‘Dance Moms: A New Era’ Cast Shares Just How Real All That Onscreen Drama Actually Is

With Dance Moms: A New Era comes not only new dance coach Glo Hampton, but a new generation of dancers, moms and duffle bags worth of drama. And for dance mom Tammi, whose daughter Audrey is one of the select members of Hampton’s junior elite team, the emotions exhibited onscreen were “definitely” what they were feeling in the moment. However, she noted in a Zoom interview with DECIDER that she and the cast are “all friends now.”

“We’ve shared an experience together that nobody else could understand except for the OGs,” she said, referring to the cast of the original Dance Moms. “The emotions were real, how we were feeling, the things we were saying, that was all how we were really feeling and what was happening.”

Lisa, whose daughter Ashlan also occupies a spot on Hampton’s squad this season, told DECIDER that she agrees with Tammi.

“We all tried to be our authentic selves and we felt all those emotions that we were our true selves in those moments,” she explained. We’re not always in those pressure cooker type situations. So yes, of course, you know, we’ve hung out afterwards and had drinks and we shared moments that maybe people — the OG’s or people that are in some type of sorority — feel. You go maybe through some hazing, some difficult times, but then you come out closer.”

As for their daughters, both Audrey and Ashlan spoke to the friendships they developed with their teammates as being a favorite part of their experience on the show.

“I’m really close with these girls and it feels like so good to just have people that I can always go with and hang out with and I’m always gonna be around,” Audrey shared. “And I know that I can always be myself. It’s very nice to be with people that always support and care for you no matter what.”

Ashlan added, “We love each other and they feel like sisters and I can be my true self around them and they won’t care. They’ll just start laughing.”

DECIDER sat down with the two mother-daughter duos for a chat over Zoom about taking their talents to TV, whether or not their lives have changed as a result of being on the show, and what they hope fans take away from the show .

DECIDER: How has the show affected your relationship with your daughters?

TAMMI: My relationship with Audrey has grown so much since being on the show. It’s absolutely incredible how close we got throughout the 10 weeks being together and really learning a lot about each other. I feel like I learned so much about her and about myself and our relationship together. So, for me, that was, if nothing else, what I am grateful for.

LISA: I share the exact same sentiment as Tammi. You know, the girls are so busy. They’re in school, they’re at dance all the time. So the fact that we were given this opportunity to be able to spend so much time together and learn about each other and go through some very high highs and some very lows together absolutely brought us so much closer together.

Do you feel that your relationship with the other mothers on the show is portrayed accurately, or will be portrayed accurately, as you all haven’t watched it yet?

TAMMI: I think during the time that we were filming, yes, those emotions were definitely how we felt, definitely what was happening. We’re all friends now. We’ve shared an experience together that nobody else could understand except for the OGs…The emotions were real, how we were feeling, the things we were saying, that was all how we were really feeling and what was happening. Now, you know, we share this bond together that nobody else really can share with us. Some of them, you know, we like some more than others, of course, but in general, you know, we like each other.

LISA: We all tried to be our authentic selves and we felt all those emotions that we were our true selves in those moments. We’re not always in those pressure cooker type situations. So yes, of course, you know, we’ve hung out afterwards and had drinks and we shared moments that maybe people — the OG’s or people that are in some type of sorority — feel. You go maybe through some hazing, some difficult times, but then you come out closer. You can kind of laugh about things that maybe you cried about. So I would say absolutely, we were our authentic selves on the show. But outside of the show, we we have to coexist together. Our girls dance together.

When it comes to some of the show’s signature mama drama, do you feel any pressure to uphold the same level of drama that the original show had? Or do you feel that it came naturally with the territory of how stressful the dance competition world is?

TAMMI: The drama did come pretty naturally and something I learned about myself throughout this process is drama kind of just follows me. So I didn’t really need much help.

LISA: I would agree. I didn’t watch all the episodes. But you just know this show is centered around drama and I think when anybody is in a stressful pressure cooker, competitive situation, emotions naturally arise. And you know, the competition is not just for the kids on the stage. The moms also feel a sense of competition between us, and how are our kids doing, and whose kid is better, whose kid should get this, or how did you get your kid to do that? So yeah, it’s absolutely real.

Switching over to you girls, do you feel like your relationship with your teammates is going to be accurately portrayed on the show? Do you guys act the same in front of the cameras as you do when they’re off?

AUDREY: I don’t know what they’re gonna show of the kids having fun, not that we didn’t have fun, we had a lot of fun doing the dancing, but I don’t know what they’re gonna show of us just goofing off and stuff. As kids, I mean, we definitely had a lot of fun off camera, like when we were at hotels, and during school, we were just having a lot of fun. During normal classes, and whenever we go out to eat, we always find something fun to do. It’s never a dull moment, especially with the kids. The moms can be a little boring. But I always had a great time with them. And on camera, I think we’ll show that we all really care about each other. Because we do. We were always willing to help each other. And yes, there were times that we would get a little annoyed of each other because we were with each other 24/7. So, of course there were times that I got a little ticked off. But I think it’ll show that we all are now really close. We’re basically sisters. I’ve known some of these girls since I was literally five years old, and I love them so much. So I hope that it shows that we really do care about each other and that we’re not always just competition.

