Once Deemed The "Bully" of 'Dance Moms,' Payton Ackerman Is a Completely Different Woman Now

From Woman's Day

During the second season of Dance Moms, viewers were introduced to Payton Ackerman — a 15-year-old who was deemed one of the best hip-hop dancers by Abby Lee Miller. Even though she was never offered a permanent spot on the elite team, she appeared on the show as a swing multiple times. Now, the 21-year-old is living in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and pursuing her dream of becoming a professional hip-hop dancer.

READ MORE: Kalani Hilliker Has Moved On From 'Dance Moms'

Before joining the Abby Lee Dance Company, Payton and her older sister Taylor were part of Dance Workshop by Shari until Taylor was offered a spot at the ALDC. Payton quickly followed her sister and joined the company as well — mainly because two sisters couldn’t be in different dance academies in the same state. In a YouTube video, Payton said she danced at the ALDC for three years before Dance Moms started filming its first season.

But it wasn’t until the show's second season that Payton and her mom Leslie made their first appearance. According to Payton, producers noticed the pair after Leslie was filmed complaining that the show was interfering with her daughter’s dance education. Once they were part of the show, they were then portrayed as the bullies. During the second season, Payton told Miller that she was a better dancer than the rest of the girls in her team. She later explained that her words had been twisted by producers because she originally said she had danced better the girls in the other teams. This scene portrayed Payton as brat, rather than a girl who was fighting for a spot on the elite team.

Unfortunately for Payton, the fight never paid off, as she was ultimately rejected from the team.

READ MORE: Here’s What Kendall Vertes Has Been Up to Since Leaving 'Dance Moms'

After the fourth season, Leslie and Payton made the decision to leave the show because the negative portrayal was affecting them emotionally. Payton, however, continued to dance at the ALDC until graduating high school in 2015.

Payton then moved from Pennsylvania to California to pursue a career as a professional dancer. In her YouTube video, she explains that once she got to California, she had to work hard to prove herself as a dancer due to her Dance Moms reputation.

Currently, Payton is part of Playground LA, a dance studio by Robin Antin, better known as the creator of “The Pussycat Dolls.” She is also one of the stars of the VH1's Hit the Floor and has her own YouTube channel with almost 40,000 subscribers.

READ MORE: How Chloe Lukasiak Is Moving On From Her 'Dance Moms' Past

According to her YouTube channel, she just celebrated her seven-year anniversary with her boyfriend. She's also mentioned that she hopes to move back to Pennsylvania and pursue a career as a dance teacher once she retires from dancing professionally.

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