The Cast of “Dance Moms”: What the Stars Are Up to Now — And Where They Stand With Abby Lee Miller

'Dance Moms' turned young dancers like Maddie Ziegler and JoJo Siwa into household names

Dance Moms aired on Lifetime from 2011 to 2019 and launched the careers of several young dancers, including Maddie Ziegler, JoJo Siwa and Chloé Lukasiak.

The cast got their start at the Pittsburgh-based Abby Lee Dance Company under owner Abby Lee Miller — and the watchful eyes of their mothers.

The Kids' Choice Award-winning series followed Miller's dance team through her tough (and often controversial) coaching. Miller became infamous for the "pyramid," a method she used to rank her dancers in a lengthy and stress-inducing process.

Despite the pressure, some cast members have stayed close to Miller after the series concluded, including JoJo. "I do respect her choreography and I do respect what she's done for the world," she told PEOPLE in 2022. "Whether the dance community wants to admit it or not, she changed the dance world for the better."

Related: Dance Moms' Abby Lee Miller Admits She Was Too 'Harsh' on Kids Who 'Didn't Have the Talent' (Exclusive)

Now, more than a decade since the season 1 premiere, the cast is returning to the small screen together for a reunion special that drops on May 1. The two-hour special was first announced in November 2023, and features former cast members including Chloé, Paige Hyland, Brooke Hyland, Jojo and Kalani Hilliker.

Maddie and her sister Kenzie Ziegler, however, are notably absent from the reunion, along with Nia Sioux — something their fellow alum JoJo called out in a trailer for the special. “Them not being here is kind of like, ‘Let me erase my past, pretend it never happened, shove it down the drain.’ When it’s like – that’s why you are who you are,” she said.

Miller was also not present at the reunion taping, and a source confirmed to PEOPLE that some of the cast members had requested that their former dance teacher be absent.

"At this point everyone has gone through different eras, had time to reflect and there’s been a lot that Abby put them through emotionally and physically and they just didn’t want to relive that," the source said.

In honor of the highly anticipated reunion, here's everything to know about where the Dance Moms stars are today.

Abby Lee Miller

Dance coach, studio owner and choreographer Abby Lee Miller grew up in the dance world, learning her craft from her mother, Maryen Lorrain Miller, who owned an eponymous dance studio near Pittsburgh, Pa. After high school, Miller's parents gave her "their life savings" so she could create her dream studio, Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC).

Dance Moms became infamous for Miller's jabs at the moms, including calling Christi's family "pathetic," spraying water on Cathy Nesbitt-Stein — "I thought the witch would melt," she said — and allegedly biting Kelly Hyland's finger during a trip to New York City.

Amid the show's success, Miller faced serious legal troubles. In October 2015, a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted her on bankruptcy fraud charges for making false claims about her income and hiding more than $755,000 in earnings from Dance Moms-related deals, masterclasses and merchandise. She was charged with bankruptcy fraud, false bankruptcy declarations and concealment of bankruptcy assets.

After initially pleading not guilty in November 2015, she plead guilty in June 2016 and was later sentenced to 366 days in federal prison and two years of supervised release. Miller reported to prison in July 2017, and after eight months, she was released and transferred to a halfway house on March 27, 2018. Two weeks later, the Dance Moms alum went to the emergency room for symptoms of a thyroid condition.

She was later diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and had emergency spinal surgery. After months of treatment, Miller revealed she was cancer-free in May 2019. In a September appearance on The Doctors, Miller took her first steps since she started using a wheelchair in April 2018.

Four years later, Miller sold the Dance Moms studio for $300,000. "I sold my property. I didn't sell my name. I didn't sell my brand. I didn't sell my life's work," Miller said in an emotional video in January 2023.

Miller was not included in the official reunion announcement post and a source told PEOPLE she was not invited to participate after some former dancers said they would only join the reunion if Miller was not there. However, she does remain close with some of her former students, with Jojo telling PEOPLE she talks to Miller on "a weekly basis."

In May 2024, Miller reflected on her Dance Moms experience during an interview with ABC News’ Juju Chang. In PEOPLE's exclusive first look at the episode, Miller told Chang she would "absolutely" walk back some of the comments she made on the series.

The former dance teacher said her intention wasn't to “hurt anyone’s feelings" with her criticism of the young dancers, but rather to “get them to be better and to be the best that they can be.”

Maddie Ziegler

As one of the original Dance Moms stars, Maddie was on the show from its debut in 2011 — when she was just 7 years old — until 2016. She was known for her expressive lyrical dances and for being one of Miller's favorite performers, which often caused tension between the moms on the show.

