'Dance Moms': Where Are They Now?

Summary

• Elliana Walmsley, Kendall Vertes, Brynn Rumfallo, Camryn Bridges, Asia Monet, and Cheryl Burke are all former Dance Moms cast members, and they've all gone off on their own.
• They have pursued various careers in dance, acting, and other fields after leaving the show.
• Examples of their careers include dance instruction, Broadway, podcast co-hosting, social media influencing, and podcast hosting.

Dance Moms first premiered in 2011, and followed the lives of young dancers and their mothers while they competed and trained with coach Abby Lee Miller. Anyone who ever tuned in would know that it was not only about dancing but also drama. So much drama. But the reality TV series also enjoyed immense popularity. So much so that fans are still interested in what the stars of the show are up to these days.

A lot has changed in recent years for Abby Lee's dancers from Dance Moms. For starters, Miller is no longer a part of the show and she actually ended up spending time in prison on fraud charges. Fan favorite stars like Maddie Ziegler, Chloe Lukasiak, Brooke Hyland, and Nia Sioux, have all moved on with their lives, but still managing to remain friends years later, leaving the show well in their pasts.

While some stars like Ziegler became even more famous, thanks to her work with singer Sia (she appeared as her mini-me in her music videos, and also toured North America with her), other young talents, like Brooke Hyland, decided to enjoy a slower pace of life, and she embraced all the things that she missed out on when she had a grueling training schedule.

Below are 15 stars of Dance Moms, and what they are doing now.

Update June 2024: This article has been updated to reflect more recent information.

15 Maddie Ziegler

Maddie Ziegler is making a name for herself in the entertainment industry

Maddie Ziegler was undoubtedly the star of Dance Moms, which is where she earned the bulk of her impressive net worth. Maddie has become a well-known name in the entertainment industry even for those who didn’t watch the Lifetime reality show. She has made a name for herself as singer Sia’s mini-me, and in addition to featuring in music videos for her tracks "Chandelier,” “Unstoppable,” and “Elastic Heart,” Ziegler has also toured North America with the singer.

Then in 2017, Ziegler penned a memoir about her life (and she has accomplished a lot in just a few short years). The memoir was titled, The Maddie Diaries, and according to Life & Style, it became a New York Times Best Seller. As for why she decided to write about her life? Well, Ziegler told Entertainment Tonight that’s because she wanted people to be able to get to know the real her.

"I feel like a lot of people know me but there's a lot of things that they haven't learned yet. So, I'm here to teach them tips and tricks and a little bit more about my life.”

It's not just dancing that Ziegler is interested in, and she also featured as Christina in the film, The Book of Henry, and voiced the character of Camille in the animated film, Leap!

Maddie also went on to do some acting. Some of her projects, according to IMDb, include:

Whether Maddie will continue to conquer the entertainment industry or if she will move on to something else, remains to be seen.

14 Chloe Lukasiak

Chloe Lukasiak started Eleve Dance Studio to have a safe space for dancers to compete

When Chloe Lukasiak and her mother Christi featured on Dance Moms, their storyline involved quite a bit of drama, and she abruptly left the show in Season 4. But according to them, this drama was partly because of dance coach, Abby Lee Miller, as Christi explained to People 2017.

“What’s always the source of the drama? It’s Abby. She’s a strong personality and it’s difficult to stand up to her.”

They also discussed how Chloe would return to the show in Season 8, to say goodbye properly, and on air, Chloe told People.

“I really didn’t even think I was leaving [season 4]. I figured we would go back the next season, and then I left and I never came back. It felt very unfinished for me, I needed closure.”

According to IMDB, in 2016, she appeared as Gwen Murphy in the TV movie, Center Stage: On Pointe, and Mallory in the upcoming Sci-Fi film, F.R.E.D.I.

Reading is another thing that has always been important to Chloe and she decided to launch a book club where she could give fans her suggestions. She revealed this on Instagram in a post in February of 2018, in which she wrote about how she had partnered with Girl’s Life Magazine and Barnes and Noble to create Chloe’s Book Club, which she described as “a community for book lovers.”

Since then, Chloe started Eleve Dance Competition to create a safe space for dancers to compete. She also graduated from Pepperdine University and has a girlfriend, Brooklinn Khoury.

