For those of you who attended or watched the live stream of our International Finals in Las Vegas this past summer it was no mystery that a film crew was present at the event. It was indeed, Lifetime's "Dance Moms" (currently being aired in Canada on the Slice network). Their participation was granted in good faith to help promote the positive impact of dance for our youth. Unfortunately, we were deceived by the production company. The show Dance Moms does not portray an accurate picture of the competitive experience we provide or the atmosphere we promote.
About a month ago, an official statement was released from Thunderstruck in Las Vegas and circulated by email. As a result of continued confusion, we have decided to post copy of this statement, clearly outlining the deception by the production company - Collins Avenue. It also contradicts statements that company President, Jeff Collins made recently to TMZ wherein "Collins also insists the show has not had any problems with any of the other competitions featured on Dance Moms ... claiming the show has been welcomed back for Season 2 by every organization except StarQuest."
We do not carry any ill will towards Abbey Lee, her studio, dancers or parents (Moms), however, Collins Avenue are not welcome at any future Thunderstruck Regional Dance Competition or our International Finals.
Here is a copy of the statement issued by Jeremy Fullam, International Director:
Whether you love or hate Lifetime's "Dance Mom's", you can be assured of one thing, they will NOT be allowed to film at any Thunderstruck Dance Competition this season.
This decision was based on their misinformation to us last year when booking with us. We were told by them that this was going to be a television show following around a dancer (like a documentary) and was called "Just Dance". The entries sent to us for our Finals were from a studio called "Collins Avenue" and NOT "Abby Lee Dance Company". I feel as if we were lied to.
That is not nice!
