How Much Did The Cast Of Dance Moms Get Paid?
At the bottom of the pyramid ... we have the people behind the dance reality series "Dance Moms," who severely underpaid their cast.
Of course, "Dance Moms" was a Lifetime reality series that ran from 2011 to 2016 and documented the lives of the students, mothers, and the head choreographer of the Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founder and dance instructor Abby Lee Miller assembled the Junior Elite Competition Team, who were expected to learn new choreography, rehearse, and perform at national competitions within less than a week. The original members of the dance intensive's cast were sisters Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler, Nia Sioux, Chloe Lukasiak, and sisters Brooke and Paige Hyland. Notable additions in later seasons included megastar Jojo Siwa, Kendall Vertes, and Kalani Hiliker, along with numerous other talented dancers featured on the show.
Many fans don't know that when "Dance Mom" was initially filmed, the series was only supposed to be a six-episode docuseries about the competition dance world. But once Lifetime saw Miller's bordering-abusive teaching style and the drama between the dancers' moms, they decided to focus the show on the Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC) studios. It was this muddled inception that caused the cast of the popular show to initially see almost none of the profit.
The starting salary for Dance Moms Season 1 was $600
When "Dance Moms" first aired, there was a stark contrast between the show's popularity and the low rates the cast was paid. During its initial two seasons, the reality program attracted an average of 2.2 million viewers, propelling Abby Lee Miller, the moms, and the young dancers into the national spotlight and garnering significant media attention. However, Christi Lukasiak revealed during a fan Q&A session that the moms were only compensated $600 for filming Season 1, which they were expected to share with their children. According to reporting by Us Weekly, in 2015, Miller claimed the girls received $1,000 an episode until Season 4 when the amount was upped to $2,000 for Season 5. Additionally, the girls were able to earn extra income from meet-and-greet events, selling tickets for over $40 each in 2012, as reported by Radar.
As for the Abby Lee Dance Company owner herself, we know a lot more about Miller's finances due to the legal filings from the 20 counts of bankruptcy fraud she was indicted with in 2015. As noted by Us Weekly, she supposedly brought in $1,500 per episode. However, according to the court's indictment, the reality star allegedly hid income received from the show and other related ventures when she filed for bankruptcy in 2010. In total, it's alleged that she failed to report over $755,000 in income.
The moms protested for better wages and working conditions
If the hectic dance schedule for the "Dance Moms" cast seems chaotic, imagine what filming the episodes must have been like. Since the show has ended, the moms and dancers have opened up about the excruciating work conditions on set. One of the original cast members, Chloe Lukasiak, recounted in a 2019 Youtube video her busy schedule of school, filming scenes for the show, and learning and rehearsing multiple dance routines every week. Just one of the weekly pyramids would take multiple hours to capture on tape.
During Season 3, the moms banded together to refuse to film for the show until they received better pay negotiations with the show's production company. Unbeknownst to most fans, this scenario was edited into "Dance Moms" Season 3 Episode 2 to make it look like the moms were protesting Abby Lee Miller's ousting of Kelly Hyland and her daughters instead of a challenge to the crew. Both Miller and Hyland confirmed the deceptive editing trick on Twitter after the fact.