Maddie shot to mainstream fame after appearing in Sia's "Chandelier" music video in 2014 — which has since been viewed over 2 billion times. She also appeared in Sia's videos for "Elastic Heart," "Cheap Thrills" and "Big Girls Cry," among others, and performed with the artist during several awards shows and talk show appearances.

After leaving Dance Moms, Maddie launched an acting career, appearing in films like The Fallout, The Book of Henry, Music and Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. Beyond acting, Maddie became a New York Times best-selling author with her 2017 memoir, The Maddie Diaries, and has modeled for Givenchy, Kate Spade and Fendi, among other luxury brands.

Related: All About Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler's 4 Siblings

In March 2020, Maddie was linked to musician Eddie Benjamin, but the two broke up in February 2023.

Maddie has been open about the challenges she faced while on Dance Moms. Speaking to Cosmopolitan in 2022, she discussed the unwelcome negative comments she faced over the years — "I literally hit puberty in front of everyone on TV" — and how the series was a "toxic environment."

"I was like, 'This is not for me. I can't do this,' " Maddie said of her departure. As for her relationship with Miller after she left the show? "I haven't spoken to her since. I feel at peace."

In March 2024, Maddie spoke with Teen Vogue about her lead role in the dramedy Fitting In and her journey healing from her childhood experiences.

“I’m growing up, and it is liberating to know that I can speak up for myself,” she said. “When I was younger and teachers would say, ‘You need to be more like Maddie,’ I felt myself trying to dumb myself down because I hated it. I don’t want anyone else to feel less than.”

Kenzie Ziegler

Mackenzie "Kenzie" Ziegler is Maddie's younger sister and was one of the youngest dancers on Dance Moms. She danced from season 1 to season 6 before leaving the show with Maddie.

Despite the occasional comparisons between Maddie and Kenzie, the sisters have a strong relationship. "She's given me so much good advice and is such a big inspiration to me," Kenzie told PEOPLE of her sister in 2019. "She's doing amazing things. I'm very glad that I have a sister that's so talented that I can look up to and learn from as well."

They even had a podcast in 2022 called Take 20 with Maddie and Kenzie Ziegler. "We definitely feel like people needed to see a more personal, real side of us," Maddie said to E! News while describing their show.

Like her big sister, Kenzie is also an actor — she has starred in a web series called Total Eclipse and the film Let Us In. Kenzie has also released two albums, which included the popular songs "paper" and "100 degrees."

Kenzie has also continued her reality TV career, appearing on Dancing with the Stars: Juniors and finishing in third place on The Masked Dancer. According to her Instagram, she's been dating TikToker Tacoda Dubbs since August 2020.

Like her sister Maddie, Kenzie won't be participating in the 2024 Dance Moms reunion. However, she assured fans on TikTok Live days after the announcement that all was well with her and the rest of the cast. "It had nothing to do with the girls or anything," Kenzie said. "We just didn't want to go back in time, to that era."

Melissa Gisoni

On Dance Moms, Maddie and Kenzie's mom, Melissa Gisoni, often bragged about her older daughter being the best. She also had a flair for the dramatic — occasionally being accused of currying favor with Miller to get her kids ahead.

Gisoni and her daughters left Dance Moms after season 6. 'When my kids aren't happy anymore, I don't care about anything else," she explained in a June 2016 essay for Cosmopolitan. "It was also holding the kids back. ​​Maddie couldn't do jobs because of her contract with Dance Moms."

Gisoni has an active online presence, with nearly 4 million Instagram followers and more than 60,000 YouTube subscribers. In a 2022 video on her channel, she opened up about life since leaving Dance Moms, explaining that it had become "not so stressful" and "much fuller."

She also has a podcast with the other original dance moms — Holly Hatcher-Frazier, Kelly Hyland and Jill Vertes — called Because Mom Said So.

JoJo Siwa

Joelle Joanie "JoJo" Siwa is one of the most famous dancers to come from Dance Moms, despite only being a main character on seasons 5 and 6. She was known for her large hair bows — she even had a General Mills cereal designed after them — which her mom Jessalynn "Jess" Siwa often made for her.

JoJo and Jess left the show during season 6 after she was assigned a ballet dance duet with Kendall Vertes. Though many assumed that JoJo left because of the duet, she clarified in a since-deleted YouTube video that she actually left because she had signed a deal with Nickelodeon.

Since leaving Dance Moms, JoJo has become a celebrity in her own right. In 2016, she released her first single, "Boomerang," which had amassed over 21 million views after a month. She started selling her brand JoJo's Bows at Claire's the same year, telling Today in 2019 that she had sold 60 million bows that year.