ASHLAN: Even though we’re supposed to be fighting against each other, wanting to get solos or wanting to be Miss Glo’s favorite, we do show that sometimes, but we also show how much we care and love about each other. And sometimes it doesn’t matter about who wins. It just matters that we love each other and that we support each other. And even off camera and on camera, we do fight a little bit. That’s because we’re so close and we love each other.

What’s your favorite part of being on the junior elite team and what’s the most difficult part?

AUDREY: My favorite part about being on the team with all the girls is that, I mean it’s just so different. I know I’m the oldest but I’ve never had such a close friendship with people. I don’t really have a super super close friendship with a lot of people.

TAMMI: She’s been homeschooled, so it’s more difficult.

AUDREY: So I’m really close with these girls and it feels like so good to just have people that I can always go with and hang out with and I’m always gonna be around. And I know that I can always be myself. It’s very nice to be with people that always support and care for you no matter what.

And then something that’s difficult is we’re always with each other. So, we do get a little ticked off at each other. And let’s say like, I’m just annoyed at one person and then I hang out with other people, then they might get a little bit upset. So it’s always trying to find a balance of no matter if I’m annoyed, I still have to control my own actions and control how I’m feeling just so I can still be super fun and not make them have a bad time just because I’m in a bad mood.

ASHLAN: The most difficult part may be like … let’s say Miss Glo adds a new member. It’s hard because we — the OG group, just the seven of us — already learned to adapt to each other and dance well with each other and know what each other’s strengths are. Then it’s kind of hard when she adds another person and we’re like, oh, because we don’t really know how they’re gonna dance. So we have to learn how to synchronize with them.

But a good thing is that we get to dance together and everyone is so kind and nice. We love each other and they feel like sisters and I can be my true self around them and they won’t care. They’ll just start laughing.

If either of you could book your dream dance gig one day, what would it be?

AUDREY: I would just want to be on Broadway again. In a show with other kids. It would have to have other kids in it.

ASHLAN: I want to be a background dancer for Sabrina Carpenter or Tate McRae, or any of those famous people that sing or dance.

Do you see yourselves dancing professionally one day? Or do you want to pursue something outside of dance?

AUDREY: Well, when I’m older, older I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer. I’m very good at debating and getting my point across. So I don’t know, I think I would be good at it. And it’s just like, I want to win the case.

TAMMI: It’s still a competitive thing, she wants to win the case.

ASHLAN: Yeah, I want to be a professional dancer until I get old and I can barely dance anymore, and then I would want to be a veterinarian. I love animals.

What was your favorite number to perform this season? And do you have a specific genre of dance that is your favorite?

AUDREY: Probably “Chef,” The Menu one. The Menu week was so fun. That was really fun. Or “Priscilla.” My Priscilla solo. It was so fun. I loved that one. If you couldn’t tell by the two dances I just said, my favorite style of dance is contemporary. I like darker contemporary, like creepier, it has to have a story. I have to feel it.

ASHLAN: My favorite dance that we did on Dance Moms was probably “Body Bags” because I was the lead and also I liked crying. It was such an emotional dance for me, and I like showing the audience… I like telling stories with my dances. And also my favorite genre of dance is jazz and contemporary.

I know the show hasn’t come out yet and you haven’t seen it. But have you felt any different or have your lives changed in any way since even the ads have come out for the show?

TAMMI: I now know how to do my makeup and put lashes on.

AUDREY: She did not know how to do that.

TAMMI: Personally to me, I don’t feel like much has changed yet. I almost feel like we had this fever dream, and I don’t know. Maybe tomorrow it’ll be different, but I just feel like me — with better makeup!

LISA: I agree. I think right now it feels surreal. I think when we talk to each other, we say, ‘Did this really happen? Did we really do this?’ Because we’ve been back to just our normal lives for a couple months now, and with this show coming out and not seeing how it was edited. It’s hard to know. I think the anxiety and the emotions are always worse before things actually happen. Also, I think something that’s probably different from the previous shows is that social media goes crazy with every little thing. So Ashlan and I, especially me, have tried to stay off reading the comments and stuff because I do think things that can affect you is negative comments. So if you don’t read them, then they don’t affect you. So hopefully we will continue down that road after the show comes out.

Did you watch the original Dance Moms and did the show inspire you in any way to take part in this reboot? Or for you girls, did this inspire you to start dancing in the first place?

TAMMI: I put Audrey in dance because when she was an infant, is when the original show came out. So I watched it, and I was like, ‘Yeah, no, I’m gonna put her in there.’ And that was a smart move, because she’s incredible. It feels like I’m so grateful to [executive producer] Bryan Stinson. I was texting him the other day. I can’t believe I’m talking to the main producer of Dance Moms. If you track it back, Dance Moms is why Audrey and I have had so many experiences, because she’s been in dance. She was on Broadway. We would not have had these experiences had it not been for dance [and] Dance Moms.

