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"God forbid we support each other," says Christi, and on the second half of the Season 5 premiere it's hard not to miss the heydays when the moms at least had each other to lean on. Now that Abby has to attend court to deal with Paige's lawsuit, everyone at the ALDC is scrambling in a panic over what might happen. Things start to get dicier when the ALDC discovers Christi is also attending the trial to support Kelly.

The moms are upset with what they see as an attempt by Christi to try and bring down the TV show itself, though if any of them had reached out before the show's taping maybe they could have cleared the air and understood that she just wanted out of her contract. But regardless of that, Abby certainly was never going to be so generous with her reading of the situation and goes on a full offensive against both Christi and Kelly. Abby's frustrations begins to bleed over into her normal routine as she starts berating even Maddie and Mackenzie for their posture. For Christi it's perhaps one of the most shocking things she's ever seen on the show, the vibes at the ALDC are certainly shifting.

Abby finds solace at Sheer Talent, which back her claims of being attacked and hands the ALDC some victories she does have a stake in it after all). It's a great early season showing from the team despite some very substandard dances. Kalani is even forced to wear heels for her number, something originally meant to be a hurdle for Chloe, but pulls it all together for the most points out of the whole team. Though the circus themed Freak Show group number leaves a lot to be desired, it still manages to put the team back ontop.

Quotes

• “You don't even have to drink because she's wearing a headband, drink because she's not wearing ALDC merch!" (21:36-21:40 | Christi)
• “Oh my god you know I can't win or lose. If I don't retweet it then I'm not your friend, but if I do retweet it I'm against everyone else. So whatever." (25:19-25:29 | Kelly)
• “Across the street from the courthouse there was a bagel truck that I got the best bagel I've ever had that I still think about once a month. I can go back to court you know and we can get another bagel!" (35:22-35:36 | Christi & Kelly)
• “Mrs. Miller was like 85 and had cancer. I hardly think the negativity of the ALDC killed Mrs. Miller, but OK." (41:33-41:40 | Christi)

Links

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"Oh god you guys. I hope next week we're back to fun, cause we're just mad!" exclaims Christi and if you needed any indication how serious the situation is, we only managed to cover the first half of "99 Problems but a Mom Ain't One" on this episode. Two hours of recording and there was just so much behind the scenes drama, so many painful memories and so much tea to dish out that one episode simply couldn't contain it all. Christi and Kelly knew it would be rough, but knowing is only half the battle.

Season 5 kicks off with Pyramid, and Christi and Chloe are nowhere to be found at the ALDC (shocking I know). Abby starts to push the narrative that if Christi simply would apologize for her "behavior" then all of this drama could have been avoided (sure Jan) and the moms vocalize their annoyance with Christi, claiming she's being selfish and putting her needs above everyone else. The real problem for Production is their entire planned storyline for the Season has to be scrapped on the spot and they must quickly find a new angle to set up the season's story arcs.

Abby invites Kalani back to fill the gap in the team left behind by Chloe. Holly steps-up to help Nia prep for he solo, taking over Christi's potential LA-based storyline. And with no Christi to target, the Zeglers start to take some heat from Abby in her absence.

Quotes

• “I would like to speak to the manager whoever said when Season 5 starts we''re gonna have a lot more fun. This episodes... that's why I'm drinking." (04:47-04:56 | Christi & Kelly)
• “Oh my god, the subliminal messaging is out of control." (34:33-34:35 | Christi)
• “The song is written and recorded y the daughter of one of Abby's friends, so Abby expects her to do it justice. Oh, that's so funny that I say that because I actually wrote I HATE THIS SONG! I didn't know that when I wrote the song!" (50:32-50:46 | Christi)
• “I'm glad I didn't go back, I would have been arrested. You should've, we could have been twinies!" (51:17-51:23 | Christi & Kelly)

Links

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"We always get s**t on but I would like a thank you because we did some hard heavy lifting. So how about a thank you? I would also like to not be crazy, but you know it's fine." Well Christi we can't help but love the crazy, it's part of the complete package!

Season 4 was a rough run for Bitch #1 and Bitch #2, so before we move onto Season 5 next week we wanted to take a breather and answer some of your questions you asked us over on our Patreon! Questions include: Which mom had it hardest? Who was the funniest off-camera mom? And were they paid when they weren't on camera?

And most importantly Christi tries (and fails) to explain 67 to Kelly!

Quotes

• “I don't know if any of us [moms] truly take accountability for a lot of our actions." (02:43-02:49 | Christi)
• “I'm very aggravated that you put that on social media about my body count. Oh my god Kelly, we got more new subscribers and patrons from that than any post we've ever made in our lives. " (08:47-09:01 | Christi & Kelly)
• “I think sometimes the opportunities Chloe got ended up being to her detriment because the show would give the opportunities and then that would piss Abby off." (25:16-25:26 | Christi)
• “Paige is in the episode. I don't know if she was paid. My god they could have spared the $1.50!" (29:38-29:45 | Christi and Kelly)

Links

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"This is the Season 4 pre-Reunion. They just look for new ways to torment us at all times."

What's up Bitchettes! Before we get the ball rolling on Season 5 we thought it would be fun to leave no stone unturned and revisit Season's 4 lost episode, "Guess Who's Coming to the Dance" aka the second Season 3 reunion? Yes this episode technically aired as as part of Season 4, but it's ostensibly just another reunion where the only new things we discussed were the revelations from the previous reunion. Did production just need a refresher for the audience, or do they just really hate the moms that much?

Well at the very least it's another episode with both Christi and Kelly present, and you we won't be seeing much of them for a while!

So join us as we look back at a time when there was still hope for the future. Perhaps hope is a strong word, but they didn't know how bad things could possibly get.

Quotes

• “I'm very humbled, thank you for that." (23:16-23:18 | Christi)
• “You sent in a blurry picture to audition for a TV show! Hey, they hired me didn't they? They did hire you. They liked my meaness. they liked your blur." (24:15-24:26 | Christi & Kelly)
• “The more I sit back and think about it, and this is a lot to unpack, I think I wanted Abby's approval." (24:45-24:53 | Christi)
• “So now Jill changes the subject from Melissa's dick. Thank god!" (1:10:44-1:10:50 | Christi and Kelly)

Links

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Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

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"The last episode we did was really heavy, and this one is not going to be easy for me. It is for me!" jokes Kelly, but for Christi it really is one last rough plunge. While Kelly gets to sit out the Season 4 Reunion "Playing Favorites", Christi wasn't so lucky. At least she didn't have to go first this time! But it is officially Christi's last episode until Season 7, so there's a lot to unpack.

Jeff Collins is back and as frustrating as ever, backing Abby up whenever possible and changing the subject if it looks like things might get dicey. Special attention is given to Maddie on this recap since she's still riding high off the success of Chandelier, and her second Sia video is in the process of being prepped. But the moms take issue with Melissa's backhanded dealings to get Maddie ahead, even at the cost of Mackenzie. But Melissa can't admit she might be wrong as she's only looking out for her own kids, despite the fact that all the moms would stick their neck out for each other's child.

Holly takes Abby to task for how she treats Nia and her odious teaching methods. Meanwhile the Select team airs their grievances over what they see as a lack of good choreography when it comes to standing a chance competitions, realizing finally what the OG moms had warned them about.

Quotes

• “Can I borrow your get your finger out of my face dress? For what, Halloween?!? No, and not my wig either. OH MY GOD, I forgot you had a wig. Kelly let me borrow both! No! I hate you!" (17:18-17:34 | Christi & Kelly)
• “I thought that [whiteboard] experiment would have opened Abby's eyes a little bit. No. Kelly she has her eyes slammed shut. She has them glued with E6000 and she's wearing a sleep mask. She doesn't want her eyes open." (39:39-39:56 | Christi & Kelly)
• “Last week when Abby said that about [Chloe's] eye, they did not write that in the field notes. They're protecting her even in field notes." (43:55-44:01 | Christi)
• “The moms on the original team argued with each other, but we never got physical. Ok except for me and Leslie, but that doens't count because it wasn't someone on the team. " (1:15:14-1:15:09 | Christi and Kelly)

Links

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Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

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"I was the Supervising Producer. That was my official title, but I was also unofficially Abby Lee Miller's rodeo clown."

