Dance Moms: The 10 Best Dance Routines From Season 8

Alongside a good dose of drama, memorable faces, and Abby Lee Miller’s special brand of mentoring/tough-love/flat out yelling, every season of Dance Moms also contains some awe-inspiring routines that move the audience with their beauty and skill levels. After all, dancing is what the show is all about, and there would be nothing to spend the forty other minutes of an episode on without the two minutes of brilliance that come when the dancers take the stage.

From solos to group dances, from theatrical to hip hop, and everything in between, here are the ten best routines from Dance Moms, Season 8.

10 Broken Hearts

Contemporary dancing is always a crowd-pleaser, with its elegant motions and delicate costumes, but mix it with an emotional track, the perfect extension of a leg, and costumes that begin to morbidly bleed midway through the routine, and it becomes nothing less than sheer art.

As the ALDC team perform their ‘Broken Hearts’ routine, their all-white costumes and pristine spins become muddied by growing red stains that are garishly dark on their bodies. The effect is both terrifying and enchanting.  Brady, the team’s only male dancer, closes the routine by spinning endlessly to nothing but the sound of heartbeats, as all his peers collapse around him, taking the viewers’ breath with them.

9 Boss Ladies

It’s a lot of fun to see the girls break it down in this aptly-themed hip hop routine titled ‘Boss Ladies.’ Hip hop is, if anything, more precise than the more typical flowing movement of contemporary dancing as it’s chock full of dozens of beats to hit and rapid-fire arm and leg motions. These must be point perfect and just so together since it exudes a much different energy.

With upbeat music, a lot of acrobatics, and a constant need to bounce, it’s clear the team has a lot of fun with this one, and so too does the audience.

8 Black Widow

The ‘Black Widow’ solo performed by Lilly is incredibly reminiscent of a gymnastics floor exercise routine, as she twists, flips, and turns across the stage, one enmeshed, of course, in preternaturally beautiful dance moves. The dancing reminds the audience that there is more to competing than just beauty, although beauty is there in spades, and that an unparalleled athleticism is also required.

The butter-smooth extensions and the nods to ballet, and perhaps, Marvel’s Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, are the cherry on top of this routine.

7 Annabelle

Another solo routine, ‘Annabelle’ captures a different kind of creep than ‘Black Widow.’ Paying homage to the horror movie of the same name, Pressley perfectly captures the spirit of a possessed doll through a series of dance moves that are more contortion than twirl.

The terror comes to life set to the haunting sounds of little girls singing and laughing, and truly, the number raises prickles down the spine. The true power of dance is to create feeling and this routine delivers with every haunting second.

6 The Prom

Routine ‘The Prom’ dances to the beat of a different drum than the two solos discussed above. Sometimes, dance can make the audience feel many complicated emotions, but sometimes it can, instead, simply project one simple idea, joy!

A group routine that is in the ‘musical theater’ category, ‘The Prom’ conveys a sweet story about love in all its forms. Full of all the wonder and excitement of a first dance and first love, this routine leaps and twirls across the floor, delighting the audience and the viewers alike and filling the entire stage with beams of infectious laughter and smiles as winning as they are bright.

5 The Chosen One

If there was ever something close to a religious experience on Dance Moms, it would be ‘The Chosen One.’ This routine is a fascinating blend of hypnotic music and jean overalls. There’s an almost cult-like quality being conveyed by the motions, and the emotions the team shows are leaping and vivid. The routine effectively uses both music and silence to display a haunting landscape of dance on the screen, and it lets the imagination of the viewers run wild as to the story being told.

The beating hot sun of a day in the fields can almost be felt emanating through the bright stage lights, making this routine one of the show’s most evocative.

4 PTSD

Although it never aired, Brady’s ‘PTSD’ routine from Season 8 is one not to miss. Chock full of emotion and narrative, this solo showcases the full beauty of dance and the story it can take the viewer on.

The spins and tricks are incredibly impressive, but it is the quieter moments, the tortured twist of a hand and the way the face shifts, that convey the most. The girls are often the focus of the show and the performers that come to mind first when Dance Moms is mentioned, but Brady truly shines on his own merits as a solo dancer in this routine.

3 Strait Escape

The routine ‘Strait Escape’ is truly unlike any other dance because soloist Lilly does not have use of her arms while she’s dancing. For a dancer used to balancing in specific ways, Lilly does not miss a beat. She artfully portrays her slightly crazed role to perfection and maneuvers through backbends, spins, jumps, and even a somersault without once losing her balance.

The result is something from a nightmare, but it’s an exquisite one, and it is no wonder that she receives a perfect score for her efforts.

2 Rising From The Ashes

With so many routines to perform, it seems like Abby would eventually run out of ideas, but that is never the case on Dance Moms. Incorporating actual ashes into the routine, for ‘Rising From The Ashes,’ the group creates a haunting landscape for their beautiful motions, sprinkling the dust through the air as they dance.

Though the ashes could have come across as gimmicky but the results of their use are actually highly effective without being overdone. All in all, the routine blends drama with a set of perfectly timed motions and marvelously in-sync group dancing that culminates in one spectacular routine.

1 Stone Faced

Titled ‘Stone Faced’, this routine is about breaking free and it really captures the theme, both literally, with the mask falling from a dancer’s face and figuratively, as the dance movements go from rigid, to wilder, and wilder, until they settle back down with the ebullience of breaking through chains.

At times, the dancers really do resemble statues and build fountains of stone that rise and fall with their bodies. A truly lovely piece.

About The Author

Rotem Rusak
(78 Articles Published)

Fangirl extraordinaire. Lover of all things pop culture, including Marvel, Hannibal, Harry Potter, and more.

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