Abby Lee Miller

Abby Lee Miller
Born	Abigale Lee Miller September 21, 1965 Miami, Florida
Occupation	Dance instructor Television personality Choreographer
Religion	Roman Catholic
Parent(s)	Maryen Lorrain Miller mother George L. Miller father

Abigale "Abby" Lee Miller (born September 21, 1965) is an American dance instructor, choreographer, and the director and owner of Reign Dance Productions. She is also the founder of the Abby Lee Dance Company.

Early life

Abby Lee Miller was born to Maryen Lorrain, a dance teacher, and George L. Miller. She was raised a Roman Catholic. During her school years, Abby studied dance and choreography.^[1]

Career in dance

Miller grew up around dance. She says she preferred to choreograph a dance, instead of performing it. Miller founded her own studio, Abby Lee Dance Company, at age 14. She later became director of her mother's business, the Maryen Lorrain Dance Studio, later renamed Reign Dance Productions. Both studios are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Career in reality television

In 2011, Miller began to appear in the Lifetime reality television show^[2] Dance Moms. The show is on its sixth season and has had 138 episodes so far.^[3] Dance Moms follows the practice sessions and performance competitions of young students of the Abby Lee Dance Company.

Three spin-offs of Dance Moms are Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition,^[4][5] which ran for 2 seasons and 22 episodes,^[6] Dance Moms: Miami, and Dance Moms: Abby's Studio Rescue. The latter ran for only 7 episodes.^[7] Miller has also been a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars.^[8][9] In 2014, Miller published a book, Everything I Learned about Life, I Learned in Dance Class.^[4]

In 2015, Miller opened a new studio set up in Los Angeles called ALDC LA. The cast of Dance Moms moved to LA and are currently filming there.^[10]

Legal Issues

In 2014, one of the dancers on the show Dance Moms sued Miller, charging assault. The suit further claims the show's producers encourage a violent and combative atmosphere on the show as a way to attract viewers.^[11] A five million dollar lawsuit was filed against Collins Avenue Entertainment for staging disagreements that ended in a fight between Kelly Hyland and Miller.^[12] Paige Hyland also filed an emotional distress lawsuit against Miller.^[13] The charges were dropped on the emotional distress lawsuit, because the judge sided with Miller, as Miller had done nothing emotionally damaging to the child beyond what is normal of high quality dance instructors.^[14]

In December 2010, Miller filed for bankruptcy and owed more than $400,000 in taxes shortly before Dance Moms premiered.^[15]

On October 13, 2015, Miller was indicted for fraud for creating a secret bank account in 2012-2013 to hide income from masterclasses, TV deals, and merchandise sales. She is indicted with bankruptcy fraud, concealment of bankruptcy assets and false bankruptcy declarations in hiding some $755,000.^[16][17]

If found guilty she could face a fine of $250,000 for each of the 20 counts she was indicted on and five years in prison.^[18] She pleaded not guilty in November 2015.^[19] In February of 2016, the case was delayed a fifth time.^[20]

References

1. "Abby Lee Miller". abbyleedancecompany.com. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
2. "Dance Moms". mylifetime.com. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
3. "Dance Moms". myLifetime.com. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
4. "'Dance Moms' Star Melanie Huelsman Speaks Out About Abby Lee Miller Book Signing Drama, Why Haley Joined The Candy Apples". International Business Times. by Rebecka Schumann April 9, 2015
5. "Staten Island studios star on Abby Lee's 'Dance Moms' this week; 'World Class' status awaits?". Staten Island Live.
6. "Watch Online Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition - Watch Series". watch-series-tv.to. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
7. "Dance Moms: Abby's Studio Rescue". myLifetime.com. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
8. "'Dance Moms' Abby Lee Miller Guest Judges 'Dancing With the Stars,' Upsets Pro Dancers". The Hollywood Reporter/
9. Locker, Melissa (May 6, 2014). "Dancing with the Stars Watch: Abby Lee Miller Brings Her Dance Moms Magic". Time. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
10. "Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller's huge Aussie dummy spit". News.com. au.
11. "Abby Lee Miller of Dance Moms Sued for Assault by Teen Student". People. By Andrea Billups October 10, 2014
12. "'Dance Moms' Lawsuit Results: Judge Sides With Abby Lee Miller, Kelly Hyland’s Emotional Distress Claims Tossed". Retrieved July 15, 2015.
13. "Charges Dropped Against Dance Mom Who Slapped Coach Abby Lee Miller". Retrieved July 13, 2015.
14. Schumann, Rebecka (June 19, 2014). "'Dance Moms' Coach Abby Lee Miller's Parenting Advice Book Gets Official Release Date". International Business Times. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
15. "The Truth About 'Dance Moms': 8 Shocking Facts About Abby Lee Miller's Hit Lifetime Series". Retrieved July 15, 2015.
16. "'Dance Moms' star Abby Lee Miller indicted on fraud charges". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
17. http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/file/783446/download
18. Messer, Lesley (October 14, 2015). "'Dance Moms' Star Abby Lee Miller Indicted for Fraud". Retrieved April 18, 2015.
19. "Ib times".
20. Schuman, Rebecka (2016-03-31). "Abby Lee Miller's Legal Problems Continue As ‘Dance Moms’ Star Delays Fraud Trial Again". International Business Times. Retrieved 2016-04-24.

External links

• Abby Lee Miller (July 15, 2014). Everything I Learned about Life, I Learned in Dance Class. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-230481-0.