Sydney, Australia
Alessias pov
"Woohoo!" Kendall cheers. Right now, all the girls and I are walking through the airport, with our moms following closely behind with our bags.
We're all wearing ALDC clothes too. I have my black Lululemon leggings and a pink and black ALDC crewneck. Then my hairs in two Dutch braids and I have my black sneakers on. I also have my backpack and my phone in my hand
I'm super excited to be here too, because guess what? We're gonna perform at the ASTRA Awards! They're basically like the Emmys. It's pretty insane.
"Hi, we're in Australia!" We wave and smile to the cameras surrounding us
"Is Abby here?" Maddie asks once we finished
"I'm gonna call Abby" Melissa tells us. I couldn't really here to well until Melissa asked where Abby was
"Melissa, I took my passport case with my passport and my drivers license and all my credit cards and all my debit cards to the bank, and I came out of the bank- I must've dropped it in the parking lot."
"Did you go to the bank to see if they have your passport at the bank?" Melissa asks, putting her phone on speaker
"I'm gonna reach through the phone and choke you. Yes, of course, that's the first place I went!"
"Well, I'm just asking because I'm just-" Melissa begins but Abby cuts her off
"I know but people always ask! They go, "Oh, where did you lose it?" Well, if I know where I lost it, I'd just go get it! It wouldn't be lost!"
"So, when do you think you will get here, Abby? What's the best-case scenario? When will you be here?" Jill asks
"Thursday morning. You guys don't realize what a big deal this is. This is, like, compared to the Emmys in the States. Being that I'm not there, uh... you know, maybe it's better to just have Maddie and Ale do it as a duet."
"But I thought all the kids were invited to do it." Jill says
"I think all the kids are invited to do it." Holly adds
"Show me your invitation."
"Well, where's Maddie and Ale's invitation?" Jill questions
"We don't have an invitation" I tell her
"Well, I know, that's our point" Jill says
"Oh, I do. I have the e-mail."
"We don't need to be divisive on day one. Your team is here and you're not. There's no reason to have an adversarial relationship." Holly speaks up
"Well, Holly, adversarial or not, I'm not putting up with your shit anymore. That's the way it's gonna be. I don't have time for it. I am too busy."
| After the conclusion of this ASTRA Awards, we are also performing in our own private event and I personally invited Kalani, Ale, Maddie, Mackenzie and Kendall to go to Australia. I did not invite Holly, Nia, Jess or JoJo. Since they decided to tag along, well, that's their problem. I have no plans for them. | Abby Lee Miller
"You know what Melissa? Don't call me anymore when you're in the presence of heathens. I don't want to hear it. I have to take another call." Abby says, hanging up
"Does this feel a little like déjà vu back in LA when a certain someone wasn't there the first day?" Holly asks all of us
"You know what? We need to make the best of our trip. She's not here. Let's go check in to the hotel." Jill tells all of us and we begin to walk to the bus stop. We then put our bags away and get on. Obviously Maddie and I sit together with the rest of the girls in the back
"The dance community here doesn't want Abby" I hear Jess tell the other moms
"What?" I whisper to Maddie
"Probably her teaching methods" Maddie tells me and I nod
"Probably" I agree
***
We're at the dance studio now to practice our dance for the ASTRA Awards. The studio is connected to our hotel which is cool
When we got into the studio, I took off my leggings and crewneck to reveal my black Lululemon booty shorts and blue and black tie die sports bra from Nike. I also unbranded the bottom half of my Dutch braids and brought it into a ponytail
TWO DAYS TO
ASTRA AWARDS
Not having Abby here isn't actually too bad. Gianna's here teaching us, and it's a lot nicer without all the yelling.
Our moms then come into the studio that we're using, which made Gianna stop so she could explain what's happening. We would use today to learn the dance, tomorrow to perfect the dance, and on Thursday we would perform the dance
"It's called "Bulletproof, Baby". Maddie and Ale are the leads and then the girls are backup behind her. And it's just about the girls being bulletproof, and you can be knocked down by words and this and that, but these girls aren't going to be." Gianna explains to the moms and they seem to like it
Then as we're about to continue the dance, Melissa's phone rings. "Oh, it's Abby" she says
"Hi Ab" Melissa greets while we run our dance. We ended up stopping because Abby was almost yelling through the phone
"Just keep going" Kalani tells us. It was pretty hard though so we ended up just stopping u til the phone call was over
Arias pov
The moms and I decided to go out for a quick bite to eat while our girls dance. Our main topic was Abby, obviously.
