Thursday, December 13, 2012
Miranda Maleski and three other Pittsburgh-area dancers took the stage.
Four Pittsburgh-area dancers showcased their talents on national television earlier this week. During Tuesday evening's finale of "Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition" on Lifetime TV, Plum native Miranda Maleski—along with dancers John Fiumara, Taylor Ackerman and Jesse Johnson—performed a routine to Blues Saraceno's "If You Believe." The dancers were featured as alumni from the Abby Lee Dance Company, the newly-famed Penn Hills dance studio featured on Lifetime's show, "Dance Moms." Owner Abby Lee Miller went on to be a judge on "Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition," a show where young dancers compete for $100,000 and a scholarship to the Joffrey School of Ballet in New York. Maleski currently lives in Los Angeles and was featured on Season 8…
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Leslie Ackerman's daughter Payton has been featured on the show. Payton and some of the other "Dance Mom" dancers also performed at Celebrate Monroeville last week.
The second season of Dance Moms, a popular reality TV show filmed at the Abby Lee Dance Company's studio on Saltsburg Road in Penn Hills, came to an end last Tuesday. Upper St. Clair mother and daughter, Leslie and Payton Ackerman, again made a number of appearances in season two. "As a whole, there were a lot of changes (from season one)," Leslie said. "I'm just glad in the end (of season two) we got to see more of the girls' talent and less mom drama." Although Leslie does understand that the show is called Dance Moms. In many scenes, Leslie is shown arguing with the other mothers. "It used to bother me, but it doesn't bother me anymore," she said. But Leslie reminds viewers that the editors cut out the parts when the other moms …
Friday, September 14, 2012
An Upper St. Clair native reveals what it was like dancing for the MTV Video Music Awards.
If you watched Taylor Swift perform her hit single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" to close out the MTV Video Music Awards last week, one of the dancers may have looked awfully familiar to you. Click here to watch the performance. Upper St. Clair native Taylor Ackerman is the brunette with the light blue pants and white crop top. "It was a dream come true," Ackerman said. Ackerman went to Upper St. Clair High School through her junior year and finished her senior year online so she could move and chase that dream in Hollywood. Ackerman said she was one of six girls and six guys selected from a pool of 500 to dance with Swift. "In my eyes I think it's the biggest job I've gotten so far," she said. For eight hours a day for a week…
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Business marketplace, food tasting and a performance from the Abby Lee Dance Company are among the highlights of this expo.
The Monroeville Area Chamber of Commerce and Monroeville Foundation are hosting a community-wide expo on Thursday. The eighth annual “Celebrate Monroeville” event will be held at the Monroeville Convention Center, 209 Mall Blvd., from 4 to 8:30 p.m. It is open to the general public. The event features more than 225 local merchants and restaurant vendors. Last year, the event welcomed over 3,000 attendees and organizers expect to equal or surpass that number again this year. Celebrate Monroeville offers several different components. Entertainment includes performances from local bands, cheerleaders and dancers from the Abby Lee Dance Company (star of the hit Lifetime series "Dance Moms.") Abby Lee and some of the Dance Moms will be staffing…
Friday, February 10, 2012
Mother Leslie Ackerman and daughter Payton, a freshman at Upper St. Clair High School, are featured on the Lifetime reality TV show.
You've heard of soccer moms and hockey moms. Now a Lifetime reality TV show—filmed here in Pittsburgh—is putting the national spotlight on Dance Moms. One of those Dance Moms is Leslie Ackerman, a six-year resident of Upper St. Clair. She and her daughter Payton, a freshman at Upper St. Clair High School, are featured on the show. Leslie has been taking her daughters—14-year-old Payton and 18-year-old Taylor—to the Abby Lee Dance Company in Penn Hills for about five years. The dance studio is near the Penn Hills/Plum border—Plum dancer Miranda Maleski, a contestant on the last season of So You Think You Can Dance on FOX, trained there. Leslie said she makes the two-hour drive there and back because her family is very competitive and they …
Lisa rice hassell
9:44 am on Friday, February 17, 2012
Leslie your behavior while it has worked for you for twenty years I feel you are teaching your children bad behavior skills to cope in the real world. Being mean and hateful, demanding, well I could go on and on but what is the point. You and Payton are self centered and both think you are better than others. I saw how well that is working for you both when your child was reduced to tears and you… more ›