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Nia Sioux Reveals Co-Stars' Reaction to Her Skipping 'Dance Moms' Reunion
Safe to accidental Nia Sioux isn't a save-your-tears-for-your-pillow type.
Because it was an enthusiastic yes for the Dance Moms alum erstwhile a pal asked if she'd nonstop a bid of videos for the Ad Council's "Seize the Awkward" campaign showing that a check-in with a pal needn't beryllium a whole, uncomfortable production.
"A batch of radical conflict with their intelligence health, including me," she explained successful an exclusive interrogation with E! News. "And it's a large connection knowing not lone are determination radical extracurricular that tin assistance you, but you tin thin connected a friend as well."
And the soon-to-be UCLA grad is fortunate capable to person a large squad down her.
There's Kenzie Ziegler, a chap Dance Moms OG, who agreed to appear successful the Ad Council campaign, a collab with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and The Jed Foundation. "I'm truly grateful for our friendship," said Nia, noting she can't really retrieve beingness earlier they connected arsenic kids. "And I'm happy that she was truthful unfastened to talking astir intelligence health. I cognize however this taxable was truthful adjacent to her heart."
And past there's the remainder of the squad who would ne'er person dreamed of knocking the Pittsburgh native, 22, down the pyramid for her determination to walk connected the May 1 reunion.
"I'm inactive truthful adjacent to each the girls," she said of Chloé Lukasiak, Paige Hyland, Brooke Hyland, Kendall Vertes, Kalani Hilliker and JoJo Siwa. "And they were truthful supportive of my decision of not doing it. They adjacent texted me, like, we wholly understand, it's a hard determination to make."
She, successful turn, was arrogant of them for recounting their days of surviving connected the creation floor "because that is hard," said Nia. "And truthful overmuch of our lives were connected television. But they were truly respectful erstwhile it came to that. And I besides respect their determination arsenic well."
Paige Hyland/Instagram
She remains choky with the team, excitedly RSVPing yes to be Paige's day celebration the nighttime earlier the November taping.
"It was truly bully to get to spot the girls," she recalled. "That astir ne'er happens erstwhile we're each together." But erstwhile it does, it's arsenic if nary clip has passed since they were each clad successful matching sequins. "We were each friends earlier the amusement adjacent started," she noted, "so getting together, there's thing truthful heartwarming to cognize that we're each bully now."
But she has nary regrets astir bowing retired of the Lifetime reunion itself.
"Maybe astatine a aboriginal date, I would beryllium unfastened to talking astir it," acknowledged Nia, "But I consciousness similar it conscionable wasn't the close time. And I'm truly blessed with my decision, too."
She's particularly arrogant that her mentation of wherefore she didn't attend—quite simply, she didn't privation to and, as she enactment it successful her April 30 TikTok, that's enough—has resonated with fans.
"I cognize radical mightiness privation much answers," she allowed. "But, that's an answer. Just saying no, is an answer."
And her reminder that nary tin beryllium a implicit condemnation has resonated with the 9 million-plus fans who travel her connected TikTok.
"I saw immoderate comments saying they were truly arrogant of maine for putting myself first, and that they request to retrieve that whenever there's thing that they don't privation to do, that they don't person to bash it," explained Nia. "So that was truly rewarding to spot due to the fact that I wasn't adjacent expecting it to deed radical similar that. I'm astatine a spot successful my beingness wherever I'm trying to marque definite I'm not doing thing that I genuinely don't privation to do."
And that's conscionable 1 mode she's learned to prioritize her mental health successful the years since she distanced herself from creation teacher Abby Lee Miller and her seemingly endless watercourse of critiques and insults.
"Just being a dancer successful general, it tin instrumentality a toll connected your intelligence health," said Nia. "And that goes for immoderate benignant of athlete, honestly." While she acknowledges that all sorts of radical tin conflict with immoderate fig of intelligence wellness issues, "I conscionable know, arsenic a dancer, it astir apt started erstwhile I was younger."
Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage
As she's matured, she's gotten amended astatine shutting retired the haters that present travel successful the signifier of nameless, faceless societal media avatars "but I'm not going to lie, it inactive gets to maine sometimes," Nia acknowledged. "I don't attraction who says that hatred comments don't get to them, astatine immoderate constituent they do. Not always, but each erstwhile successful a portion there's 1 that truly hurts."
Still, she does her champion to tune retired the atrocious seeds and absorption connected the sweetness. "Not everyone has to person to similar me," said Nia, "but conscionable knowing successful the backmost of your caput that for each 1 remark that idiosyncratic leaves that's truthful antagonistic and hateful, there's thousands of different comments that are truthful astonishing and truthful lovely."
And it surely helps that a batch of the radical pumping her up are her aged castmates, Brooke precocious chiming in connected a abrogation snap to punctual her that she's "STUUUUUUNNING."
No uncertainty they'll beryllium posting each mode of congratulations when Nia collects her UCLA diploma adjacent month.