"So, JoJo said to me, "Mom they must've been talking about me in Ireland". There's a lot of stuff on the Internet about it." Jess changes the subject. She plays the videos of our girls "making fun" of JoJo.
"Did you think it was innocent?" Jill asks after watching the video.
"I- I don't, as a teacher, I don't think it so cute." Holly chimes in
"But it was innocent" I speak up
"They never said anything that they hadn't already said to JoJo to her face." Kira adds. "Has she told everyone she gets stuff for free? Yes"
"Does everyone at this table get stuff for free? Yes" Jess states
"Do they all announce it? No" Kira snaps back
"You hide it, we don't hide it" Jess shrugs
"Exactly, so they say that. So that's what they said. True. Fact, they stated a fact." Kira says
"Now, how did they say it, Kira? Did they say it like you said it when you were mimicking JoJo? So they learned it from you" Jess questions. ""I get this for free and this for free" They were making fun of her. They were making fun of her."
"They said it the way she says it." Kira states
"I don't think they were making fun of JoJo. I think they were stating facts. They were... they were in the moment. They were getting the crowd to-" I begin before Jess cuts me off
"So you're just gonna defend your kids no matter what?" She asks and we nod
"Yes" Jill nods
"Even if they do something wrong you're just gonna fight tooth and nail for 'em" Jess questions
"Actually, I'm the first one not to defend my kid." Kira begins
"Oh, you're the first one to not give a shit" Jess interrupts. "Yes, I know that"
"The worlds an ugly place" Kira shrugs
| Our girls weren't making fun of JoJo to be mean. This is what the girls do to each other. Even Maddie and Ale, even though they're best friends. The girls are always teasing each other. They would never hurt one another. It's not a "mean girl" thing, it's just a kid thing, for goodness sakes | Melissa Ziegler
ONE DAY TO
ASTRA AWARDS
Today Maddie and I aren't at the dance studio because we have to do an interview in place of Abby since she isn't here. My mom and Melissa are also here with us
3rd person pov (the dance studio: moms)
"I think it's interesting, the pressure that Abby and Gia have said this is like the American Grammys, and what an opportunity, and it can make or break you, but yet Abby pulls Maddie and Ale out of it" Jill says as the moms- minutes Melissa and Aria- watch the girls rehearse
"The funny thing is, too, is I don't know that they had specifically said tailor the number around Ale and Maddie. A lot of these dance industry people, they've already scene what Ale and Maddie can do. They've seen Ale and Maddie, so the fact that she's highlighting them, they're, like, oh, they're gonna pay attention to the background dancers more than they will Ale and Maddie. Been there, seen that, done that. Like... they do the same thing! They're not showing any growth. Anything" Kira rants
"The two of them have plateaued" Jess adds
"You think?" Jill questions
"Well the thing... No they've plateaued because nobody's allowing them to grow. Because they're doing the same thing over and over and over and over again" Kira states
"Sia let's Maddie grow just like Ariana let's Ale grow" Jess says
"I think they're growing outside of dance." Jill defends
| I don't think Maddie and Ale have plateaued at all. So what if Abby has put Maddie and Ale in a box? Look at what those kids have done. Everybody around the world knows them, and every child wants to be them. | Jill Vertes
***
Alessia's pov
| Maddie, Aria, Ale and I are on our way to Channel Nine to fill in for Abby. It's really nice to be able to be able to spend some time with just the four of us, and we're just talking about things that are going on in Australia | Melissa Ziegler
"So, yesterday l, Jess showed us a video that somebody put up online. It's at one of our events. You girls were asked about JoJo and if you all liked her, and everyone was kind of making fun of her." Melissa brings up on our way to Channel Nine
"I did say that she was loud sometimes" I begin
"Yeah, same, but, and I feel really bad, because I never want to hurt anybody's feelings" Maddie says
"Yeah, I never wanted to make her or anyone feel bad" I add
| I mean, she is loud. But that's just how she is. That's her personality. | Alessia Russo
"I'll probably just tell her that, you know, obviously I'm really sorry and I never meant to hurt her in that way" Maddie plans
"Yeah, we can just apologize because I do feel bad. It wasn't our intention to purposely make her feel bad" I add on to what Maddie was saying and she agrees
| Mine and Ale's plan to apologize to JoJo would just be to tell her we love her so much and she's a great asset to our team and, I mean, we love her like on of our sisters. | Maddie Ziegler
"So, on the interview today, what do you want to talk about to Australia?" My mom asks us
"Obviously the tour that we're going on" I begin
"Yeah, and the ASTRA Awards, and even though there's a lot of bad things happening and not so many people like us here anymore..." Maddie trails off
"No, don't say that Maddie. And don't say that in the interview today. At all. Because... that's not for kids. Because it has nothing to do with you guys." Melissa tells us
"I know, but I feel like it does, because are part of the life." Maddie says quietly
We then shortly arrive to the Channel Nine studio. I grab my small backpack and we head inside.