Kelly is going be taking a break this week, so in her place we have Replacement Bitch #2: Erin! Erin was a Supervising Producer on Season 4 of Dance Moms and if you thought Annie had some piping hot tea, Erin's has a lot more to spill. As one of her primary duties was interviewing Abby for the show, Erin found herself on the receiving end of Abby's ire on more than a few occasions. So what are Erin's spicy-Abby takes, and how did she go about getting what she wanted out of Abby? Tune-in to find out!

Quotes

• “I walked in and Patience is like, 'Oh, is this the new girl?' And I'm like oh hi, I just got here. And she's like, 'Welcome to Hell.'" (07:27-07:36 | Erin)
• “Oh no! Not the 'call my mom first'!" (15:07-15:10 | Christi)
• “Somebody feed this bitch a burger! Because you're mean and I'm trying to be funny with you, but you're hungry." (40:03-40:09 | Christi)
• “If you guys shot, after Abby went to jail, a jailhouse dance would have been incredible." (46:14-46:20 | Erin)

Links

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"I went old school today. I will be drinking heavily during this episode, because I watched it and I have a lot to say," laments Christi as she does have quite a bit to say about what really went down on her last day as a member of the ALDC.

"Hollywood Here We Come Part 2" sees Cathy follow through on her promise to rub it in Abby's face that the Candy Apples will be performing to Chandelier. Unfortunately for Cathy (who clearly is already uncomfortable with the production forcing her to do so), everyone finds this more annoying than devastating. It's a disservice to her own team to be seen trying to cash in on Maddie's moment, a fact Melissa drives home by getting Maddie to perform a bit of the actual music video dance for the crowd in order to steal candy apple's thunder.

Meanwhile, Abby is more determined than ever to try and embarrass Chloe, from sabotaging the choreography to praising Kamryn for the same things Chloe always gets scolded for. So you can imagine when the judges decide to favor Chloe over Kamryn, Abby's mood sowers very quickly. Things come to a head when Abby starts dishing out some truly outrageous insults that almost trick Christi into recreating Kelly's infamous fight. So what held her back? Tune-in for all the secrets to finally be revealed!

Quotes

• “I don't need my eyes to listen to you say stupid things." (42:32-42:35 | Christi)
• “This is weird. This is so bizarre, like who is coming up with this s**t? Can I please produce? Put me up in the booth! " (52:32-52:36 | Christi & Kelly)
• “Obviously Abby went to a tanning booth the day before this competition. Oh my god she was like orange! Yes with that orange lipstick! It was so bad. And she says the word 'hhhuuuuugggeee' all the time? All I was thinking is there is another reality star who is orange and says that a lot and I've never seen them in the same room together. So could they be the same person!? " (1:23:43-1:24:04 | Christi)
• “I'm hoping Back to the Barre can get funny again. Cause it used to be funny and maybe now that we're not going through torture we can jsut mock it?" (1:42:11-1:42:20 | Christi)

Links

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Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/backtothebarre

Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510

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"We know that production is doing this. Everything that was stupid, they did," remarks Kelly. Well how stupid could things get? Well how about a Hip-hop Dance Battle?! Cause sure, that'll make the girls look good! Unfortunately as the two part Season 4 finale gets underway, both the Production AND Abby seemingly have it out for the ALDC and there's good reason these ended up being Christi's last days on the show.

The team arrives in Los Angeles for Nationals and Abby has an important announcement to ring in the occasion: She's setting up a new studio in LA. The moms wonder, perhaps naively, how Abby is going to manage to run two studios when she can barely run one! But right now the greater concern is Nationals as nobody is happy with the solos line-up of Chloe, Kendall and Kamryn. Holly is upset Nia was excluded once again and Chloe is upset she's been given bad choreography out the gate. Notably absent from the line-up is Maddie, which everyone finds suspicious.

Meanwhile Cathy delivers a gift to Abby that's sure to stir up trouble.