And aft that, she's hoping to "direct much and enactment much and sing much and conscionable execute successful general," says The Bold and The Beautiful alum. "Literally performing successful immoderate aspect." Even world TV is connected the table: "I'd astir apt bash it successful a antithetic way." (And, nary pressure, but should she and boyfriend of 2 years Gabriel Hawkins determine to instrumentality that adjacent measurement astatine immoderate point, she noted, "I emotion Say Yes to the Dress.")
Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
Mostly, though, she has an oculus retired for projects similar her Ad Council run that tin truly determination the societal needle.
Her purpose is to fto radical cognize that you tin bash a speedy check-in with a pal portion you're driving, at meal oregon conscionable mid-hang. "It doesn't person to beryllium truthful forced," explained Nia. "And past that way, it creates a amended abstraction for people to unfastened up astir their feelings."
If her directorial debut "helps adjacent 1 person, I person done my job," she continued. "At the extremity of the day, I conscionable privation to assistance people."
Of course, she's not the lone Dance Moms alum who's genuinely living connected and disconnected the creation floor. Check successful connected however she and the remainder of the formed are handling their lives arsenic soloists.
Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Maddie Ziegler
In the decade-plus since the Pennsylvania autochthonal pirouetted her mode into our hearts arsenic the unquestionable prima of the Abby Lee Dance Company, she's jeted her mode from electropop prima Sia's music video darling to movie histrion with appearances successful Sia's directorial debut Music and the 2021 West Side Story remake.
She besides released a New York Times best-selling memoir, 2017's The Maddie Diaries, judged a caller harvest of endowment connected So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation and teamed with younger sister Kenzie Ziegler for their Take 20 With Maddie and Kenzie podcast. "I deliberation we wanted to fto our guards down and amusement thing that wasn't truthful heavy produced," Maddie explained to E! News, "and, rather, conscionable america having a beauteous casual conversation."
For her adjacent act, she's eyeing her ain quality empire. "I would emotion to bash my ain enactment 1 day," she said. "I deliberation that would beryllium truthful astonishing and thing that I've dreamt of doing forever."
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for alice + olivia
Kenzie Ziegler
Fully graduated from her acro days, 1 of the singer's latest releases was 2023's "Anatomy," a precise idiosyncratic conflict detailing her narration with her estranged father. "I decidedly americium stepping retired of my comfortableness zone," she told People of the single, "and being authentic successful a antithetic mode that’s not conscionable connected societal media—I’m telling my story.”
And with each owed respect to the astir 15 cardinal Dance Moms fans who travel her connected Instagram, she's looking to excavation a small deeper for her forthcoming 3rd album. "I consciousness similar this is conscionable the archetypal clip wherever I tin speech astir things that person happened with my beingness and stock immoderate important things to me," she told E! News. "I conscionable privation radical to instrumentality distant thing from it—whether that beryllium happy, whether that beryllium bittersweet oregon that they tin subordinate to it."
Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Chloe Lukasiak
Nearly a decennary aft she took her last Dance Moms bow, the trophy-collecting soloist is acceptable to commencement surviving connected the creation level again.
“I missed dance, and I wanted to find a mode to get backmost to thing I had loved truthful much,” the Girl connected Pointe: Chloe's Guide to Taking connected the World writer explained of launching Elevé National Dance Competition with ma Christi Lukasiak and chap mother-daughter duo Diane and Brittany Pent. “But I wanted to assistance make thing that was the nonstop other of what I had experienced. Something positive. I challenged myself to make thing to reignite my emotion of dance.”
Among the different loves of the actress’ life: The Lifetime series’ OG squad. Sharing a May 2023 get-together with Nia Sioux connected Instagram, the Pepperdine University grad wrote, "One of my sisters from different mama."
Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage
Nia Sioux
The OG institution subordinate (and death driblet enthusiast) continues to slay successful euphony (she dropped her azygous "Low Key Love" successful 2020) and acting, fronting the web bid Sunnyside Up and appearing successful 59 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful.
And portion her time occupation is elder astatine UCLA, she moonlights successful Hollywood, precocious dropping her azygous "IMMA CATCH" and landing connected Variety's 2023 Young Hollywood Impact Report. Next up, pursuing her June graduation, "I'm conscionable truthful excited to absorption connected my vocation and my craft," she told E! News successful May 2024. "Now I tin spell disconnected and unrecorded my beingness and experimentation and effort caller things and hopefully nonstop much and enactment much and sing much and conscionable execute successful general."
Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for CLD PR
Brooke Hyland
Trading successful radical numbers for radical trips, the eldest of the show's OGs precocious led an excursion to Costa Rica, sharing on Instagram successful July that "7 days took america from strangers to friends crying successful the airdrome having to accidental goodbye to each other."
Next up, she'll oversee a six-day jaunt through Croatia inspired by the European backpacking travel she enjoyed aft graduating from Ohio University. "I explored beauteous places and cultures, portion making lifelong friends successful the process," she shared. "It was the travel of a lifetime."
When stateside, the Pittsburgh nonmigratory makes the astir of her selling degree, some with her Bite-Sized Foodie Instagram account and the Hyland Sisters brand she shares with small sib Paige.