As part of her overall talent deal with Nickelodeon, JoJo made TV appearances and launched her own merch line that included clothes and dolls. She starred in the 2018 Nickelodeon movie Blurt! and co-hosted Lip Sync Battle Shorties with Nick Cannon. She voiced two characters in The Angry Birds Movie 2 and starred in the Paramount+ original movie The J Team in 2021.

JoJo was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2020, which came with high praise from Kim Kardashian, who wrote that the dancer was "a ray of sunshine."

In January 2021, then-17-year-old JoJo came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. "I still don't know what I am. It's like, I want to figure it out," she told PEOPLE that year. "But like, I don't know, bisexual, pansexual, queer, lesbian, gay, straight. I always just say gay because it just kind of covers it, or queer because I think the keyword is cool."

Since coming out, JoJo has had several public partners, including her former relationships with girlfriends Avery Cyrus and Kylie Prew.

In September 2021, she merged her dancing and personal worlds, making history on Dancing with the Stars as the first female celebrity paired with a female professional dancer. Later, she joined the panel of judges on So You Think You Can Dance.

JoJo has a huge following on social media, with more than 11 million followers on Instagram and 45 million followers on TikTok. In recent years, the dancer has ditched the bows in favor of more mature projects, including an appearance on Special Forces: World's Toughest Test and a costarring role in the upcoming horror movie All My Friends Are Dead, per Billboard.

In early 2024, JoJo announced that she was taking a new direction with her career and moving firmly into adulthood. This included her song "Karma," its sultry music video and a more mature aesthetic.

“I've seen people before me make this transition, I've seen how much I loved it, and I've seen also how much the world has criticized us, so I am ready for that," she told PEOPLE before the single dropped.

Jessalynn Siwa

Jessalynn Siwa appeared on two seasons of Dance Moms with her daughter, JoJo, but she was no stranger to the dance world — Jessalynn owned a dance studio in her hometown Omaha, Nebraska.

JoJo's mom had her moments going head-to-head with Miller, including in season 5 when Miller ranked JoJo fifth on the pyramid because she refused to watch Carrie.

Since leaving Dance Moms, Jessalynn and JoJo have continued to collaborate on projects. The duo created a Peacock competition series called Siwas Dance Pop Revolution, which launched the girl group XOMG POP!, and Jessalynn has been her daughter's biggest supporter amid her Dancing with the Stars and Special Forces appearances.

"The best thing about working with my daughter is, honestly, just spending time with you," she told JoJo during an interview with PEOPLE in 2021.

Chloé Lukasiak

Chloé Lukasiak spent seasons 1 through 4 on Dance Moms before departing amid her mom's ongoing feud with Miller. Though she briefly returned in season 7, the dancer has been open about her negative experience on the series.

Chloé talked about her time on the show in a 2019 YouTube video that has received nearly 2 million views. "It was a really hard time for me on the show. Definitely the hardest thing I've ever been through," she said, explaining that she left the studio in part because she and her mom refused to sign a contract, which included restrictions about her appearance.

In addition to maintaining her YouTube presence, where she has more than 2 million subscribers, Chloé has done some acting work, starring in films like Loophole and The Message. She also wrote a memoir called Girl on Pointe: Chloe's Guide to Taking on the World about her time on Dance Moms and her journey toward self-acceptance.

After filming Dance Moms: The Reunion, Chloé told Entertainment Tonight that Miller's treatment of her and the competition she fostered between herself and Maddie left a mark.

"It was really hard. It's something I'm still working on. I think when you're that young, you're really vulnerable and you absorb everything people tell you," she said.

As for her personal life, Chloé was in a relationship with pro skateboarder and model Brooklinn Khoury from 2020 to 2023.

Christi Lukasiak

Chloé's mom, Christi Lukasiak, was known for her memorable fights with Miller and the other dance moms on the show, especially Maddie’s mom, Melissa.

Since leaving Dance Moms, Christi has been busy. She has over 2 million Instagram followers and runs a business called Adulting101, a life skills program aimed at Gen Z women. Her other business ventures include her property rentals and her podcasts, including her Dance Moms rewatch series Back to the Barre, which she hosts with fellow alum Kelly Hyland.

Christi also works with YourMomCares, a nonprofit organization founded by celebrities and influencers' moms — including Adam Levine's mom, Patsy Noah, and Jonah Hill and Beanie Feldstein's mom, Sharon Feldstein — to help increase access to youth mental healthcare.

Nia Sioux

Nia Sioux appeared in the first seven seasons of Dance Moms, making her the longest-running dancer on the show.

