Abby Lee Miller is back for season 8 of Dance Moms after a tragic year which included an eight-month stay in prison and a cancer diagnosis that left the former dancer wheelchair-bound and fighting for her life. Abby Lee is back and more determined than ever with a new elite dance team that she will train for competitions. The infamous dance teacher pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud, including bankruptcy document fraud, concealment of assets, and failure to declare the $150,000 plus of Australian currency that was brought into the states.
She was looking at about 2.5 years in prison, but she ended up with a sentence of one year and one day (because apparently just one year would have been too lenient). Abby Lee ended up only serving a total of eight months before returning home. Just as Abby was overcoming her criminal and financial issues, she begins to feel a sharp pain in her back, that’s when doctors diagnosed her with cancer, Burkitt’s lymphoma. Many rounds of chemotherapy and a back surgery later, Abby is left paralyzed from the waist down from the mass on her spinal cord. This former dancer may only be able to take a few steps at a time, but plans to be walking by September.
While the Dance Mom’s iconic dance coach was out, the Lifetime network managed to continue the show with celebrity guest choreographers to teach the dancers. Fans thought the show lacked spirit and passion, they felt there was no use continuing Dance Moms without Abby. In the return of Abby Lee on Dance Moms back at the Abby Lee Dance Company, she comes back wheelchair-bound with a wig to cover her newly shaved head as she continues her battle with cancer, but she also comes back surprisingly feistier than ever and ready to teach the team of young, hand-picked dancers from all over the country.
No one thought Abby would make it this far, let alone come back to coach again, but Abby has proven to be a fighter who goes after what she wants, the same spirit that she instills in her students.
In the season premiere, there are all new surprises. Dance Mom history was made with the addition of the first male member of the ALDC elite team, 14-year-old Brady Farrar. Not only is Abby back, but she’s back with a vengeance to prove all of the people wrong who still want to see her fail. Her tough-love approach of teaching might be offputting and uncomfortable to watch for some, but it is obvious that the over-the-top teacher forces the greatness out of these young dancers that eventually push them to great success.
In the first episode, she has already proven everyone wrong as her students go to the first dance competition for ALDC elite team and thanks to Abby’s hard work and the dancer’s amazing skills, the team comes home with a 1st prize trophy for the group dance - proving that Abby is back and so is the Abby Lee Dance Company. Although viewers may disagree with her controversial teaching styles, it’s apparent after watching her students’ performances that Abby is still a great choreographer, teacher, and coach. Throughout the first episode of season 8, she keeps reminding her dancers that none of them are safe, because in the dancing world they are all replaceable. The Dance Moms dancers might be replaceable, but we know that Abby Lee Miller is not.
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New episodes of season 8 Dance Moms airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Lifetime