Paige Hyland/Instagram
Paige Hyland
The four-season vet has fewer tears to prevention for her pillow arsenic of late. Since earning her grade from West Virginia University successful May 2023 ("IM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!! Congratulations," Christi Lukasiak commented connected her graduation 'gram), the exemplary and influencer has criss-crossed the state with stops successful the Hamptons, Colorado and Wyoming.
Her No. 1 question buddy (other than older sis Brooke): Her longtime boyfriend, erstwhile assemblage shot subordinate Jayvon Thrift. "Adore you successful each benignant of way," she wrote of the fittingness exemplary in a 2022 post.
Kendall Vertes/Instagram
Kendall Vertes
These days, the James Madison University inferior is inactive collecting trophies arsenic portion of the Virginia college's championship-winning creation team. "Younger maine would beryllium truthful proud," the governmental subject large wrote successful a September Instagram. (Naturally, her creation ma Jill Vertes chimed in, "I cognize I’m truthful arrogant of my small kendall.")
In summation to trying her manus astatine acting (including the 2019 movie Rapunzel: A Princess Frozen successful Time and a live-action mentation of Anastasia) and singing (as Kendall K, she released respective albums), the play 2 accomplishment has nabbed much than a fewer sponsorships, acknowledgment to her 11 cardinal Instagram followers.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
JoJo Siwa
Despite appearing successful conscionable 2 seasons of the OG bid (after a stint connected Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition) JoJo with a Bow Bow arguably stole the spotlight, going connected to nab a monolithic YouTube following, an exclusive licensing woody with Nickelodeon, endless branded merchandise and a spot connected Time's 100 astir influential radical of 2020.
"One of the biggest things that I ever learned from Dance Moms was either to descend oregon swim," she erstwhile explained to Kelly Ripa. "Not, like, physically, really successful a swimming pool. But to truly conscionable beryllium capable to past and to privation it."
These days, arsenic she pals astir with the likes of Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian, she's doing much than treading water. In 2021, the LGBTQ+ icon partnered with Jenna Johnson to vie arsenic the archetypal same-sex couple connected the U.S. mentation of Dancing With the Stars.
Now she's eyeing an adjacent bigger stage, telling Raven-Symoné and woman Miranda Pearman-Maday, "My dream, dream, dream, imagination is the Super Bowl, to bash the halftime performance." And erstwhile she's scored that gig, she told the duo connected an August occurrence of The Best Podcast Ever, "Then I'll discontinue and person babies."
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Kalani Hilliker
Back location successful Arizona, the dancer, histrion and entrepreneur is afloat embracing what she calls "my wellness and wellness era" with the 2023 motorboat of her quality enactment Kare.
"I conflict with anxiety," she explained to E! News of her inspiration. "And I truly wanted to make a marque that was inclusive to everyone to beryllium capable to conscionable unbend and instrumentality clip for yourself and person a coagulated self-care regular to assistance you get done your day."
And, yes, the play 4 arrival, who besides got her commencement connected Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition, is inactive nailing every past arabesque, having dipped her perfectly arched ft backmost into dancing and teaching. "I evidently person a precise antithetic teaching mode than Abby does towards me. Or, honestly, astir of my creation teachers," she shared. "I similar to beryllium precise kind, but also you've got to propulsion them to beryllium the champion they tin be."
Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Image
Asia Monet Ray
Consider Asia officially raised. Though the California autochthonal stepped distant from TV cameras conscionable earlier her 10th birthday—following 1 play each connected Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition, Dance Moms and her ain standalone bid Raising Asia—"I genuinely had a large acquisition connected it," Asia insisted to E! News successful 2021, acknowledging that wasn't needfully the lawsuit for galore of her costars. "There was thing that I would alteration connected my acquisition whatsoever."
Wrapping up her precocious schoolhouse career past June arsenic a valedictorian, "I’m highly arrogant of myself for achieving a idiosyncratic goal," the exemplary and creator wrote connected Instagram, "and I can’t hold to spot what’s next."
Thanks to a plethora of marque deals and invites to each it event, her aboriginal seems bright. As for her world prima past, "I truly did bask the clip I had retired determination and increasing up connected television," she told E!. "Even though it seems similar a lot, it was thing that truly acceptable maine up for beingness that I would ne'er instrumentality for granted."
Camryn Bridges/Instagram
Camryn Bridges
Brynn Rumfallo/Instagram
Brynn Rumfallo
When she exited signifier near aft a three-season stint that saw her trying to capable Maddie's ballet shoes, the Phoenix autochthonal "wanted to spell backmost to precocious schoolhouse and I wanted to conscionable beryllium mean and person my friends," she explained in a 2023 YouTube video with champion person Kelsey Millar. "High schoolhouse sucked, but I’m gladsome that I did it. And present that I’ve experienced both lives, I cognize what I want. Which, determination is simply a mode to equilibrium some of them successful the middle."
For the 2021 grad, that's meant launching her and Millar's Out of Line podcast and documenting her trips to Coachella and Stagecoach for her 3 cardinal Instagram followers. Plus, experiencing much than a fewer encounters with fans erstwhile she takes her creation students to competitions.
"It's truly cute," Brynn, who remains adjacent to Kenzie, said of 1 caller encounter. "They're like, 'Miss Brynn, you're famous?'"
