These days, Nia Sioux‘s pillowcases are feeling awfully dry.
As someone who’s followed a lot of journeys, I’ve noticed a real shift with former Dance Moms star. She’s come a long way since her time with Abby Lee Miller, and she’s realized something incredibly powerful: you don’t need to hold back your emotions for anyone or anything. It’s about self-preservation and finally prioritizing her own well-being.
She told TopMob News in a recent interview that it’s perfectly fine to show your feelings. She emphasized that expressing emotions doesn’t make you weak.
Although she’s feeling better now that some issues are resolved, she’s had to consciously work on replacing the negative thoughts she used to have with Abby’s voice.
In her new memoir, Bottom of the Pyramid, Nia recalls that her former dance teacher often criticized her weight, specifically pointing out her buttocks and hips. This harsh criticism was also shown on television for everyone to see. (TopMob News has contacted Abby for a response, but has not received one yet.)
The insults weren’t the worst part for Nia when she was in elementary school. She explained that it hurt even more that none of the other mothers stepped in to support her when Abby made fun of her appearance – only her own mom did.
It’s not surprising that learning to love herself was one of the most difficult habits for the Pittsburgh native to develop.
Nia shared that it was a difficult journey to body acceptance. As a dancer, she was already very self-critical, and having those insecurities publicly displayed on a popular reality show with millions of viewers was incredibly intimidating. It took her a long time to overcome feeling exposed and learn to love her appearance.
But just like her signature death drop, she’s nailed it.
Nia shared that she’s finally reached a place of self-love and acceptance, saying she truly loves how she looks and celebrates it. She admitted it wasn’t easy, especially recalling hurtful comments she received as a teenager, but emphasized that it was a process. ‘It took a lot,’ she said, ‘but I finally feel like I’ve gotten there.’
Like with many of her successes, she thanks her dance mom, Dr. Holly Hatcher-Frazier, for always being her biggest supporter.
“It helps that I have an amazing mom,” Nia acknowledged. “She’s literally my hype man.”
Throughout most of the show’s seven seasons, Nia often turned to the former teacher for support as she dealt with the constant, subtle forms of racism she experienced as the only person of color on the series.
In her book, Nia recounts that Abby explained her plans for her junior elite competition team during a heated argument.
Nia wrote that the director requested a group of tall, thin dancers who all looked alike – blonde hair and blue eyes specifically. She then said she hadn’t asked for someone like Kim Fields, referencing Fields’ character on the show The Facts of Life. The real meaning behind the comment – that she didn’t want a Black dancer on her otherwise all-white team – was deeply upsetting.
And, yet, the UCLA grad has managed to take the good and take the bad.
She’s already achieved a lot at 24, including performing for six weeks off-Broadway and appearing in 59 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful. Her impressive accomplishments also include interviewing Vice President Kamala Harris and touring the Oval Office with then-President Joe Biden.
Nia told TopMob she has no regrets about being on the show. She believes everything that’s happened in her life has brought her to this point, and she wouldn’t alter anything, even if she could.
After years since appearing on the reality show, she feels ready for anything life throws her way. She says she’s lived a full life and has absolutely no regrets.
Nia feels she’s accomplished her biggest goals and doesn’t need to prove anything further. However, she’s still passionate about sharing her experiences and creativity through music, acting, and connecting with her 5.8 million social media followers.
Nia said, “I’m full of ideas and confident I can achieve them, and there’s nothing stopping me.”
She’s not the only one from Dance Moms who’s found success outside of the show! Let’s see what her former castmates are up to as individual performers.
Over the past ten years, the dancer from Pennsylvania first captured audiences’ attention as the standout performer at the Abby Lee Dance Company. Since then, she’s successfully transitioned into other areas of entertainment, appearing in music videos for Sia, and starring in films like Sia’s directorial debut, Music, the 2021 remake of West Side Story, and the 2024 movie My Old Ass.
Maddie also wrote a best-selling memoir called The Maddie Diaries in 2017. She was a judge on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation and co-hosted the Take 20 With Maddie and Kenzie podcast with her sister, Kenzie Ziegler. She told TopMob News that they wanted the podcast to feel relaxed and authentic, showcasing their natural conversations without a lot of editing or production.
She’s now planning to start her own beauty brand. “I’ve always dreamed of creating my own line,” she shared, “and I think it would be incredible to finally do it.”
