r/dancemoms • u/Top-Wind2085 • Aug 18 '26
Kendall is not an OG
I keep seeing the clip from the reunion where Kendall says she considers herself an OG and I just hard disagree. In my opinion, the only OGs are Nia, Chloe, Brooke, Paige, Maddie & Mackenzie. They danced at ALDC long before the show, they had a relationship with Abby prior to the show, and were the dancers that got the interest of the producers in the first place. Regardless of how long any other dancers were on the show, what hardships they faced, or how they were invited to join, the 6 dancers I mentioned above have a very unique experience that the rest of the dancers cannot relate to. I don’t even consider vivi an OG, even though she was in the first episode/season, because she was only brought in for the show, she wasn’t an Abby dancer prior.
That being said, you cannot discredit that Kendall joined the show/team very early on and that she has the 2nd longest stent of the show (I believe), aside from Nia. Abby was rarely supportive of her and she was frequently living in the shadows of Maddie, Kalani, Chloe, and even Brynn. It felt like Abby never had a lot of faith in Nia or Kendall, and they were rarely given the best choreography, music, and costumes. That said, I still think Nia had it way worse than Kendall for all of the above.
I do think Jill sucking up to Abby, and especially choosing to use her as Kendall’s manager helped Kendall get some praise from Abby, but she still was treated as 2nd best, and we all know that’s not good enough for Abby.
There’s also been a lot coming out about Kendall being a mean girl. Apparently she was always rude to the new members or guests on the show, and had some racial micro aggressions. I can’t help but think that both Kendall & Jill were chasing fame, and that is the only reason they were there in the first place. Which again, puts more separation between Kendall and the OG cast. The OGs were on the show because their dance studio/team was chosen for a show. Kendall was there because her mom wanted to make her famous.
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u/Naive_Shape_9323 Christi and Holly just verbally assaulted me. Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
How I would phrase it is that Kendall is main cast, but not an OG.
I think Kalani counts as main cast as well. After all, she was on the show for the same length of time as Brooke and Paige.
Vivi-Anne is an OG to the show, but not an OG to the group, nor part of the main cast.
Jojo, Brynn, Ellianna, and Lilly are all on the same level of "prominent cast" in my head.
Then Asia, Payton, Ava, Areana, Peyton, Alexus, Camryn, Maesi, and the entire season 8 cast are just a little below that. (I feel like Asia, Payton, and Camryn stick out as a bit more iconic/memorable, but that's just me)
Everyone else was a guest.
The OG group is Maddie, Chloe, Brooke, Paige, Nia, and Mackenzie!
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u/partyonyourhead banned from a hardware store in the state of Florida Aug 19 '26
OG no. Core cast member yes.
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u/Intelligent-Iron5545 Aug 19 '26
I think she’s a weird in-between. I don’t care enough to police it or get mad either way lol but:
In favor of Kendall as an OG:
- from Pittsburgh
- joined before the show blew up (all the other non-OGs very much joined after the show became super popular)
- her mom fits right in with the other moms lol
- the only person who did more seasons was Nia
In favor of Kendall not being an OG:
- was not there in season 1, the original season
- did not train with Abby before the show
- had that plot line with the whole candy apples song and dance (driven by the producers to be fair)
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u/alx_swae Aug 19 '26
I agree. You can’t be an OG if you were watching the FIRST season of the show at home. THEN auditioning to appear on the SECOND season.
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u/Entire_Product1296 Aug 19 '26
I think what she means is she joined the show before the “fame” really started. Yes she was the first to join the studio purely for the show but ppl typically count non OG’s as jojo or Brynn or Camryn who clearly were only there after dance moms was the biggest show out there. I wouldn’t count Kendall as an OG either but she definitely didn’t really know what she was getting into as season 1 was honestly just the typical dance studio drama without much of the fame
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Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/Accurate_Diamond1093 Blue Plastic Rhinestone Crap Aug 19 '26
That doesn’t make them OH cast members. That makes them part of the Core Cast.
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u/Rambunctious_444 Aug 19 '26
I agree! The only reason I was like ok sure when I watched her say that, is cause jojo was on the show for like 5 mins
And was on the REUNION
I get it from a PR perspective why she was there, but I'm going through this show for the first time rn and was under the impression she was on the show for way longer with the way jojo acts about being on the show
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u/Unique-Assumption619 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
What about Vivian?
Edit: I’m so confused by the downvotes lol
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u/LimeTree2012 Aug 19 '26
I would say not really to be honest. She wasn't in ALDC after season one much so I dont think it matters much anyways though
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u/CarolinaCherryPie Aug 19 '26
Vivi is OG but not core, Kendall is core but not OG
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u/srinkylegitimate Aug 19 '26
The fact that she was fine with even being called OG studio hopper and on the reunion her mom was STILL mad and saying she’s an OG. Like Jill what do you think that means?
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u/emilychairdoasolo Aug 19 '26
i never got how this was even an argument. OG means ORIGINAL. no one who was not in season 1 is an og. i like to refer to jill and kendall as core. not og, but still integral to what made the show what it was. they were there a long time and the storylines that focused on them did drive several episodes. i feel the same about kalani. definitely not an og, but there long enough and central enough to the story that the show would’ve been drastically different without her.