Meet The Cast of 'Dance Moms'

Since Lifetime's Dance Moms premiered in July 2011, it has followed the dancers at the Abby Lee Dance Company--and the antics of their stage moms.

Although dance instructor Abby Lee Miller is arguably the real star of the show, its the dance moms who bring conflict to the show and provide the drama that makes Dance Moms so addictive.

Dance Moms may be driven by the conflicts between the moms and Abby, but it's the kids who give the show its heart.

The hopes and dreams, successes and failures of these young dancers give the series depth.

Meet the dancers and their moms in this photo album with short bios.

Holly Hatcher-Frazier of 'Dance Moms'

Holly Hatcher-Frazier is the mother of Nia. Holly has a PhD and worked in education for 20 years, eventually becoming a middle school principal, before she left to focus on Dance Moms.

Growing up in Bronx, New York, Holly danced as a child with Vicki Sheer. When she attended the prestigious Williams College, Holly was a member of Kusika, the school's African dance company.

On Dance Moms Holly has complained about Nia being assigned ethnic dances.

Demonstrating that class trumps race, in Season Two when Kaya (temporarily) joined the moms Holly was just as mean as the others. When Kaya appealed to Holly, “as a sister,” Holly angrily retorted, "Do not refer to me by my ethnicity and make me a poster child for whatever."

On Season Three, Holly has a fight with Abby where she calls the dance instructor a "monstrosity of evil."

Nia Frazier of 'Dance Moms'

Nia Frazier is the daughter of Holly. Eleven-years-old when the show began, Nia has said she wants to be a Rockette when she grows up.

When not dancing, Nia practices karate, swims competitively, plays the drums and piano and enjoys arts and crafts.

On Dance Moms Nia is frequently in the middle of the skill ranking pyramid. In Season Three after Abby pesters Nia about her foot positioning, Nia's mom revealed that Nia suffers from a chronic pain condition that is aggravated by stress.

Christi Lukasiak of 'Dance Moms'

Christina "Christi" Lukasiak is the mother of Chloe.

Christi took some dance classes as a child. She now owns a children's fitness franchise, which teaches preschoolers health and fitness. Christi also has a younger daughter, Clara, who is has yet to take up dancing.

Christi frequently argues with Abby, accusing the dance instructor of treating Chloe unfairly because Chloe usually is below Maddie on the pyramid rankings.

On Dance Moms Season Three, Christi walks out after Chloe performs poorly, and they are punished by being suspended for a week.

Chloe Lukasiak of 'Dance Moms'

Chloe Lukasiak was born May 25, 2001. Her mom is Christi Lukasiak.

Chloe has said she wants to be a Rockette and appear in dance movies or become a pediatrician when she grows up.

On Dance Moms Chloe is frequently in the middle but has landed on top several times. Until Sophia Lucia joined the team in Season Three, Chloe was considered Maddie Ziegler's biggest competition. Chloe's mom Christi often accuses Abby of unfairly favoring Maddie over Chloe.

In Season Three, when Chloe messed up at a competition, Christi and she left and were punished by being suspended for a week.

Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni of 'Dance Moms'

Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni is a divorced mother of two. She danced "for fun" as a child and previously worked in the office of the Abby Lee Dance Company. Both of Melissa's daughters, Maddie and Mackenzie are in the dance troupe.

On Dance Moms Melissa has fewer conflicts with Abby than the other moms. Although she is clearly uncomfortable when the other moms accuse Abby of favoritism, she doesn't always stand up for Maddie's right to be on the top of the pyramid ranking if she deserved it.

Maddie Ziegler of 'Dance Moms'

Madison "Maddie" Ziegler is the daughter of Melissa and older sister of Mackenzie.

Maddie is the star dancer on Dance Moms. She has been on the top of the ranking pyramid more times and received more solo performances than the other dancers at Abby Lee Dance Company. While many of the dance moms accuse Abby of favoritism towards Maddie, Maddie has the crowns, awards and accolades to suggest that she has the talent to deserve the attention.

In addition to dancing, Maddie models at Cicci Dance. When she grows up, Maddie has said she wants to be a Broadway star and a choreographer.

On Season Two several of the dancers auditioned for a spot on Lifetime's scripted drama, Drop Dead Diva. Maddie got the part, causing so much muttering by dance moms (who bitched that non-blonde Maddie got the role of a blonde character) that Abby had Maddie bring in all of her awards and show them to the others as though to prove her talent.

In Dance Moms Season Three Maddie was temporarily dethroned, first by the arrival of Sophia Lucia and then several poor performances that landed Maddie on the bottom of the pyramid.

