Maddie Ziegler is noticeably absent as “Dance Moms: The Reunion” trailer brings together OG cast members

Former members of Abby Lee Miller's Dance Company — including JoJo Siwa, Chloé Lukasiak, and Brooke Hyland — reunite for the first time in 10 years.

The Dance Moms — and their daughters — are finally back together thanks to an upcoming Lifetime reunion special. But not every former member of Abby Lee Miller’s elite dance team has agreed to take a stroll down memory lane.

Dance Moms: The Reunion will bring together many of the reality show's alums, including JoJo Siwa, Chloé Lukasiak, Brooke Hyland, Paige Hyland, Kendall Vertes, and Kalani Hilliker. Noticeably absent from the special are sisters Kenzie and Maddie Ziegler, and fellow OG cast member Nia Sioux.

In the first trailer for the upcoming special, the teary-eyed girls reminisce about their time on the show, unpack the complicated legacy of their former dance instructor, and in true Dance Moms fashion, don’t hesitate to shade their fellow dancers for skipping out on the reunion.

“We would not be here without Dance Moms,” said Vertes. “It was literally the stepping stone into who we are today.”

A separate clip sees Siwa directly calling out the absent members: “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, as Hilliker nods in agreement.

The special will feature group discussions and one-on-one interviews with the girls as they discuss “the good, the bad and everything in-between,” regarding their time on the show. And yes, there will also be input from the titular dance moms, Jessalynn Siwa, Kelly Hyland, Jill Vertes, Kira Hilliker, and Christi Lukasiak.

Clips in the trailer indicate that the girls and their moms will address some of the show's most memorable moments, including the physical altercation between Miller and Kelly Hyland that led to Hyland’s arrest, and her daughters’ exit from the show.

Miller has been a controversial figure since before the series concluded in 2019. She served an eight-month sentence in prison in 2017 after being found guilty of fraud charges. Then in 2020, Lifetime parted ways with the reality star when former castmates alleged that she made racist remarks. Prior to that, Miller was often criticized for her teaching methods, which included yelling, pitting the dancers against one another, and blunt critiques that often ended with the girls in tears.

“It’s hard to say I forgive her when she did so many nasty things to me,” Paige said in the trailer, to which Vertes agreed, “It’s just so bizarre that dance can get to that.”

Ziegler, one of the show's biggest breakouts and Miller's mentee of several years, revealed in 2022 that she and her sister ceased all contact with her former dance coach after exiting the show in 2016. "For the longest time, we felt so guilty. She trained me, she helped me, but also, I knew I would be okay without her and I was sick of being in a toxic environment," she told Cosmopolitan.

You can see the Dance Moms alums discuss their relationships with Miller in the trailer above. Dance Moms: The Reunion airs May 1 on Lifetime.

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