Many people form opinions based on television when they haven’t already formed an opinion first-hand.  Television use today is causing perspectives to be misinterpreted from the television to the actuality of real life.   When the show “Dance Moms” came out,  the dance world became very popular in social media. Does this show really depict the reality of the dance world?
  

The show “Dance Moms” is a very popular all day show on Lifetime. The show is centered around a bunch of girls who train at Abby Lee’s dance company,  and attend a different competition every week with new routines. The competitions are put on just for the show,  and dance studios are asked to come,  just so that they can lose and Abby Lee can win. I know this , because I have been asked to be on the show. The twist is that the show focuses mainly on the crazy dance moms, not really on the children's dancing. That’s why the title of the show is “Dance Moms”,  and not something like Abby Lees Dancers.
  

The show is set up in a hierarchy,with its own chain of command. The producers of the show could be compared to the president. They control everything that happens on the show. It is all scripted. All the action on the show is run through the producer to make the show entertaining. The president has all the power to do whatever he wants whenever he wants, just the same as do the producers of the show. They can make Abby look bad, or the moms look bad,  and many people think it’s real because its called a reality tv show.
  

Abby could be considered the Secretary of State. Abby carries out everything that the producers have planned for her to say and do.  She is their right hand man. She is supposed to make this show come to life,  and make it look real. She seems like such a rude, mean lady,  but it’s all forced upon her.  From meeting her, I know that she is not the way the television show portrays her.
  

The dancers on the show could be considered the Secretary of  the Treasury because they hold the treasure. They have the talent and the real passion for dance- That is actually true. The girls on the show are not bad dancers,  as we see Maddie Ziegler going out on her own being so successful without her Abby Lee affiliation. The girls and their dancing abilities are the one real part of the show.  They are the most important part of the show,  just as the money is within the Treasury. 
  

Finally we come to the infamous dance moms. They could be compared to the Attorney General. These moms have to be  the lawyers for their daughters. They have to look out for them,  and keep their best interests at heart , while their kids are getting shot down.  Not  by Abby personally, but by the directions of the producers.  The moms enforce the laws that their family lives by, and makes that very apparent by all of  the controversy that goes on within the show.
  

A governmental hierarchy at times is corrupt,  and doesn't always interpret the wanted message to their people, just like the show.  I have been dancing in the competitive dance setting for fifteen years,  and the way “Dance Moms” is portrayed is really wrong compared to the non television dance world. At times, you can see the TV dance world and real dance world come together. “So You Think You Can Dance” is a good example of a well established dance world show, it being mainly focused on the dancing rather than the drama behind the scenes.  There are some similarities, but for the most part  the two worlds are completely different.  In the real dance world , the moms don't sit  and watch the practice,  nor do the dancers get ranked in a pyramid to see who the best dancer was that week. We don't learn dances in a week,  and compete every weekend.  We also don't have moms screaming at each other in the dance studio,  or at competitions, as they do in the show.
  

Growing up competing in the real dance world and being compared to the show was something that got on my nerves. I was at school one day,  and one of my guy friends came up to me and said, “Is your dance studio like that TV show about dancers and their moms?” I looked at him and said “Absolutely not!” He didn't believe me because he thought that all the dance world was about was crazy moms and rude dance teachers.
I subsequently had a dance competition coming up,  so I invited him to my dance competition to show him that the “Dance Moms” show was not reality.  I introduced him to my dance teachers and had him sit with my mom and all of the other real dance moms. He watched and listened to the conversations that the moms had all day long.  He came up to me after and said ,“I believe you now. That show really makes you think negatively about the dancers, their moms and their studios”.  “ After listening to the moms conversing after each dance, they have so much knowledge about the dances,  but don't argue about it or disagree with what I heard the teachers talking about.”  I told him that since this show came out, the perception of dance has changed tremendously.  Since the show, one thing people focus on is whether the teachers are crazy with their students,  and whether the moms are typically “Dance Moms”. Most viewers don’t pay attention to the actual dancing going on.
  

The dance world has been my home and my sanctuary for fifteen years of my life.  Many dancers dislike having to explain the negative, unrealistic images this show bombards us with. What I have learned from living this life for so long is that people will compare the real dance world to that television show.  Being able to show them the untruthful things from that show,  is so rewarding.   Standing up to defend the reputation of the real dance world is important to me, and I will continue will continue to it for as long as the “Dance Moms” perception of the dance world is still a “reality.”