Dance Moms’ star and dance studio owner Abby Lee Miller enjoys “pushing the envelope” by choreographing pieces for her young dancers that involve themes of suicide, child abuse and abduction. For example, in the ninth episode of Lifetime’s hit summer reality show, Miller gave her favorite pupil, Maddie, a solo entitled Disappear, a lyrical dance depicting a child so worn out by abuse that she decides to commit suicide.
Remember, Maddie is all of eight years old.
Can Miller be addressing such controversial subject matter with such young dancers? If her dance company wants to keep racking up tall trophies galore, she may want to shy away, according to the regulations put forth by the Federation of Dance Competitions (FDC.) The FDC is a non-profit organization made up of thirteen nationally recognized dance competitions, including a few of those featured on Dance Moms. Started in 2007, the group hopes to uphold the professionalism of competitions by collaborating on a general set of regulations and practices for the industry.
One of the FDC’s regulations is a “Code of Ethics”, that they want all such businesses to adhere to. The first clause of their code addresses “Inappropriate Elements” – the very topics that have motivated some of Miller’s choreography within the show:
“Inappropriate Elements – Choreography, costuming, and/or the use of dance themes such as rape, suicide, murder, sex, domestic violence, anorexia, and dark undertones chosen and/or presented to competition audiences with a lack of ‘artistic discretion’ is considered inappropriate. The FDC appreciates the art form, creativity and desire to heighten world awareness of these themes through dance but deem it inappropriate to present them to audiences that include children of every age.”
Dance competitions are not necessarily bound by the FDC’s Code of Ethics – in fact, some of the Abby Lee Dance Company’s jarring dances have won championships. But this may indicate why some pieces, like Maddie’s week nine solo, did not place as high as her and her entourage may have liked.