Abby Lee Miller workshop draws regional crowd to South Beloit
Dancers from across the Midwest traveled to South Beloit on May 30 for a full day of training with Abby Lee Miller
More than 150 dancers gathered at Willowbrook Middle School on Saturday as Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller brought a day of dance instruction, auditions, and performance training to South Beloit.
Hosted by Miss Andrea’s Dance Factory, the workshop attracted dancers and families from throughout the Midwest.
By early afternoon, a line had formed outside the school as dancers and their families arrived for the workshop. Inside, attendees picked up VIP credentials, browsed Abby Lee Dance Company merchandise, and joined another long line for photos with Miller before classes began.
“If you walk down this line, there’s girls here from Chicago, Green Bay, all kinds of places from all over,” Miss Andrea’s Dance Factory owner Andrea Abbott said. “It’s amazing.”
Among those making the trip was the Cleghorn family of Dyer, Indiana.
Both daughters have been dancing since age 3 and grew up watching Dance Moms.
“When my parents told me, I was like, ‘I have to go,’” one of the girls said.
“Honestly, just being able to dance and just being able to meet her,” her sister added.
Their mother recalled the reaction when they learned Miller was coming to South Beloit.
“They were like, ‘Oh my gosh, really? She’s coming?’” she said.
Other dancers waiting in line shared similar excitement.
Piper Calvette, who has danced at Miss Andrea’s Dance Factory for five years, said she was looking forward to the workshop.
“I’m really excited to learn the combo,” she said.
Emery, who has been dancing for seven years, said she was looking forward to the opportunity to dance and learn from Miller. Her favorite style is “sassy jazz.”
Nine-year-old Genevieve said she felt a mix of nerves and excitement while waiting in line.
“Just a little bit nervous, but I’m mostly excited,” she said.
Meeting Miller was something she was highly anticipating.
“I just can’t wait to see her.”
After photos wrapped up, dancers moved into the gym for what would become a full afternoon of training.
The warmup consisted of nearly an hour of instruction focused on flexibility, feet, posture, and technique before Miller moved into choreography and audition exercises.
Before the event, Miller told Rockton-Roscoe News she wanted dancers to leave with skills they could continue using long after the workshop ended. Throughout the afternoon, she reinforced that message, stopping frequently to correct technique and explain the purpose behind each exercise.
Scarlett, one of Miller’s ALDC dancers, assisted throughout the workshop by demonstrating stretches, flexibility exercises, and technique drills.
During one flexibility exercise, Scarlett brought over two toy race cars as Miller demonstrated split technique. Rolling the cars beneath dancers’ knees, Miller used the visual to show where flexibility and positioning still needed work.
Later, she reminded dancers that progress takes time.
“Girls, you can’t order a split from Amazon,” Miller told the class.
Miller’s teaching style mixed technical instruction with blunt, memorable reminders. During warmups, she corrected everything from foot placement and posture to flexibility and strength.
“The front line in my class better be the best dancers in the school,” she told participants, explaining that every dancer behind them would be watching what they do.
The workshop also included choreography instruction, a mock audition, vocal exercises for singers, and acrobatics training.
During the vocal segment, singers lined up and passed the microphone from one performer to the next. Each participant had a brief opportunity to sing a portion of a song of their choice before Miller offered feedback, encouragement, and performance advice.
Dancers also learned a combination, participated in audition exercises, and received feedback throughout the day. The mock audition portion gave participants a chance to experience some of the pressure and expectations performers face during real auditions.
After several hours of instruction, Miller said she was impressed by the dancers she encountered in South Beloit.
“I just think that the children were so well-behaved in class,” Miller said. “There wasn’t any fooling around, there wasn’t talking, there wasn’t giggling. As soon as I start my class and I say grand plié, everyone’s very focused and in tune with it.”
She said several dancers stood out during the workshop.
“There were like three girls that had really good feet,” she said.
By the end of the day, every dancer received a scholarship for future ALDC Zoom classes.
The day concluded with Miller’s “Abby Lee Spills the Tea” question-and-answer session. A total of 114 people attended the session, where Miller answered questions and shared stories from her career in dance and television.
Abbott said one of the highlights was watching dancers experience Miller’s teaching style and audition process firsthand.
“Watching all the dancers being attentive and working hard was pretty amazing,” Abbott said. “It was also pretty amazing to see how Abby Lee conducts her auditions and have dancers experience that as well.”
She said seeing dancers from multiple communities come together for a shared experience was equally rewarding.
“How incredibly beautiful it was to see so many young dancers in our community and beyond coming together and dancing,” Abbott said.
“I think today’s event is going to be something they speak about for many years to come. This event taught the dancers a lot in regards to technique, choreography, and the rewards of hard work.”
View the full photo gallery by Photographer Alan Mohring here:
https://alanmohring.smugmug.com/Dance/260530-Abby-Lee-Miller
Read our pre-event coverage:
Alycia Dioneda Schneedle
Alycia Dioneda Schneedle
Watch our Zoom interview with Abby Lee Miller:
