The allure of Dance Moms in the early 2000s was hard to resist. The formula was perfect. Between a crazed teacher, extremely driven stage moms, and young dancers, the show was a recipe for success. Arguably, the show’s star was Maddie Ziegler, but many would argue that Chloe Lukasiak was an equal dancer, though she never got the credit she deserved.
When does Chloe Lukasiak come back to Dance Moms?
Chloe was an OG since the series first aired. She was blonde, tall, and had perfect feet but struggled to win over her teacher’s approval. Abby Lee Miller was a monster (we can all admit this, right?). Chloe was often pitted against Maddie and would come up short no matter how hard she tried. Her mother, Christi Lukasiak, was the pair’s leading disrupter. Unlike the other mothers, she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. This led to Chloe often paying the price.
Chloe returned to Dance Moms for the Season 7 finale. It was heartwarming to see the group reconnect. And there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience when Nia Sioux and Chloe hugged. For Chloe, it was a full-circle moment. She shared via Bustle, “I miss the relationship that we used to have just because for the two years I’ve been off doing my own thing and they’ve been still on the show, so we’ve just kind of grown apart.” Chloe added, “It was really nice to see them again and reconnect.” Even though Abby wasn’t present for Chloe’s surprise visit, the dancer was unphased. “I feel like I’ve grown up a lot since leaving the show, and I’ve gained my own voice.”
Why did Chloe Lukasiak leave Dance Moms in the first place?
After Dance Moms Season 4, Chloe and Christi left the show. Fans will recall that it happened after Abby made fun of her eye, which turned out to be due to a sinus collapse. Chloe shared that the reason she returned was nostalgia. “My mom and I had been talking one night, and she said that the girls were coming back to Pittsburgh, and it might be the last competition,” she recalls. “I teared up because that was my childhood. Growing up, it was all I knew. I got a little sad about it and then I thought, ‘What if I came back for the finale? How funny would that be?’”
Thankfully, Christi agreed. The dancer shared, “My mom respected my decision because when we did the show, it was always something that we agreed on, including when it was time to leave.” Chloe missed “the relationship that we used to have just because for the two years I’ve been off doing my own thing and they’ve been still on the show, so we’ve just kind of grown apart.” But for the Dance Moms OG, “It was really nice to see them again and reconnect.”
What season does Chloe Lukasiak’s co-star Maddie Ziegler leave Dance Moms?
After leaving, Chloe was able to embrace her love for dance, and her star rose quickly. As a teenager, she trained at Studio 19. The dancer won a Teen Choice Award and an Industry Dance Award in 2015. In 2017, Chloe starred in Center Stage: On Pointe. So it was safe to say she didn’t need the Abby Lee Dance Company to do well for herself. But she wasn’t the only dancer to leave ALDC. Maddie and Kalani Hilliker also eventually ditched the show. Kalani left after Season 4 once her contract was up. Kalani once told Dance Spirit she was never meant to be on the show past the one duet with Maddie.
As for Maddie, Abby’s pride and joy. After being the teacher’s pet for six seasons, the Sia dancer left the studio and the series. Maddie spilled the tea in an interview with Cosmopolitan. She revealed, “I had more stress at that age than I did once I left. I have dissociated so much from that time. I’ll see fans post scenes from Dance Moms, and I’m like, ‘I literally don’t even remember that happening.’” According to Maddie, her teacher “was distraught [when my sister and I left]. For the longest time, we felt so guilty,” she explained to Cosmo. “She trained me, she helped me, but also, I knew I would be OK without her, and I was sick of being in a toxic environment. I was like, ‘This is not for me. I can’t do this, and I haven’t spoken to her since. I feel at peace now.”
Dance Moms is currently streaming on Peacock.
