

While the ALDC rehearsed in their hotel’s lobby, Camille Bridges confessed that she had forgotten her daughter’s costume. Laurieann gave some rousing speech about not forgetting your sportsball stuff on sportsgame day, and then she threatened to kick Camryn out of the piece. The rest of the team, however, had Camryn’s back.

Holly, who Ashlee thinks never has to fight for anything, was smart enough to bring a back-up dress; so Camryn was saved by the wildly appearing “like, prom dress.”

When the ALDC finally made it to Sheer Talent, the dressing room was due for some shenanigans. (Read as: more drama.)

Jill and the other moms reminisced over their previous trip to Las Vegas, when Abby Lee Miller “stormed out and left [the] team.” Oddly enough, what should have been a bitter memory was recalled with the sort of fond nostalgia only a group of nutjobs can sum up. The warm fuzzies didn’t last long, though: Camille pointed out that the team had been “conditioned for failure.”

And Jill, who had just worn her patented grimace-attempting-to-be-a-smile when thinking about Abby, now dragged Sheer Talent for being a part of “Abby’s residue,” following the ALDC everywhere they went.

Ahhh, memories. Remember how the Sheer Talent Boss Boy is a bff of Abby’s? Dance Moms wants you to!

From here, Dance Moms season 7, episode 20 devolved into your typical “original” (Jill still doesn’t know what that means) moms versus mini moms argument. But it didn’t last long. In stormed Laurieann Gibson with an “oh em gee! What is going on here?!” and a ton of truth-spewing about how the dance moms think they’re stars.

Jill just didn’t understand why Laurieann wouldn’t let the moms keep fighting.

"Laurieann hasn’t been here long enough to know this is what we do. This is how we get it done."

The team just can’t win without their lucky melodrama, after all.

Dance Moms season 7, episode 20: Duets.

A PSA from Nia Sioux Frazier: “I’m never going to let someone else take my place in a routine again.”

Get it, girl.

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled dance chat.

  1. “The Finish Line,” jazz duet performed by Brynn Rumfallo and Kendall Vertes. Everything in this duet needed to be sharper and tighter, period. For the most part, Brynn appeared a bit more committed to the choreography — at least she knew better than to adjust her costume, unlike Kendall — but by the end, even her performance level was in the gutter. Those struts were lazy strolls, and they weren’t cute. At all. Result: 2nd place. The moms got a kick out of Kendall’s obvious wardrobe fix? Appropriate for a newbie, not a seasoned veteran…
  2. “I’ve Got No Fear,” open duet performed by Kalani Hilliker and Camryn Bridges. One word: Sluggish. A few more words: “It was decent. We could’ve done better” via Kalani. “It  just wasn’t done right, and there was a lot more mistakes than I had expected” from Laurieann. Enough said…for now. Result: 1st place. Shooketh? Yep.

Back in the dressing room, Laurieann ripped both duets apart (as she should have). She called Kendall out for messing with her bodysuit, then chastised Kalani for saving Camryn.

Insert ridiculous screaming match between Camille and Kira here, in which Kira called Camryn a screw-up who would never go anywhere. There was also something about “mom goggles,” whatever those are supposed to be.

And if you think we’re kidding about Laurieann Gibson being absolutely fed up in Dance Moms season 7, episode 20? Try this one on for size:

"I think the problem is you think you are better than you are. Everyone here is acting spoiled and entitled. We need a little humility, and we need to be a little more clear about what it takes to be great."

Ouch. (But true.)

Throughout all of this, Holly Frazier sat in the corner and grimaced. Same, Holly. Same.

Dance Moms season 7, episode 20: Group dance.

Kendall was ready to have a breakdown, but Kalani was here to read the ALDC a not-at-all-scripted speech about how they shouldn’t let Laurieann Gibson down.

  1. “Contagious,” contemporary ALDC group dance. (Mood: Terrified of Nia. Wow.) This was easily the best the ALDC has performed, both from an emotional and a technical standpoint, in a long time. Were there still issues with feet, especially from Maesi? Obviously. Were Brynn’s contractions still lacking? Totally. But overall, this is a much more mature, trained team than we’re used to. And that throw? Unbelievable. Result: 3rd place teen group. Whatever.

Laurieann was not happy about the competition results. At all. Adding yet another iconic quote to Dance Moms season 7, episode 20, Ms. Gibson threw shade all over the ALDC’s competitors:

"The hip hop routine that beat us out was not even worthy of my shoes."

I never want her to leave, but I know she will. And I kind of want to see Abby for five more minutes before…you know.

Speaking of Abby: Remember how Competition Director Dude Alex is her bestie? So does everyone else.

Next: Missed last week's episode? Never fear. The recap is here.

When Laurieann asked Alex to see the score sheets, he refused to share them, then tried to run away from her. Both Ms. Gibson and the moms were convinced that Alex’s behavior had “Abby written all over it.”

Once Mr. Sheer Talent had made it to his getaway car, the team went back to the dressing room, where Laurieann shared the story of a girl whose life was ruined because of her mom’s interference in her shot(!!!!) at fame. Jill totally didn’t get the moral of the story (or any morals)…

…and that, dear friends, is where Dance Moms season 7, episode 20 ended.

Make sure to tune in to the next all-new Dance Moms on Lifetime next Tuesday at 9/8c. We hear a familiar face is making a brief comeback.

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