LISA: For me, I honestly had not really seen a lot of the show. I was aware of it. I watched a little bit more of it after we knew we would be filming, but Ashlan is a huge fan, and she, absolutely at the chance that this was an opportunity, was all in. And I always want to support my daughter in her dance endeavors, and it’s been amazing, and I’m so glad that we did it.

These next two questions are for Ashlan and Lisa. I was able to watch the first three episodes, and I know you two were tested when Ashlyn was assigned a solo in the third episode… do you think your relationship ultimately benefited from that experience?

ASHLAN: I feel like after that experience, our relationship really grew. We got to learn [about] each other more, and learned what we don’t like, what we do like, what makes each other upset and stuff.

LISA: I would say that definitely put us to the test. I’ve never made a costume before. I didn’t have much time to pull that together. Ashlan chose that she wanted to have Sabrina Carpenter as her inspiration, so at least that gave some direction on the costume that we were putting together. But it also came with a lot of little details, like she wanted to have the hair… and the hair was proven to be a challenge for me, trying to get that in her hair right before her solo. Also, there wasn’t a lot of time. We were on a time constraint, and it was very hot in there. And so, yeah, emotions got a little bit high. But then Ashlan, she turns it around, and she goes out there and she kills it. And so I think through that, every time it gets better. It’s a little better every time.

Ashlan, you show the world your chip addiction in the first episode. If you had to pick one type of chip to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

ASHLAN: If I had to pick one type of chip to eat for the rest of my life, it would definitely be Takis. Because they’re so spicy, they’re so addicting, it has it all.

The next two questions we have are for Audrey and Tammi. I know that you both have dealt with claims on the show that you are two of Miss Glo’s favorites. How did you go about addressing this?

TAMMI: Glo has taught Audrey since she was four or five years old, and I’ve been friends with her since then. So it’s just only natural we would be her favorites. I mean, Glo is one of my best friends. So, you know, handling it with the other parents was a little tricky because they were definitely jealous. But they would give us a hard time about it, and I’d be like, well, you know, it’s not my decision. She likes me. What do you want me to do?

AUDREY: It’s not exactly my fault… ok, it’s not my fault, and it’s not her fault either. So I mean, in the show, you’ll definitely see us both getting upset — more her, because I didn’t really know what was going on — but you’ll definitely see both of us getting upset because you can’t really control what someone else thinks of you. You can’t really control if they think good or bad of you. So, like I said, it’s not our fault that Miss Glo likes me.

TAMMI: We’re just very fortunate.

AUDREY: Yes, very thankful.

Audrey, you got the opportunity to dance on Broadway, as we talked about a little bit. How did that experience compare to being on a TV show? Is there one that you preferred?

AUDREY: It’s definitely a very, very different atmosphere. I mean, it wasn’t too different, because we had a guardian in The Music Man. We had four guardians for all the kids. And then during Dance Moms, we had a guardian. So that was a similarity.

It’s definitely a lot less nerve-wracking, in my opinion, in my role [on Broadway], because I was a swing, but I was also in the ensemble every night. Doing Dance Moms, I feel like there was a lot more pressure because, it was in that moment. You only had one chance to do it good. But in Broadway, if you messed up a certain step, the audience doesn’t know. And like, yes, [while] performing for judges, they don’t know either. But Miss Glo still knows. And it’s not always if you win or if you lose, but it’s if you disappoint her, or if you tried your hardest. Because if I really did try my hardest, then why did I mess up? I think I would prefer Broadway… but Dance Moms is still really fun!

Is there a favorite moment that you’re super excited for viewers to see that happened during the season?

TAMMI: I hope what it shows is the arc of me and Audrey’s relationship. At the beginning it was harder. I didn’t really help her much with her hair and makeup and stuff. But as time went on, she was letting me help her more, and just the closeness and the bond. I just hope that’s portrayed, like people can see the growth in our relationship. That’s all so special to me. I mean, really, if nothing else, if it’s just she and I having a closer relationship because of this experience, that’s fine with me. I’m very grateful.

LISA: I would probably say my favorite moment was the finale. The girls had just worked so hard for 10 weeks. Learning these dances in like two days, performing them, competitions every single weekend, and to finish so strong like they did. Glo really put them all to the test in the finale. It was probably one of the hardest, emotional episodes I think, maybe out of all of them, or right there at the top. Ashlan really rose to the challenge. Not that I never thought she couldn’t, but it was a lot. She’s 12 years old, and it was a lot for all of the girls, the topic that they were dancing for. And I hope that that episode, in turn, the people that watch it will maybe make different decisions because of it. And so I think that that last episode is not necessarily just a Dance Moms episode, but the topic I hope helps a lot of people that watch the show.

ASHLAN: Yeah, I hope they show when we would run backstage and see each other after we were crying, bawling our eyes out, and we were like, “I love you guys! I’m so happy that we’re friends!” How much we love them and how grateful we are to have them as friends and for them to be on the team.

AUDREY: My favorite moment is when Glo is explaining what my solo was about at Nationals… Min really wanted Mina to leave… I’ll leave you on a cliffhanger.

Dance Moms: A New Era is streaming on Hulu.