After leaving the series, Sioux made her off-Broadway debut in Trip of Love, appeared in the film I Am Mortal and played Emma Barber on The Bold and the Beautiful for over a year. She has also released music, including the songs "Star in Your Own Life" and "Slay." Sioux also had her own Facebook Watch series called Dance with Nia and has amassed nearly 6 million followers on Instagram.

Sioux is currently a student at UCLA, where she's studying American literature and culture and hopes to be an author, per the Daily Bruin. As for her personal life, Nia celebrated her second anniversary with her boyfriend Gabriel Hawkins in February 2024.

Though she's moved on from the show, Sioux hasn't forgotten where she got her start. In June 2021, she told Entertainment Tonight that starring in Dance Moms changed her life immensely.

"I grew up so fast," she said. "I learned so many lessons from Dance Moms. Even though it still does have a negative kind of effect on me, I would never change anything because it's made me the person who I am today."

Despite not regretting her time on the show, Sioux was noticeably absent from the reunion announcement. She explained her absence in a candid TikTok video ahead of the special: "Hate to break it to you guys, but the reason is quite simple. I just really didn't want to do it."

Holly Hatcher-Frazier

Sioux's mom, Holly Hatcher-Frazier, was known for her overall calm demeanor in the series. Like the other moms, she fought with Miller over the years, especially concerning how her daughter was treated as one of the few Black girls in the company.

In October 2021, several years after leaving Dance Moms, Hatcher-Frazier spoke to The Washington Post about her and Sioux's time on the show. She recalled one instance when Miller assigned Sioux her first solo dance — but she was asked to wear an afro for a jungle-themed routine.

"People were like 'You're just being too sensitive. You ask for your kid to have a solo, she finally got a solo. You're never satisfied,' " Hatcher-Frazier recalled. "No, it's not a life-or-death issue, but it still has a profound effect on a child's development ... It was the idea that someone else had the power and audacity to tell me this is what Black women — what Black girls — look like."

Now, she co-hosts the podcast Because Mom Said So with fellow dance moms Gisoni, Kelly and Jill. In 2014, the Ivy League grad published the book Moments of Clarity: Daily Affirmations from Dr. Holly.

Brooke Hyland

Brooke Hyland danced with her sister Paige Hyland on seasons 1 through the middle of season 4 of Dance Moms. Brooke was the oldest permanent dancer on the team, and she often complained about missing out on time with her friends.

"I started dancing when I was 2 years old, and I absolutely loved it, I think, up until ... right before the show started," Brooke said in a 2021 YouTube video posted to her channel. "I was just burnt out. I was dancing every day of my life and I just wanted to be normal."

In 2013, she released a self-titled album featuring songs like "Summer Love Song" and "I Hurt." Brooke graduated from Ohio University in 2019 with a degree in marketing, management information systems and business analytics. These days, she's a social media influencer with 4 million followers on Instagram.

More recently, Brooke got engaged to longtime boyfriend Brian Thalman in May 2024 when he surprised her with a proposal in a park in her hometown of Pittsburgh. Thalman told PEOPLE that the couple first met in December 2021, when Brooke was home for the holidays.

"At the time, she was living in Austin, Texas," he said. "Her cousin, who is my close friend, introduced us to one another. We did long distance for a few months before Brooke moved back to Pittsburgh."

Brooke shared photos from Thalman's proposal on Instagram, writing, "Learned that he’s almost as tall as me on one knee — here’s to today, tomorrow, & forever after that 💍."

Paige Hyland

Paige Hyland is Brooke's younger sister and also danced from seasons 1 through 4 on Dance Moms.

In 2014, 13-year-old Paige sued Miller for assault, claiming she was subject to emotional abuse and fear caused by the dance coach's violent outbursts — including one incident where Miller allegedly tossed a chair across a room. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the suit in 2015.

After Dance Moms, Paige studied at West Virginia University, where she graduated from in 2023 with a degree in business administration. Like most of the Dance Moms alums, she has an active social media presence with nearly 4 million followers on Instagram. She's been in a long-term relationship with former college football player Jayvon Thrift for several years.

Kelly Hyland

Brooke and Paige's mom Kelly Hyland goes way back with Miller, as she herself was one of Miller's students when she was a kid.

She left Dance Moms at the same time as her daughters and sued Miller in 2014 after a physical altercation between the two. Kelly was later charged with assault for the same incident, but both cases were later dismissed, per Entertainment Tonight.

After filming Dance Moms: The Reunion, the Hyland sisters opened up to Entertainment Tonight about the intense moment that spurred the lawsuits. "I think we both wanted to get off the show, so I think we feel bad that our mom is holding that guilt," Paige said. "We look at her as an amazing mom who was fighting to do what we wanted."