13 Paige Hyland

Paige Hyland graduated from West Virginia University and wants to work in event planning

Paige Hyland is the younger sister of Dance Moms’ Brooke Hyland, and both of their stints on Dance Moms ended not long after their mother, Kelly Hyland’s bust-up with Abby Lee Miller. Things turned ugly between the two women, and according to Life & Style magazine, the feud (which was aired on the show) even ended in a legal battle, although all charges against Hyland were later dismissed. But this incident also caused Brooke and Paige to leave the show and the dance company.

Since then, Paige has modeled in New York Fashion Week for Sherri Hill, and in 2015, she spoke to International Business Times.

“It’s really kind of fun because you get to see everything come to life. All the pretty girls walking the runway.”

Despite having other interests, according to Life & Style magazine, neither Brooke or Paige dance anymore, and Paige enjoyed the life of a normal teenager. She went to prom, graduated from West Virginia University and is on her way to working in event planning.

12 JoJo Siwa

Jojo Siwa became an actor, singer, and a brand who just released her newest single, "Karma"

JoJo Siwa started auditioning to be a part of Abby Lee Miller’s dancing team back in 2014, and in 2015, she was given her shot. She went on to appear on the reality show, Dance Moms, but ultimately left in 2016, and she has been a very busy girl ever since.

Since leaving the show, Siwa became a businesswoman, partnering with Claires to create a variety of bright bows, as well as sequinned bags, notebooks and even pens and tumblers adorned with bows.

In 2017, she hosted Lip Sync Battle Shorties alongside Nick Cannon before she transitioned into acting.

Some of the projects that Siwa has worked on, according to IMDb include:

It’s hard to imagine how Siwa found time to do everything, being active on YouTube and social media in general with her millions of viewers.

Most recently, Siwa released her new single, "Karma" which showed a completely different side of the singer. Whether this is the new Siwa or just they was she is trying to break free of her little girl look, remains to be seen.

11 Nia Sioux

Nia Sioux graduated from UCLA and is a social media influencer

After seven years on Dance Moms, Nia Sioux left the show, but she definitely didn’t take a break from the limelight. Speaking of her decision to leave the reality world behind her, Sioux sat down with Teen Vogue.

“It’s crazy to see how far it’s come and how much I’ve been through."

Nia went on to say, "During the show, I couldn’t take all the opportunities that I wanted to, and now since I’m off the show I’m getting to do what I want to do."

One of those opportunities was to appear in Summer Dance, which according to the publication, is a film about a young dancer balancing relationships and her passions.

Sioux is also inspiring people with her Instagram, which has 4.6 million followers. She does this with a little thing she likes to call #RoleModelMonday, whereby she shares a post about someone who is inspirational.

And then in 2018, she launched a new website, Nia Sioux Frazier, where she shares her thoughts via blog posts.

Since then, Nia has graduated from UCLA and is a social media influencer.

10 Mackenzie Ziegler

Mackenzie Ziegler is making a name for herself as an actor

There is not just one Ziegler sister, but two, who made it big in the dancing world, and Mackenzie Ziegler is the younger sister of Maddie. She also featured on the show, Dance Moms, joining it in 2011 (she was only six), but she has less pleasant things to say about her time as a reality star as well as being blamed for being jealous of Maddie's career.

According to Radar Online, in Ziegler’s memoir, Kenzie’s Rules for Life: How to be Happy, Healthy and Dance to Your Own Beat, she slammed her reality experienc.

“I always felt like I had to live up to people’s expectations of me. I thought everyone was constantly judging me, watching each move and tearing it apart, nitpicking everything I did and laughing at me behind my back.

Maddie went on to say, "The competitive dance world and reality TV can get a little crazy.”

She also shared that she felt as though she had no childhood because dance consumed everything, and she missed out on a lot of things that normal teenagers would do, like after-school activities, parties, and playdates. But a book is not the only thing that Mackenzie has done since appearing on the show, she has also joined forces with singer Johnny Orlando for a single titled “What If,” and even partnered with GE for an ad campaign.

Mackenzie went on to do some acting as well. Some projects that Mackenzie appeared in, according to IMDb, include:

Mackenzie is continuing her acting career with two projects in various stages of development. Dated for release have not been disclosed.