Having moved beyond her acrobatic performances, the singer recently released “Anatomy” in 2023, a deeply personal song about her complicated relationship with her father. She explained to People that the song represented a new level of vulnerability. “I’m really pushing myself creatively and sharing my story honestly, not just online,” she said.
Despite having over 14 million followers on Instagram from her time on Dance Moms, her third album, biting my tongue, released in July 2024, showed a more personal side to her music.
The actress from She Dances told TopMob News that she’s finally able to openly discuss her life and share what’s important to her. She hopes people will connect with her story and feel something – whether it’s happiness, sadness, or simply a sense of understanding.
After nearly ten years away from the show Dance Moms, the award-winning dancer was excited to return to performing and competing.
Chloe Lukasiak, author of Girl on Pointe, explained that she started the Elevé National Dance Competition because she missed dancing and wanted to reconnect with a passion she’d lost. She teamed up with her mom, Christi Lukasiak, and Diane and Brittany Pent, to create a competition that was different from her own experiences—one focused on positivity and a renewed love for dance. She wanted to build something that would recapture the joy she felt when she first started dancing.
Even though her competition ended after just one year, Pepperdine University graduate is continuing to pursue her goals. Now living in New York City, she’s mainly focused on creating content, but she’s also working on her first fantasy novel. She told TopMob News in 2023 that she’s been reflecting on what’s next for her, and feels confident that everything happens for a reason. “I’ve learned that everything works out exactly as it should,” she said.
The original member of the group continues to excel in both music and acting. She released her single “Low Key Love” in 2020, and has starred in the web series Sunnyside Up as well as 59 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful.
While finishing her studies at UCLA – she earned a degree in American Literature and Culture in June 2024 – she was also pursuing music in Hollywood, releasing her single “IMMA CATCH” and being recognized on Variety‘s 2023 Young Hollywood Impact Report.
Next up, was (death) dropping her memoir.
She shared with TopMob News that she’s deeply passionate about the power of storytelling, especially as she prepares for the November 2025 release of her project, Bottom of the Pyramid. Despite having many career aspirations, she plans to continue acting as a key part of her future.
Nia shared that dance has always been her primary passion, but she also loves theater and hopes to return to it someday.
Instead of focusing on follower counts, the original star of the show organized a trip to Costa Rica in 2023. They shared on Instagram in July that the week-long experience transformed the group from strangers into close friends, leading to emotional goodbyes at the airport.
She then took a six-day trip to Croatia, reminiscent of a backpacking adventure she loved after college. “I saw amazing sights, experienced new cultures, and made friends I’ll have for life,” she said. “It was an unforgettable experience.”
When she’s back home in Pittsburgh, this marketing graduate puts her skills to work. She runs the popular Bite-Sized Foodie Instagram account and also collaborates with her sister, Paige, on their brand, Hyland Sisters. She got engaged to Brian Thalman in May 2024.
Recently, the veterinarian, who gained attention as a model and influencer, hasn’t been dwelling on personal struggles. After graduating from West Virginia University in May 2023 – a moment celebrated online by Christi Lukasiak – she’s been traveling extensively, visiting places like the Hamptons, Colorado, and Wyoming.
Paige’s main travel companion (besides her sister Brooke) is her boyfriend, Jayvon Thrift, a former college football player. She publicly expressed her affection for the fitness model in a 2022 post, writing, “Adore you in every kind of way.”
In July 2024, the couple celebrated their five-year anniversary by leasing their first apartment together. Paige announced the exciting news on Instagram, hinting at a “new adventure” ahead.
Kendall Vertes, a recent graduate of James Madison University, was recently performing with her college’s championship dance team. She shared on Instagram in September 2023 that she was proud of how far she’d come, writing, “Younger me would be so proud.” Her mother, Jill Vertes, quickly commented, expressing her own pride in Kendall.
Beyond acting – including roles in the 2019 film Rapunzel: A Princess Frozen in Time and a live-action Anastasia adaptation – and releasing music as Kendall K, the new cast member has also secured several brand sponsorships, boosted by her large following of 11 million on Instagram.
I’ve been a huge JoJo Siwa fan ever since she was on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, and even though she only appeared on the original Dance Moms for a couple of seasons, she totally shined! It’s amazing how she built such a massive following on YouTube, landed a deal with Nickelodeon for all sorts of products, and even made Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in 2020. She really took things to another level!
