Dance Moms: A New Era teacher has a history with that goes way back.
“Abby and I met on the original show, and my daughter and I went on as one of the replacements for her team, and we became actually really fast friends,” Hampton exclusively told Us Weekly, referencing Dance Moms, which premiered in 2011. “We’ve both been in the business for a very long time. We know a lot of the same people.”
Hampton noted that she and the former Dance Moms instructor, 58, “teach very similar styles, very technically based” and “really put an emphasis on terminology.”
“I respect her as a dance professional,” Hampton said of Miller. “She knows her stuff.”
Hampton and Miller’s connection goes beyond teaching similar techniques on the dance floor. Both have children who are dancing professionally across the globe, so they “became fast friends,” Hampton explained.
After Hampton was cast on Dance Moms: A New Era, Miller congratulated her. “So I was thrilled because God knows I needed some advice and some guidance,” Hampton recalled.
However, things shifted when Hampton reached out to Miller again. “I just got a very different reply,” she said. “It was upsetting, and I mean … friendship is above all else to me. This was a new show, it wasn’t going to be her, so why wouldn’t she be happy for her friend? I’m not really sure.”
Hampton noted that she’s hopeful about making amends with Miller in the future, adding, “But hopefully we’ll get past that at some point.”
The original series, which followed the Abby Lee Dance Company’s junior elite competition team, ran for seven seasons through February 2017. An eighth season returned in 2019, starring Miller and new dancers. Now, Dance Moms: A New Era will feature Hampton.
While former Dance Moms star will “sure as hell be tuned in” to the reboot series, she exclusively told Us that she’s still adjusting to the new casting.
“It makes me, quite honestly, a little sick to my stomach to see them try to replace Abby,” Siwa, 21, told Us. “Even though Abby says the quote, ‘Everyone’s replaceable,’ Abby Lee is not replaceable. The only person that is not replaceable is the inventor of that quote.”
Siwa starred on the OG Dance Moms for two seasons from 2015 to 2016 and was coached by Miller, who’s known for her intense approach.
“I think that [Dance Moms: A New Era] would have a lot more success if Glo was Glo, not if Glo was Abby,” Siwa said. “I think, realistically, Glo would not do a pyramid. She would not say, ‘There’s six weeks till nationals.’ She would not use the exact Abby lingo.”
Dance Moms: A New Era premieres on Hulu Wednesday, August 7.
With reporting by Aileen Bergin