"Actually, it's like we want to thank her," Brooke added.

Kendall Vertes

Kendall Vertes joined Dance Moms in season 2 and remained on the series through season 7 — though she temporarily left the ALDC to join the rival Candy Apples dance group during her first season.

During her time on the series, she also launched a singing career, releasing her first single "Wear 'Em Out" in 2015. After leaving the show, she began studying at James Madison University in Virginia in 2021, where she joined the dance team. In 2024, Kendall and her team won a national championship, and the Dance Moms alum celebrated the achievement with a nod to the show. "Top of the pyramid🏆💍," she captioned an image of her holding up the trophy, referencing Miller's infamous pyramid rankings.

Outside of dance, Vertes has been dating Clemson baseball player Andrew Ciufo since 2022.

Like her fellow alums, Kendall has been open about her negative experiences on the series, though she remains close with most of the cast.

“We’ve been through so much together,” she explained to Yahoo Entertainment ahead of the reunion. “We’re basically trauma-bonded and that bond will never break. It was another great experience for us to get closure, tie up loose ends, close the book and move on as a whole.”

Jill Vertes

Kendall's mom Jill Vertes was a pharmaceutical sales rep before joining the cast of Dance Moms. On the series, she was known for fiercely championing her daughter and sparring with Miller over Kendall's placement on the pyramid.

Now, Jill joins Gisoni, Kelly and Hatcher-Frazier in hosting the Because Mom Said So podcast. Jill was also present at reunion, and told The Daily Item that filming the special opened old wounds from the series.

"I thought I was over the — I don't want to say PTSD — but when they started showing clips my stomach was turning and my heart was pounding and Kendall and I started arguing. It was like time stood still and she was back to being 8 again," she explained. "I look back and laugh, but it still hurts inside when I see Abby yelling at Kendall and me crying. It kills me to this day."

Kalani Hilliker

Kalani Hilliker joined Dance Moms in season 4 and stayed until season 7. She competed on Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition before being invited to Dance Moms.

After leaving the series, Hilliker has continued to dance and act, appearing on shows like Shake It Up, Bunheads and America's Got Talent. She also became a dance teacher herself, telling The List that she hopes to give her students "a little bit more of a positive outlook on dance than maybe I would've had."

Hilliker also launched her own skincare and wellness brand, Kare by Kalani, which she told Business Insider was inspired by the mental health struggles she faced after appearing on the series.

Despite the "trauma" she has from Dance Moms, Hilliker told PEOPLE in September 2023 that she is "forever grateful" for everything Miller did for her.

Kira Girard

Hilliker's mom Kira Girard was also a regular on Dance Moms after season 4. Following her and Hilliker's departure after season 7, Girard largely stayed out of the spotlight, though she does share updates about her family's adventures on Instagram with her more than one million followers.

Although Girard didn't immediately post about the reunion, she was included in one of her daughter's photos from the set of the special.

Vivi-Anne Stein

Vivi-Anne Stein first appeared on season 1 of Dance Moms along with her mom Cathy, who owned the rival dance Candy Apple's Dance Center in Ohio.

Despite her mom's enthusiasm, Vivi-Anne was seemingly uninterested in dancing during her time on the show, and became a fan favorite for her dead-pan delivery of lines like "I don't even like dancing. I'm just here because my mom said she would buy me tacos."

Vivi-Anne eventually started to embrace dance, and continued to perform after leaving the show. She was also a cheerleader in high school, and after graduating in 2023, joined the cheer team at Cleveland State University.

Cathy Nesbitt-Stein

Vivi-Anne's mom, Cathy Nesbitt-Stein, owns the Candy Apple's Dance Center in Ohio. When she appeared on Dance Moms in season 1, she stirred up drama with the other moms by referring to herself as "Abby's colleague," since she also owned a dance studio.

In season 5, Cathy surprised fans when she decided not to bring her studio to Los Angeles to compete against Miller's. She told OK! Magazine that she didn't go due to a "scheduling conflict."

Cathy still owns Candy Apple's Dance Center and regularly posts about spending time with her daughter Vivi-Anne.

Gianna "Gia" Martello

Gianna "Gia" Martello was a choreographer under Miller during all eight seasons of Dance Moms. She worked at ALDC for over 15 years and continues to teach dance and judge competitions, per her bio at MSA Talent Agency.

Martello got engaged to production sound mixer Steve Lynch in October 2022.

Two years later, the choreographer shared that she was a part of JoJo's "Karma" music video. "endless thank yous to @itsjojosiwa, @jessalynnsiwa + @richysquirrel !! you throw the best yacht parties," she wrote on Instagram, referencing the video's boat setting.

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