The Big Picture
- Nia Sioux Frazier endured racist behavior from Abby Lee Miller during her time on Dance Moms, including stereotyping her dances and making bigoted remarks towards her.
- Despite these challenges, Nia chose to stay on the team for six more seasons and has gone on to pursue acting and attend UCLA.
- Nia has recently become a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the first Black sorority in the United States, following in the footsteps of her mother who is also a member.
In 2012, a new reality series focused on a dance studio in Pittsburgh premiered on Lifetime. The series was called Dance Moms and centered on the owner of the studio, Abby Lee Miller, and the young girls who participated in the competition group. The Abby Lee Dance Company was comprised of girls between the ages of 6 to 13, and the series followed the group as they prepared for and competed in various dance competitions throughout the year. The original cast of dancers included Maddie Ziegler, Chloe Lukasiak, Mackenzie Ziegler, Nia Frazier, Paige Hyland, Brooke Hyland, and Vivi-Anne Stein, alongside their mothers. The series was fairly controversial from the beginning. Abby Lee Miller clearly played favorites, focusing on Maddie as the star of the group. This led to many run-ins between her and the mothers of the girls, as well as in-fighting between the moms themselves. In recent years, the dancers have spoken out via social media about the abuses they faced from Abby herself during the series. Abby Lee Miller became known for how she verbally abused the girls on the dance team, often pushing and insulting them to the point of tears. Given that all the dancers were in the midst of their formative years, one can only imagine how the trauma caused by their experience at the ALDC has affected them since then.
Nia Sioux Frazier, who was only 9 years old when the show began, was the only Black dancer on the ALDC. Her experience was even more difficult than her contemporaries, thanks to Abby Lee Miller’s racist behaviors when working with her. She often stereotyped Nia’s dances, making her solo performances entirely different in comparison to her fellow team members. Nia’s mother, Holly Hatcher-Frazier, did what she could when dealing with Abby, often coming to blows with her in defense of her child, as well as the other moms from time to time. Fans in recent years have joined Nia in calling out Abby Lee Miller’s racist behavior with some even creating videos that compiled clips of her making bigoted remarks to the 9-year-old for over 10 minutes. Despite this egregious behavior, Nia chose to stay on the team, remaining on the show for six more seasons.
Since leaving the show, she’s reached several milestones as an actor and college student, leaving the dance world behind. She even joined a sorority, showcasing her pride as a young Black woman.
Nia Sioux Is Now a Member of America’s First Black Sorority
Nia persevered after her harrowing Dance Moms experience. She pursued acting and appeared in various television shows and movies. She is now 22 years old and a student at UCLA, and she has just recently become a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. The sorority, which is the first Black sorority ever in the United States, was founded at Howard University in 1908 by nine students: Ethel Hedgemon-Lyle, Anna Easter Brown, Beulah Burke, Lillie Burke, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Lavinia Norman, Lucy Diggs Slowe, and Marie Woolfolk. The sorority was founded on five principles with a focus on providing service to all humankind, uplifting education, and promoting unity and friendship among college women. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated is one of 9 historically Black sororities and fraternities known as the National Pan-Hellenic Council, or the Divine 9.
Nia’s mother is also a member of the highly esteemed sorority making Nia her legacy in addition to being her new sorority sister. Joining an institution like Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated requires not only a giving nature but also academic excellence, strong will, and determination. Nia’s experience on Dance Moms no doubt played a role in her ability to achieve this accomplishment. She’s now joining other notable figures as sisters in the sorority, such as Coretta Scott-King, Phylicia Rashad, Maya Angelou, Vice President Kamala Harris, and most recently, Zahara Jolie, who was also recently initiated to Spelman College.
Episodes of Dance Moms are available to stream on Hulu.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