9 Abby Lee Miller

Abby Lee Miller teaches dance online and hosts a podcast

Abby Lee Miller was arguably the star of Dance Moms because the show revolved around her as the dance coach, and the young girls she was molding into dancers of the future. However, she too has left Dance Moms, although it wasn’t under the most pleasant of circumstances.

In March of 2017, it was revealed that Miller would be leaving the show, ahead of the jail time she was due to serve relating to a fraud cause. According to Deadline, she said at the time, “I will no longer take part in Dance Moms,” and her announcement was not all that surprising as the publication notes that she had raged online about the producers of the show multiple times.

Miller was indicted on 20 counts of fraud and was expected to serve a year in federal prison, according to TMZ. But in March of 2018, the publication notes that she was released early and would spend the last few months of her sentence in a halfway house called Residential Reentry Center, where law enforcement sources told them that she was scheduled to be released from on May 25. That said, there is no news on what the future holds for the former reality star, although TMZ claims that while at her halfway house Miller will be given employment counseling and job placement.

She has also returned to Instagram, so she’s not ready to disappear from the limelight just yet, and in February she revealed an empowering message, despite being sick, on one of her posts.

“I’m surviving because the fire inside me burns brighter than the fire around me.”

Today, Abby teaches dance online and hosts a podcast.

8 Brooke Hyland

Brooke Hyland is a social media influencer and runs a food blog

Brooke Hyland, like her sister Paige, gave up her dancing shoes. And Kelly told OK! Magazine that since leaving Dance Moms her daughters have a lot more flexibility in their schedules.

"They wanted to go to school dances and do that kind of stuff and they were never allowed.”

In 2016, Brooke got to go to prom, and the photos she posted on Instagram revealed that she looked beautiful in a royal blue sequined dress. And speaking of school, Brooke went on to graduate from high school and Ohio University.

Today she is a social media influencer and running a food blog.

7 Kalani Hilliker

Kalani Hilliker went on to create a sock line and dancewear line

Kalani Hilliker did not appear to miss her time on Dance Moms. She revealed in an interview with SweetyHigh that although her favorite part of being on the show was being with the other girls, who were like a “family,” the toughest part was the stress that came with it.

“I hate to say the word stressful, but it kind of is in a way. We learn our dances so fast and then there's always drama happening outside while we're trying to learn our dances. It's hard to focus when people are talking about you. We always want to go on stage and do our best, and it's very difficult to feel like you're doing your best when you're worrying about a ton of different things all at the same time.”

Since the time on the show, Hilliker admits that she has stayed close with the girls, but she has also gone on to do new things, including launching a dancewear line called Kalani Collection, in association with Purple Pixies.

Fashion seems to be something that she’s really interested in, because according to Naluda magazine, she launched a clothing label, Mod Angel, and a premium sock line called KH by Kalani, which she revealed was because she wanted to “make crazy awesome socks that you can’t really lose ‘cause they are so colorful and fun!”

6 Elliana Walmsley

Elliana Walmsley continues to dance and is a dance instructor as well

Elliana Walmsley is one of the youngest dancers on this list, having first appeared on Dance Moms as a member of the ALDC mini team in Season 6. She later joined the elites and she and her mother Yolanda Walmsley remained on the show until the disbandment of the group. Now, at just 10 years, it’s unlikely that she would have launched a clothing brand like Kalani Hilliker, or penned a juicy memoir like the Ziegler sisters, but she has been busy dancing.

Walmsley starred in the musical Dance Divas Nutcracker (based on Sheryl Berk's book series), which ran from Dec.13 to Dec.17 of 2017 and in November of 2017, she and fellow Dance Moms alum Lilly Ketchman joined forces for a photo shoot in New York City with the photographer, Jordan Matter.

Photoshoots seem to be something that Walmsley enjoys, and her Instagram page is filled with photos of her dancing, as well as photo shoots that she’s worked on. On a recent post, she revealed that she and male dancer Brady Farrar would be attending the CAPEZIO Dance Awards in Las Vegas to celebrate the 130th Anniversary and she was incredibly excited about being involved.

Today, Walmsley is continuing with her dancing career and is also working as a dance instructor.