Quotes

• “Jill needs supervision. But not in a bad way. Like you and I need supervision in a different kind of way." (05:44-05:50 | Christi)
• “In this episode if I heard one more person say the word Nationals... I know! Like oh my god I cannot wait for Nationals to be over. How about everyone drink for nationals? That'll be fun, everyone will be drunk before we get to page three." (13:08-13:22 | Christi & Kelly)
• “I had to pay money to watch this episode. I'm so mad, I want a refund! Somebody give me my $2.11 back!" (46:22-46:29 | Christi)
• “Did you notice that Abby found a cheese mat in LA? I did. She's like a mouse, she can sniff out cheese anywhere she goes." (51:38-51:47 | Christi & Kelly)

Links

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Download Electricity HERE: https://music.apple.com/us/album/electricity/1497482509?i=1497482510

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"I cheer for the Dallas Cowboys! Yay! Just so you know, Jill is basically steal your soul at some point."

This week we have a very special guest joining us at the Barre: NFL Cheerleader Karley Swindel! On our latest season of Pillow Talk we're covering Season 2 of America's Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and Karly is one of the team's current group leaders. She's also just so happens to be a huge Dance Moms fan! And because this is related to Pillow Talk, joining us today is also Melissa and Jill!

The moms are eager to pick Karley's brain about the in's and out of what it takes to make the team, how have the routines changed season to season, and how has her outlook changed in the 4 years since she began. Karley is also a dance teacher, and she herself was once a dance kid with her own dance mom, so how did Dance Moms influence her? Tune-in to find out!

Quotes

• “I told you someone called me a generational icon, I'm like seriously? I guess? I don't know about that. Ah look, it's better than some of the things we've been called in the past." (00:35-00:47 | Christi & Kelly)
• “All I'm going to say is I feel like you've been waiting for this for 14 years... it's not a hot guy tho. I've been waiting for one of them' for 54 years!" (10:43-10:55 | Christi & Kelly)
• “I have to know in your very professional opinion, could Jill be the point? That's all she wants in life. Oh of course!" (20:13-20:21 | Christi & Karley)
• “I want a french twist so bad!" (49:33-49:35 | Karley)

Links

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"Chloe turned to me and said I'm never going to dance on this stage again, am I? Like she knew, it was really sad," remembers Christi as she looks back on her last ALDC Annual Dance Concert. On "45 Second Solos", Chloe doesn't even get a chance to shine as she's put on medical rest due to her fracturing her foot suddenly offscreen. Of course it didn't seem that way to viewers as the cover story for her eye problem in the week prior was a foot problem as well, so now it just comes across as Christi and Chloe being a little shifty on screen, leading to accusations off screen of faking it for the camera (more on that in this week's Producer Notes).

Abby gives the girls a challenge: perform a 45 second solo of "their choosing" (as in the Producer's choosing) before the actual recital this week to determine who will get a solo at Nationals. To add some drama, Abby brings in Kamryn as Chloe's replacement. Christi is still made at Abby for trying to convince the judges in a previous competition to throw out Chloe's win in favor of Kamryn, so this development doesn't sit well. And to make matters worse, multiple fights break out between the moms... they just mostly happen off camera (again, lot of stuff in the Producer's Notes this week).

But Abby has a solution to ease everyone's tension... a dunk tank! Why?! Who cares!

Quotes

• “We all have to take a moment and just apreciate the fact that Christi and Kelly have any sort of tech capabilities whatsoever. Because I have the perfect example of why I'm not qualified to do tech. When I was prepping tech for Pillow Talk, I literally electrocuted myself." (10:05-10:24 | Christi)
• “The dance concert is the culmination of all the hard work the kids have done all year; it's the hottest ticket in town. Gurl no it's not, because you sent us to Shady-side and we couldn't even get the gays to come! There were rhinestones! It is not the hottest ticket in town." (20:59-21:14 | Christi)
• “Abby says at the dance concert I will be the executioner, judge and jury... it should be judge, jury and executioner. She did it the wrong way just like she did red, white and black all over." (29:51-30:03 | Christi)
• “Abby turns to Sarah and calls her a dingbat for sitting in... Oh she stole my name!" (1:02:27-1:02:34 | Christi & Kelly)

Links

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Thank you to Ashley Jana for allowing us to use Electricity!! Follow her on IG HERE: https://instagram.com/ashleyjanamusic?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

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Follow Christi on IG: www.instagram.com/christilukasiak

Follow Kelly on IG: www.instagram.com/kellylhyland

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