Everything I Learned about Life, I Learned in Dance Class

by Abby Lee Miller

Ultimate "Tiger Mom" Abby Lee Miller—the passionate, unapologetically outspoken, tough-as-nails star of Lifetime’s phenomenal hit Dance Moms and Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition —offers inspirational, tough love guidance for parents who want to help their children succeed and for readers of all ages striving to become the best they can be. If you want to help your kid reach the top, you can find no better coach than Abby Lee Miller. While some may criticize her methods, no one argues with her results. Her kids excel, her teams win, and her alumni go on to Broadway careers. Organized by "Abbyisms," her unique and effective philosophies on hard work, competition, and life, this straight-talking guide provides clear and proven advice for achieving success, from figuring out your child's passion to laying the groundwork for an exciting future career. Abby answers tough questions from real moms, shares all the stories fans want to hear, and includes vignettes from shining alums who give their take on her unique approach and how it helped them make their dreams come true.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2013

Reviews

[Arden · Rating 2 out of 5]

something is wrong with this woman

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Team Abby Lee

[Brooke Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

it’s a good thing she went to prison

[Michelle (Pink Polka Dot Books) · Rating 1 out of 5]

LOL. I’ve definitely lost respect for Harper for green lighting this. It was like reading the diary of a super immature, bitter child with an overinflated ego. Just because you’ve been abusing other people’s children for 30 years, that doesn’t make you an expert on parenting.

For everyone that thought you were going to get details about behind the scenes of the show or insights into specifics, this is not it. It’s a very generalized book of all of Abby’s grievances with child-rearing- with a few personal insults thrown in. She really said the only reason people quit is because they can’t afford it or they aren’t good enough. Ha! As someone who danced here many decades ago, I can attest that the majority of the “quitters” were due to Abby’s ridiculous attitude and abusive behaviors.


I’ll sum up the book for you so that you don’t have to read this: Dear Parents, please raise your kids to be as agreeable to me as possible. They should talk when I want them to and be silent when I don’t. They should be pretty— if not, try a makeover and new clothes. They should instinctively know everything about proper etiquette. They should have perfect thigh to knee and calf to foot ratio or they’re trash. You should pay me lots of money frequently and just because. Never complain. If you want to complain, you should just quit and let the door hit you on the way out. But also, if you quit you’re a loser and your kid is lazy— and basically nothing in this world is worse than a kid that doesn’t want to give 110% to my dance classes while I scream at them and scheme to personally embarrass them. You should probably think about giving that kid up for adoption because that’s how horrible it is to quit my studio. And BTW— here is a list of the 20 kids that won dance titles for me…… Love, Abby.

[Kylie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I, of course, bought this books on my Kindle because of the hit show "Dance Moms". It gives you an in depth look at the controversial dance teacher Abby Lee Miller. Miller shows a different side of herself in this book. She claims that she looks so mean in the show because the producers cu out parts of her being nice to her students. I guess I believe some of that. My favorite part of this books was the behind the scenes facts of the show. We learned things about the girls that have never been revealed, and I really liked that. For me, this book was pretty hard to get though, it was boring and a bit slow, probably because Miller isn't a author! That was okay, because I still enjoyed this unique biography. The prologue, by 12 year old sensation Maddie Ziegler was interesting to read as well. Readers get to see how Miller began her life as a choreographer, and how she obtained her teaching methods.
All in all, not a bad read. If you are looking for a different kind of read, this dance biography is for you!

[Merili · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uuuugh, I don't know. I just don't like her as a person very much... I guess... And I only picked this one up because I wanted to know what's going on inside her head after watching Dance Moms. Honestly don't even know why I finished this book.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

more like 2,5 stars. She's being so mean about some people in this book. Bit bitter and jealous???

[Violet]

This book is the best

[Rachel Dows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be surprisingly delightful. Abby Lee Miller is a polarizing personality - someone you either love or hate, or hate to love/love to hate. This book was full of sound advice for both parents who want to put their kid(s) in dance and the average person. I’ve never thought more about putting my potential kids into dance than I have after reading this, which is probably half of the point of this book!

Overall, it was entertaining, interesting, and made me laugh at a few different points. Is it a literary masterpiece? No. But is it worth reading? Absolutely.

[Kaavya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abby Lee miller is wilding. She does say valid stuff at least 20% of the time though.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sick and my brain isn't at its best right now but heck, I'll try to write a review.

I'm fond of Dance Moms. I'm not ashamed to share there was a summer where I binge watched a lot of it. And in a way, Abby makes sense. And she seems to live by her ideas so it's all good.

I'm at this point of my life where I'm questioning who exactly I can be and more importantly, what can I do. It's hard because I feel in ten months I'll be expecting myself to reach somewhere, that I must not lower my standards, I've got to dream big and work hard. That's kind of the point of youth. It's about paving your own route and making it amazing.

Through all this, I'm desperate for wisdom and this book didn't quite satisfy me but it was nice. Anyway my head really hurts so maybe one day I'll finish this review.

[Sarah | readswithsarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Dear Abby:
My daughter is jealous of another girl on her dance team. She says she’s prettier, better, and gets all the best parts and numbers. How can I smooth things out between them?
It’s not your job as a mom to get in the middle of girl fights. Learn that first of all. Second, how about a minimakeover? If the other kid is prettier, get your kid the right haircut, the highlights, and a brand-new leotard. Do whatever it takes, including private lessons. If you end up giving that studio some extra income, your kid’s going to get recognized.”