***
After the interview, the four of us caught up with the other moms and girls. We went to this like bridge thing just to talk and take a break from dancing. The weather was also so, so nice.
Arias pov
"So, do you two think Maddie and Ale are good with, like, missing the rehearsal and learning the dance quick in the dressing room. Do you think that was any big deal for them?" Jess asks Melissa and I
"No" I shake my head and Melissa agrees with me
"Do you guys get like frustrated that Abby doesn't challenge Maddie and Ale or give them anything or give them any more of her?" Jess asks
"What do you mean? This is the whole group" Melissa questions
"I'm just saying, like, with Maddie and Ale" Jess clarifies
"No" Melissa shakes her head
"Well, I think what Jess is getting at is, earlier, Kira had said that Ale and Maddie- what were the words?" Jill asks Kira
"No, I said that- like they're not able to grow. They're not growing as dancers because they're doing the same turns" Kira explains
"I think Ale and Maddie are growing quite well as dancers, thank you" I sarcastically smile over to Kira
"But they're doing the same turns that they've done since they were, like- forever" Kira explains
"We're not gonna bad mouth Maddie and Ale's teacher, so..." Melissa trails off
"It's not bad mouthing Maddie and Ale's teacher." Kira laughs
"Hmm... kind of, yeah." Melissa pretends to think
| The other moms think that Ale and Maddie are not being challenged, but I disagree with them. They're being challenged every week. It doesn't matter if we do a lot of the same things. You still have to do them well. Melissa and I can't help if our daughters get picked to be the leads in a dance. Both Ale and Maddie are leaders and everyone knows that | Aria Russo
"One of you said that you thought Ale and Maddie had plateaued." Jill says
"That's really damn nice, that you talked trash about our daughters when we weren't here. Really damn nice" I snap at the moms before leaning down to whisper to Melissa, "I'm too pregnant for this" to which she lets out a small chuckle
"I don't think the word was "plateaued," as far as a, like, dancer. It was-" Kira says before I cut her off
"Ale and Maddie are just starting their careers. Just saying. Wait till they're making 10 times more than you to say that they "plateaued". Just saying" I tell them, while using air quotes around the word "plateaued"
"No, no. It was more of a... they're big now and it's great and that's amazing, and what you do with it now is either gonna go further or it'll stop" Kira tries to defend
"My daughter has about 15 other projects and shit lined up so I don't think it'll be stopping anytime soon my dear" I smile before walking away from those moms, with Melissa following after me
"Can you believe them? The nerve those bitches have" Melissa rolls her eyes and takes a seat on a bench next to me
"I know. I mean how are you gonna say our daughters plateaued when your daughter isn't even doing close to the shit our daughters are" I state and we laugh
ASTRA AWARDS
REHEARSAL
Alessia's pov
"This is incredible" Jess says as we stare at the stage in awe
| The stage is just so big and I'm so, so excited because I think it's the biggest audience we're ever gonna perform at as a group, together. I've definitely performed on some big stages, but not with my team so it's gonna be great to do it together | Alessia Russo
We then got into our rehearsal clothes. The executive producer of the awards was also watching us so it needs to be great. It was also super cool to be able to practice on the stage.