She once told Kelly Ripa that one of the most important lessons she learned from Dance Moms was the need to adapt and persevere. It wasn’t about literal swimming, she clarified, but about having the drive to survive and succeed.
Recently, she’s been seen with celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian, and is achieving a lot more than just maintaining the status quo. In 2021, she made history as part of the first same-sex couple to compete on the American version of Dancing With the Stars, partnering with Jenna Johnson.
The singer is now setting her sights on the Super Bowl halftime show, telling Raven-Symoné and Miranda Pearman-Maday that it’s her biggest dream. She even joked on the August 2023 episode of The Best Podcast Ever that she’d retire and start a family once she gets the chance to perform – especially after releasing her first EP, Guilty Pleasure, in July 2024.
Now based in Arizona, the dancer, actress, and businesswoman is focusing on health and wellness and recently launched her beauty brand, Kare, in 2023.
She told TopMob News that her anxiety inspired her to start a brand focused on self-care. Her goal was to create something for everyone, helping people relax, prioritize themselves, and build routines to manage daily challenges.
I’m so thrilled to see her back in season 4! It’s amazing how she’s continued to perfect her technique – those arabesques are still flawless! She started on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, and now she’s not only dancing again, but teaching too. She recently married Nathan Goldman in September 2025, and it’s clear she’s found her own style as an instructor. She told me she’s definitely different from Abby – and most of her previous teachers, actually. She focuses on being kind and encouraging, but she also really pushes her students to reach their full potential, which I think is fantastic.
Asia Monet Ray has spoken about her time in the spotlight, despite stepping away from television before turning ten. After appearing on shows like Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, Dance Moms, and her own series, Raising Asia, she told TopMob News in 2021 that she had a positive experience, even if others didn’t. She stated she wouldn’t change anything about it, adding that it was a genuinely good experience for her.
Graduating as valedictorian in June 2023, the model and artist shared on Instagram how proud she was to have reached a long-held goal and expressed her excitement for the future.
With lots of sponsorships, invitations to all the popular events, and her new upbeat single “Oh Boys” and album of the same name, her future looks promising.
She told TopMob that she looks back fondly on her time as a reality TV star. Despite the challenges, she believes the experience helped prepare her for life and is something she truly appreciates.
Ever since joining the show in its seventh season, the dancer from St. Louis has been performing on significantly bigger stages.
She had an incredible early 2023, touring with Kendrick Lamar, performing with Usher in Las Vegas and at the Super Bowl halftime show, and then taking the stage at the Grammys with Missy Elliott. She described the experience as “Beyond blessed!!!”
Following performances dancing in the 30th anniversary celebration of The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl, with Chloe Bailey at the BET Awards, and with Tate McRae at the 2025 VMAs, she’s determined to continue building her career. As she shared on Instagram in December 2022, after finishing a 76-show run with Lamar, she believes “this is only the beginning.”
After leaving the show after three seasons—where she stepped into Maddie’s role as a dancer—the Arizona native wanted to experience a typical teenage life. As she shared in a 2023 YouTube video with her close friend Kelsey Millar, she wanted to return to high school, be with her friends, and feel normal. While she admits high school wasn’t always easy, she’s glad she went through it. Having experienced both the intense world of dance and regular teenage life, she’s now confident she can find a balance between the two.
Since graduating in 2021, she’s started the Out of Line podcast with Millar and shared her experiences at music festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach with her 3 million Instagram followers. She also frequently meets fans while traveling with her dance students to competitions.
Brynn, who is still friends with Kenzie, described a sweet moment when someone recognized her. They asked, ‘Miss Brynn, are you famous?’
Read More
- Steam RPG From 2023 Being Removed Next Month and PC Users Aren’t Happy: “Huge Potential Wasted”
- Deadlock The Doorman Guide: Big Tips & Tricks
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess ‘Mazo Talisman: Yashichi Waves’ update launches in July
- ‘LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’ Reveals Its 7 Main Batsuits
- Yakuza Maker’s Next PS5 Game Gets a Brief Behind-the-Scenes Video
- ‘My Name Is Jeff’: Channing Tatum Played Another Jeff In Roofman, And Is Considering Legally Changing His Name
- Gears of War: Reloaded is Now Available
- Alabaster Dawn Demo is Now Available on PC
- Preview: Teamwork Is the True Terror of Little Nightmares 3
- No Upgrade Path for the Belated PS5 Version of Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut
2025-11-04 21:20