LOL I thought this was terrible advice but so on par for who she is. Just a fun, easy, guilty pleasure if you’ve seen dance moms

[Kelsey McKim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abby Lee Miller is a dance teacher, not a writer.

I got excited about this book because I've gotten myself addicted to the show Dance Moms, but this isn't a book of behind-the-scenes moments from the show. Instead, it's a book about how best to rear a child and how every child should enroll in dance class and buy her brand of dance wear. Meh...

This is also a scary-fast read.

[Michelle Jolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good autobiography by Abby Lee Miller. I can hear Abby’s voice as I’m reading it!

[lucy♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a lot to say on this book so let's get started, shall we?
Before I had even opened up the book, I felt skeptical and apprehensive about it. Most celebrities don't write books because they are genuinely interested in writing. They do it for the fame and fortune. This is why I had always been prejudiced towards memoirs and autobiographies.
As I started to read it, I was also slightly excited. I've been a huge fan of dance moms since 2013 and I thought I was going to get lots of juicy gossip about the show and the cast. I was wrong.
Unfortunately I got a parenting guide.
And I had issues with it.
First of all, Abby is not Jo Frost and considering she doesn't have a degree in parenting or even children of her own, she can't tell people how to raise their kids or have the right to say when a parent is not bringing up their child correctly. What does she know? She hasn't got any kids!
She repeatedly said a kid should be brought up with manners, kindness and loyalty. She said it as if it weren't common knowledge and we had to be educated on the matter.

Moreover, I thought the book was extremely repetitive and not structured very well. An example of this would be one minute, Abby was talking about always making sure your kid had money to tip a waiter and then jumped to mean girls stealing props. It just didn't flow.

However, I did find the book slightly entertaining and I did learn a lot!

So that was my thoughts , opinions and feels on Abby's memoir!
Love Lucy x

[Darien]

Reading background on the life of Abby Lee Miller was very eye-opening for me. To see how she grew from being a 14-year old kid opening a local Pittsburgh dance studio is very inspiring. By her controversial teaching techniques, she lead her studio to being one of the best in the world. After getting her own Lifetime reality show, she grew to be a worldwide phenomenon, even ending up moving to Los Angeles to continue producing superstars, like Maddie Ziegler and Kalani Hilliker. She had a lot of controversy and people who disapproved of her, but overcame it and continued to grow her national Abby Lee Dance Company industry.

[Erin Clewell · Rating 2 out of 5]

i would say this was wild from start to finish but it was actually the just the same point (“dancing is hard and i’m a good teacher”) reiterated over and over.

there were a few wild takes sprinkled in! my favorite was when she called out a kid who had been given extra money by her parents to pay for abby’s dinner at a restaurant. when the girl told abby she’d pay, abby declined. so the girl didn’t pay for dinner. abby is furious with the girl to this day, saying kids must insist on paying for others rather than only asking once. a CHILD!

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found out about Abby Lee Miller like a lot of people: through Dance Moms, although I was a latecomer. And because of that, I wish that it had more behind the scenes stuff about the show. I understand though, that she is so much more than that show. I do love the relationship she had with her mom, and was sad when she passed. There's also a lot of good advice for how to encourage kids to find what they love and then stick with it. And even though you may not be an instant superstar in something, if you work hard, at the least you'll get a great life education.

[Georgia Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting read. As a dancer myself, it was fascinating to read of the tricks of the trade by the world's most renowned dance instructor. I adore Abby Lee Miller's morals and expectations and was impressed to discover her high-set values on life, as well as dance. She accurately portrays the importance of receiving a dance education, or partaking in another sport! Great book, and so very true to her personality.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting experience to say the least. I was aware prior to reading this that I have very different views of the world than the author and reading her memoir made this even more clear. I don't think bashing specific girls from the show was a good move at all, and the random lists of dance title-holders and other things like class schedules seemed like a desperate method of upping the total page count.

[Haley Giovannetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book five stars for what it is. Is it written well: no. But it’s funny it tells a chronological story has a lot of letters from other people in it and includes pictures of her life. All in all it’s a decent memoir. It’s also got some dance moms facts. It definitely is Abby through and through and it definitely shows her just as the show does. But it’s interesting

[Nickie Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Abby

I loved this book. Chock full of Abby-isms, and sound advice. Interesting to catch a peek of the woman behind the tv persona. Clearly, there is and has always been a method behind her "meanness". Tough love is what I would call it.

[Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a dancer, knowing how hard this industry is, reading this book encouraged me and enlightened me and gave me a lot of confidence. I learned a lot about the business of dance from this book, which is an important part of being a dancer. I want to read more of her books on dance.

[Cyndee Lee Rule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see her side of why she was so mean to the girls and that there is a method to her madness. Or, is she just trying to justify it? On the other hand, she has produced so many national champions and professional dancers, so I guess their toxic codependent relationships worked for them.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, easy read. She doesn't really talk about the show Dance Moms but she does reference it. Abby writes a couple things about the girls and moms but that's all. The book really is more informative about the dance word and raising a dancer.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be more of a memoir but it's just a how-to manual for running a dance studio, of which I have no interest. Abby also has a whole lot of parenting advice for someone who isn't a parent.

[Cerys · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Sofia · Rating 1 out of 5]

ooh, i have been wanting to read this since i was actually 10 . but it was generally bit boring, even though i love abby

[Jamie Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

this rating is me being generous

[avrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven’t read it but I hate her so it gets one star