"Ladies and girls, my name is Andrew, I'm the CEO of ASTRA" A man introduces himself as we're taking a break and getting water
"Hi" we greet
"Thank you for fitting us into your schedule." He thanks
"Oh my gosh, thank you for having us" Our moms smile. He then explains a few things to us. He also tells us pretty much who's going to be here
DAY OF ASTRA AWARDS
Today Abby's getting to Australia! My mom and Melissa went to pick her up. All the other moms decided to go to her room to meet her, so the rest of us were in the studio rehearsing the dance
***
We're now going into our last rehearsal on the stage. I'm pretty nervous because Abby hasn't seen the piece yet
"Hi, Ab" I smile and Maddie and I go to hug Abby
"Hi babies, how are you?" Abby hugs us both
"Good" we smile before going back onstage to do the dance for Abby. I think one of my favorite parts is when Maddie and I go on opposite sides of the stage and do a series of turns together since we're pretty in sync with them. Abby then goes through all of us to give corrections
"Ale, your corrections. I think you need to make more of a connection with the audience. Just like in your solos. I'm not getting that. So fix that" Abby tells me and I nod
"Maddie and Ale, that's gonna be a really big shot right there, so you need to, you need to swallow and not breathe" Abby points to the Jumbotron that we'll be on during a part of the dance. "You have to be perfect" she whispers to us
"All right, let's go" Abby says and we all go into the dressing room to get ready for the red carpet event
***
After an hour in hair and makeup, I was able to change into my dress
I had a sparkly light blue dress that was tight around the top part of my body, but then was loose after my waist. It was a spaghetti strap dress and went down to around a couple inches above my knee. It had really pretty designs in the same color. I also have small white heels. My hair was curled and my two front pieces were pulled back
"Girls, this is, uh, a great opportunity for you all to be on the red carpet. We're here at the ASTRA Awards in Australia, which is a huge honor. They know Sia. They know the success of the "Chandelier" music video featuring Maddie. They also know Ariana Grande. They know the success of the "7 Rings" music video, featuring Ale, and they wanted both of them to perform. But as a manager to some of you, I said, "ooh, yeah, of course they're gonna be there. Of course they'll perform, but my other girls are in town, too, and I would prefer that they all danced"." Abby rants to us as we add finishing touches
"Are we ready?" She asks and we follow her out onto the red carpet. It was so cool. It was just like the Grammys that I went to with Ariana Grande. We had our pictures taken and then we had to do a couple interviews
"Welcome to Australia. Dance Moms has such a huge following here!" A reporter begins
"I know, it's crazy isn't it. I think it's because of the huge numbers of dancers that you have. And amazing dance teachers, which is most important" Abby tells the reporter.
"Uh, Ale, what was it like to work with Ariana Grande? It's like blown up so crazy" A reporter asks me
"It was so amazing getting to work with her again. I mean I was in an episode on TV with her, and just getting to work with such a big celebrity again was just so crazy and so fabulous." I respond. The reporters main focuses are definitely on me and Maddie, and I kinda feel bad for the other girls
| Being on the red carpet is amazing. It's my first time being at a red carpet in Australia, but it kind of feels like it's all about Ale and Maddie. | Kendall Vertes
After probably my sixth personal interview, a reporter asks about Nia's new song
| After hearing about Maddie and Sia, and Ale and Ariana for the last 30 minutes, I finally got to hear something about my music video. This is so exciting | Nia Frazier
After all that, we were finally able to start heading inside
Arias pov
"I wish you were there tomorrow, because you are a part of the ALDC" Jill tells Holly and Jess while on the moms are in the dressing room, waiting for our girls to finish the red carpet event
| Starting tomorrow, Abby scheduled several private events that she only invited Ale, Maddie, Mackenzie, Kendall and Kalani to. Honestly, after tonight, there's no reason for Jess and Holly to be here. | Melissa Ziegler
"I just want to tell you, don't show up tomorrow. At any of our events, it's gonna be really not good. I don't want trouble." Melissa states
"I want to go on record, I will never go someplace where I am not invited or not wanted." Holly reply's
"We have paying customers coming to see our kids, and I would appreciate you not doing that" Melissa explains
"I'm like, you're waisting your breath, 'cause if you think you're worried about me showing up at your event- You're waisting trike, 'cause there is no way I'm coming" Holly says to which Jess agrees
| To be honest with you, I'm trying to protect our fans. I mean, our fans pay a lot of money, and they don't want to come into a fight, 'cause that unprofessional | Melissa Ziegler
"'Cause it would look really bad for us to have an argument there in front of all the fans" Melissa tells us
"I wouldn't have an argument" Holly defends
Alessia's pov
When we walked into the dressing room, all the moms started cheering.
