Pressley & Lilliana Earned Team Jackets On 'Dance Moms,' Solidifying Their Permanent Spot On The ALDC

Photo credit: Lifetime
Photo credit: Lifetime

From Woman's Day

Abby Lee Miller is forever changing the game on Dance Moms. First she introduced the pyramid to show her students where they ranked on the team. Now Abby is introducing team jackets to show a student's status.

On Tuesday's Aug. 13 episode, Abby said she would give out two jackets to one member from each duet team. Those who won the jackets would become permanent members of the ALDC, potentially able to avoid Abby's whims where she randomly kicks dancers off the team. (Happy to have you back, Brady.) Abby handed those jackets out on the Aug. 19 episode to Pressley and Lilliana.

The only people eligible for the jackets were the two duet teams: GiaNina or Pressley, and Brady or Lilliana. You'd think that the winning team of Brady and Lilliana would automatically get the jackets for coming in first, but Abby was very clear that only one member from each team would receive the prize. Brady was understandably bummed that he did't get a jacket since he was instrumental in helping the brother/sister themed duet come in first. Some fans on Twitter thought they both deserved the jackets.

Other fans argued that all of the duet competitors should get jackets, even though GiaNina and Pressley placed third, because they all did a great job.

Others had their clear favorites.

Looking at the actual content of the dances, it was really a toss up of who was most deserving of the prize. In Lilliana and Brady's dance, they portrayed a sister and brother in a beautiful lyrical piece that wowed Abby as much as it did the judges. Pressley and GiaNina's piece was a character dance in which they played a mother and daughter affected by Munchausen by proxy. Their dance had a prop and dramatic makeup, which made it quite powerful to watch as well.

In the end, though, Abby decided to hand the jackets to Pressley and Lilliana. She explained that Pressley was always a constant in the group dances and helped the team give cohesive performances, which Abby appreciated. With Lilliana, Abby recognized her ability to do solid duets and group dances and also a solo without using her arms in the JoJo Siwa-inspired straight jacket number.

Surprisingly, GiaNina and Brady (and their mothers) didn't complain too much about the decision. GiaNina said she didn't believe Abby would ever give her a jacket, so she was just going to dance her best anyway. Brady did say he thought it was unfair that the losing team got a jacket and he didn't, even though his duet won, but that's an understandable response. Abby hasn't commented yet about whether or not she'll be handing out more jackets, so it seems like Pressley and Lilliana will be the only permanent team members for now. The next time a jacket is up for grabs, though, expect everyone to do their best to try to score it.

This post has been updated from an original version.

Watch all new episodes of Dance Moms season 8 on Tuesday nights on Lifetime and catch up on all the old seasons on Hulu.

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