Why Maddie Ziegler Was Abby Lee Miller's Favorite Student

Dance Moms, starring Abby Lee Miller and her favorite student Maddie Ziegler, premiered back in 2011, introducing the world to a new kind of reality show that brought all kinds of drama. First airing on Lifetime on July 13, Dance Moms changed the landscape of reality television. The show followed the talented young dancers of the Abby Lee Dance Company, their mothers, and, of course, the queen of the studio, Miss Abby Lee Miller herself. Over the years, viewers watched as Miller yelled, screamed, and disciplined the elite team of dancers — while the dancers' mothers fought amongst themselves and with Miller.

It was definitely prime television, but one of the most controversial aspects of the show was how blatantly Miller appeared to favor dancer Maddie Ziegler. Even people who never watched Dance Moms will recognize Ziegler's name, as she has starred in numerous music videos for Sia and has landed plenty of other big-time roles since her time on the reality show. Still, it was fascinating and a bit frustrating to see how much Miller favored Ziegler, but there were plenty of reasons why she was the favorite. While the show was full of talented dancers, Ziegler stood out.

Now, while Maddie Ziegler had already known Abby Lee Miller for years before Dance Moms started airing, as Miller explained to Lifetime, she had more than one "in" with the studio mogul. For the first few seasons of the show, Ziegler's mom, Melissa, worked at the front desk of the ALDC. On the series, Melissa appeared to work at the studio, presumably to help cover the costs of her daughters' numerous dance-related expenses. With her mother working for Miller, Maddie Ziegler presumably got to spend more time at the studio and grow closer with her dance teacher. Additionally, as Christi Lukasiak pointed out during Season 1's fourth episode, "Melissa's in charge of the music" because of her job at the ALDC. 

The fact that Melissa worked the front desk, in addition to the fact the Ziegler family knew Miller well, already gave young Maddie Ziegler a head start at the ALDC. But, in all fairness, it wasn't just nepotism that caused Miller to favor the dancer. Miller saw something in Ziegler and just knew that she was going to be hugely successful one day.

On most episodes of Dance Moms where the girls were performing at a competition, Maddie Ziegler would get to perform solos to lyrical routines, and they were absolutely stunning. It didn't take long for a lot of the moms (and fans) to complain that Ziegler's choreography seemed better than those of the other dancers. However, Abby Lee Miller refuted those claims, and, in an interview with Lifetime, she said Ziegler's performances were better than those of her peers because of what the dancer did with the choreography — not because she received preferential treatment. "It's what they make the choreography look like when they step on stage," Miller shared, calling Ziegler and her young sister, Mackenzie, "great, hardworking kids."

Clearly, Miller knew Ziegler was extremely talented, and she didn't hold back in feeling that way. Still, the way Miller constantly defended herself against accusations of favoritism was a constant source of drama on the show. And despite the moms saying that Ziegler got better choreography, no one could deny that she was extremely talented.

As any Dance Moms fan knows, all former ALDC dancers were adorable when they were kids and have grown up to be gorgeous! But according to Abby Lee Miller herself, there was just something about Maddie Ziegler that made her especially charming and charismatic. In an interview with Lifetime, Miller spoke about the first time she saw a young Ziegler come into her studio. "Maddie made an incredible first impression," Miller said, adding, "She was just this cupcake. This tiny little body and this big head, and these gorgeous big eyes, and you just wanted to eat her up!"

Because Miller found Ziegler so charming and adorable, it's no wonder she was quick to take a liking to her. In her interview with Lifetime, Miller explained that Ziegler's charm also won her over when she first met her. Miller said that Ziegler came up and told her matter-of-factly that she wanted to take hip-hop and tap dance lessons, and Miller couldn't get over the fact that Ziegler spoke for herself. With that kind of charm and cute factor, it's no wonder Ziegler went so far with Miller by her side. 

Maddie Ziegler's mother, Melissa, was not one for drama on Dance Moms. Of course, she got into the occasional tiff with the other mothers while defending her daughter, but, for the most part, she tried to stay out of things. The fact that Ziegler's mom didn't press Abby Lee Miller's buttons as much as the other moms did likely helped Ziegler become Miller's favorite dancer. Though that isn't to say that Melissa didn't get into it with Miller from time to time because she definitely did. In Season 6, for instance, Melissa rushed to defend her younger daughter, Mackenzie, after Miller harshly criticized her. But overall, Melissa and Miller got along. 

Even when Ziegler messed up her performance in Season 2 and had a bit of a backstage meltdown, Melissa remained calm, cool, and collected. The other moms were upset that Ziegler appeared to be getting preferential treatment from Miller, but Melissa didn't engage and just focused on supporting her daughter. Likely because of that — and probably because of the many other times Melissa didn't pick fights with Miller — Maddie Ziegler remained Abby Lee Miller's favorite student.

As Maddie Ziegler began dancing at the ALDC when she was only 4 years old, it would have been understandable if she had needed some time to catch on to the routines and the technical aspects of dancing. But according to a Lifetime interview with Abby Lee Miller and Ziegler, that's not what happened. Ziegler's first class was apparently a hip-hop class, and Miller was sure Ziegler wouldn't do well in it given her young age. But after the class was over, the hip-hop instructor came up to Miller and told her that Ziegler was the best one in the class, despite it being her first day.

Naturally, Miller realized, "Maybe I have a star here," as she told Lifetime. It was only a few years later that Dance Moms began filming, and Ziegler's star quality became even more apparent. Since Miller already thought of Ziegler as a star, the dancer would, of course, naturally become the Abby Lee Miller's favorite student, even when compared to the talent of the other dancers. Miller was smitten with Ziegler's star quality since day one.

While Maddie Ziegler was once Abby Lee Miller's favorite dance student, the two have come a long way since their time on Dance Moms. After Ziegler found worldwide success with her dancing and acting skills, Miller ended up being sentenced to prison for one year for 20 counts of fraud, as reported by Deadline. Still, despite Miller's legal troubles, Miller discussed her relationship with Ziegler in the special Dance Moms: Abby Tells All Exclusive in 2017 (just before she went to prison) and basically took credit for all of the dancer's success.

"I look at what she has done, the other jobs and the other opportunities besides Dance Moms, they all involve dancing," Miller said (via USA Today). "I don't think, had she not been in my studio, she would be where she is today." It's true that appearing on Dance Moms definitely helped Ziegler make her mark on the world, but her natural talent is what really helped her stand out.