The latest episode of "Dance Moms" season 7 officially bid goodbye to its coach, Abby Lee Miller, as the Lifetime reality show introduced a new dance pro to fill in her shoes. Episode 25 welcomed "Dancing With the Stars" guru Cheryl Burke, giving the dancing mothers a renewed hope for the competition.
It was reported earlier this year that Abby Lee Miller was about to quit the show. The mothers only learned about Miller's intention to leave the show through social media, and the news had affected their spirits. When the latest episode of "Dance Moms" was being filmed, the moms were concerned that they had no coach to train them, especially since there was only two weeks left until the nationals dance competition.
In an episode recap provided by People, Christi, one of the mothers in the show, stepped in to solve the group's problem. To everyone's surprise, Christi introduced Cheryl Burke as their new coach. Burke is more than qualified to become the latest dance expert to replace Miller in "Dance Moms," and as Christi stated, winning two MirrorBall Trophies make her presence in the team "no joke."
Comparisons between Miller and Burke are already expected once the latter officially starts her first day of training. Some people are expecting Burke to be less strict than Lee. Although, in an interview with TV Insider, Burke said that she will bring the best out of the girls in her own way. She also cited her previous stint in "DWTS," where she was "strict and stern."
"It's nerve-racking to think people are going to assume I'm not as entertaining as Abby because I don't yell," Burke said. The coming episodes of "Dance Moms" will reveal how Burke will be treating the moms in their training. The atmosphere in the dance studio is expected to be quite different without Miller, who is now serving a year in prison due to fraud charges. Miller already planned her exit from the show before her sentence was served.
Meanwhile, it is speculated that Lifetime is pushing through with season 8, especially now that everything is going well with Burke as the new coach. The network first stated that the final episode of season 7 will be the series finale, meaning that "Dance Moms" will be over this year. However, the statement was corrected recently as the Oct. 31 episode is now referred to as the season finale.
