Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition recap, Season 2 Episode 4

This week's episode had a Vegas theme, with a special emphasis on flexibility, both physical and mental. Abby Lee Miller said that she wanted to challenge the dancers mentally by making them learn unfamiliar styles of dance, but I thought the "flexibility" portion of the episode could also speak to the dancers having to learn how to roll with the punches. This week's episode was difficult to watch in a lot of ways, not least of which being the harsh criticism which the dancers received.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first challenge involved red silk dance hammocks hanging from the ceiling, Cirque du Soleil style. (Except that no one on the show specifically mentioned Cirque du Soleil, presumably due to copyright reasons.) This challenge looked downright dangerous. I was waiting for one of the dancers to fall out of the sling onto their noggin. Maybe a situation where a protective helmet would have been a good idea? But what do I know. I'm a big nerd. Luckily, no one fell out of the dance hammock.

Trinity won the first challenge, which entitled her to immunity for this week. A huge relief for her, I'm sure, but it didn't take the pressure off. She still had to perform without bringing down her partner.

As the dancers split up into teams and started working on their routines, the moms started getting feisty. I'm not sure if tempers are fraying or what, but there were a lot of spats this week, and they were even more vicious than usual. The moms' issues are starting to creep onstage and interfere with their kids' routines, which seems even more shameful than their backstage name-calling.

The first routine was Ally and Jojo in a magic act performance. Ally played "the man" which seems unkind. (Also, surely there can be female magicians? Just because she's playing a magician doesn't automatically mean she's "the man.") Jojo played her assistant who turns into a bird. Jojo seemed strangely downbeat this week, which the judges even remarked upon.

Next up was Haley and Gianna in a Vegas showgirls routine called "Show Stopper." The girls had to dance in high heels - an unfamiliar challenge - but they did an amazing job. Gianna even earned the highest possible praise from Miller this week: Miller had nothing negative to say about her. (It's sad when "I have nothing negative to say" is considered high praise, but there you have it.)

Third was a disastrous hip hop-inspired performance called "Rat Pack" featuring Travis, Tyler, and Kalani. Travis and Tyler went in for particularly scathing criticism on their lack of hip hop skills - a dance style they had previously prided themselves on. Kalani did no better, but she didn't take as many lumps because she openly admitted that she had little talent or experience with hip hop. It was "ouch" all around. (Their costumes were amazing, though. Definitely the best set of the night.)

And finally, Mackaylee and Trinity returned to the dance hammocks for a routine called "Flying High." They did an adequate job on what was surely an incredibly challenging routine, and begrudgingly earned the judges' respect for having attempted it. It seems the judges would rather see the dancers earn a D in a difficult routine over earning a B+ in an easy, safe routine.

The final judging came down to Kalani versus Ally. This was a suspenseful moment, since everyone knows that Miller likes Kalani (she even said so earlier in the episode) and doesn't seem to care for Ally. And in fact, it seems that Miller was outvoted in this respect, and she seemed none too happy about it either. Kalani was sent home, and Ally was saved for the next week.

Worst Thing Said By A Mom: Boy, that's a tough one. There was a shouting match where insults of "fat" and "dressed like a hooker" were exchanged. But I think I'll have to go with Tina's "What do you know about classy?"

Worst Thing Said By Abby Lee Miller: To Ally she said, "You're kind of boring." Dang, man, that is brutal!

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