"We met Giuliana Rancic!" Maddie tells our moms
"Ooh, I hate you so much." Melissa exclaims because we all know Melissa loves Giuliana
"You guys need to get ready, so, everybody, let's go" Abby says. "Showtime folks"
| There is about 20 minutes before we have to go on, and none of us are even dressed, which is a little nerve-racking | Alessia's Russo
After a few minutes we all get our costumes on. Then my mom does my hair while I start on my makeup. Luckily, since I didn't do a lot of makeup before, I don't have to take it off, which makes this a little easier.
"Here, Ale, let us do your bronzing" Kalani and Nia tell me after my mom finishes my hair and the rest of my makeup.
"So, girls, you know this is a big deal. This could make or break the Abby Lee Dance Company in Australia. I don't want to see any mistakes on that stage. It's on television, it's on film. And you know what happens when people film things. They last forever. Alright, so game on, game faces on; this is gonna be a big deal" Abby rants
| Abby's speech is pretty much worthless to all of the girls except Maddie and Ale. Ultimately, it comes down to those two because they are the featured dancers and our kids are just the backups | Jill Vertes
"Forget everything she just said. You go out there and dance like I know you can. Don't let all that pressure get to you, baby. Okay? You're an amazing dancer and everyone knows it, so don't listen to any of that pressure" My mom whispers to me and hugs me
"You ready guys?" Abby asks
"We're gonna rock it!" JoJo cheers, maybe a little too loud
"No. You are going to be silent backstage. I don't want to hear your mouth, and I don't want to see your lips move. Understood?" Abby disciplines JoJo
"Okay. Yes" JoJo nods
We then all make our way backstage. One of the stage managers talked to us for a little just about our performance. We then did our ALDC ritual before they called us on
"From Dance Moms, please welcome the sensational Maddie, Ale and the girls from the Abby Lee Dance Company!" The announcer cheers and everyone claps before we go onstage
We were all doing great, but I noticed JoJo was a little bit behind, by I don't think anyone will notice.
Then it got to the part where Maddie and I go on opposite parts of the stage for our turn sequence. We're usually always in sync, but for some reason Maddie had finished hers before me. I don't know what happened, but I do know we're gonna get in trouble.
When we came off the stage, I went to hug everyone. Maddie seemed really sad, I think. Maybe about the turns too. We then made our way back to the dressing room
"You did awesome baby, I'm so proud of you" My mom hugs me. "Whats wrong?"
"We messed up our turns." I whisper
"What do you mean?" She asks
"We weren't in sync. I did my too late" I say in a hushed voice so no one can hear me
"No, you two were in sync, Maddie just fell out of them. But it's no big deal. You all still looked amazing. It wasn't super, super noticeable" My mom explains, still in a whisper and I nod
"From my view in the wings, JoJo you were late, right in the beginning. Right off the bat, the first few steps. I couldn't really see, Nia, if you corrected what I told you to today, from my angle" Abby begins
"She did" Gianna nods
"She did? Good." Abby smiles
"Maddie, don't be said. Why are you sad?" Jill asks
"No, no, I'm not." Maddie says to her and I roll my eyes. Now's not really the time Jill
"You were amazing. You're always amazing. We're here because of you and Ale, hunny." Jill tells her
"Yep, you're amazing." Melissa tells her daughter
"We wouldn't be here. No need to be sad" Jill says
"She's not, she's fine" Melissa defends. She then pushes for Maddie to go in the bathroom. "Ale" Melissa points her head to the bathroom so I go in
"Hey, Dede. You okay?" I ask, taking a seat in the floor next to her as she cries
"No. I just messed up those entire turns" Maddie cries into me as I hug her
"No, you didn't. Listen, just because it didn't end up perfect, doesn't mean they were entirely messed up. And don't even listen to Jill. This is what she wanted. She wanted to make you upset for some reason. I don't know why. But you did amazing, De" I comfort her
Jill's always the first one to tell the other moms not to say anything when Kendall's upset, so why would she say anything when Maddie's clearly upset?
Melissa then comes in to try to talk to Maddie
"Just get out of here" Maddie pushes her mom away so Melissa leave. I then just let Maddie cry into my chest while I rub her back
***
Holly kept saying like "oh everyone's jealous of Nia" in previous episodes, but lowkey I feel like everyone's jealous of Maddie (and Ale in this book). Also why did Jill like have to do that to Maddie. Isn't it obvious she's upset, like don't add on to it.
Omg this was also so long bro. Crazy
Word count - 4579 words