Mackenzie Ziegler of 'Dance Moms'

Like her older sister, Maddie, Mackenzie Ziegler models for Cicci Dance and wants to become a Broadway star and choreographer.

But--at least so far--Mackenzie hasn't demonstrated her sister's raw talent. Instead, Mackenzie is usually in the bottom of the pyramid. But she is the youngest dancer on Dance Moms and she is improving, moving into the middle and even scoring a few top spots. So Mackenzie is definitely someone to watch as she matures.

Jill and Kendall Vertes of 'Dance Moms'

Jill Vertes and her daughter, Kendall first appeared on Dance Moms in Season Two, when Kendall (then 10-years-old) auditioned for and got a spot on Abby Lee Dance Company.

Jill was involved in dance and gymnastics when she was younger. She became a competitive cheerleader in high school and went on to cheer for the University of Pittsburgh.

Like some of the other dancers, Kendall also models for Cicci Dance and has said she wants to perform on Broadway when she grows up.

After Kendall joined the team in Season Two, Jill became unhappy about the lack of attention she felt Kendall was receiving and she moved Kendall to Abby's rival Cathy Nesbitt-Stein's Candy Apples Dance Center in Ohio.

But, at the end of Season Two, Jill and Kendall returned to Abby Lee Dance Company. In Season Three, Kendall has been in the middle of the pyramid twice and was even on top once.

Kelly Hyland of 'Dance Moms'

Sophia Lucia joined Abby Lee Dance Company at the beginning of Dance Moms Season Three. The then 10-year-old dancer from San Diego has appeared on America's Got Talent, Shake It Up, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Sophia has also appeared the film Shirley Temple and in several commercials, including for Old Navy.

As the only member of Season Three's replacement team to stay after the main cast returned, Sophia shot to the top of the pyramid and became known as "The new Maddie." Because Sophia has such a full schedule, Abby said she wouldn't always be at practices.

But then Sophia didn't show up as scheduled for a competition in Episode 4 and hasn't been on Dance Moms since. Will she ever return?

Sophia's mom, Jackie Lucia appeared in two episodes, during which she seemed uncomfortable with both Abby's gruff teaching style and the cattiness of the other dance moms.

Only time will tell if Jackie and Sophia will return to Dance Moms or if new dancers will join the team.

Brooke Hyland of 'Dance Moms'

Kelly Hyland has two daughters who train at Abby Lee Dance Company; Brooke and Paige.

As a child, Kelly took dance lessons from Abby's for eleven years, then became of the first dancers at Abby Lee Dance Company until she quit to become a cheerleader.

On Dance Moms Kelly clashes with Abby for what she perceives as unfair treatment. Her daughters are often at the bottom of the ranking pyramid and Kelly blames Abby for not devoting more time to training them.

At the beginning of Season Three, Kelly pulled her daughters from the dance troupe to protest the perceived mistreatment. Later in the season, both kids returned.

Paige Hyland of 'Dance Moms'

Fifteen at the time Dance Moms launched, Brooke Hyland is the oldest dancer on the show. Brooke is Kelly's daughter. Brooke's younger sister, Paige also trains and competes with Brooke at Abby Lee Dance Company.

In addition to dancing with the troupe, Brooke is a model with Cicci Dance and has a song, "Summer Love," available on iTunes. Brooke and the other dancers created a music video directed by Abby for the song.

Brooke has said she would like to perform with Cirque du Soleil when she grows up. But she has also said her favorite thing about dancing is being with her friends.

On Dance Moms Brooke is frequently in the bottom of the weekly skill rankings. In Season Two, Brooke briefly quit dancing to pursue cheerleading. At the beginning of Season Three, Brooke's mother Kelly took her out of the dance company to protest what she considered unfair treatment. Brooke returned to Dance Moms half way through the third season. In Season Four Kelly once again pulled Brooke and Paige from Abby Lee's Dance Company.

Paige Hyland is Brooke Hyland's little sister. Like Brooke, Paige (who was 11-years-old when the show started) also models for Cicci Dance.

Paige has said she wants to be a Rockette or a physical therapist when she grows up.

Paige is often on the bottom in the rankings and her mom blames this on Abby. To protest what she considers unfair treatment, Kelly Hyland took Paige and Brooke out of the Abby Lee Dance Company at the beginning of Dance Moms Season Three.

Paige returned in Episode 4.

In Season Four Kelly once again pulled Paige and Brooke from Abby Lee's Dance Company.