Maddie Ziegler has become the biggest celebrity of the Dance Moms world, but that doesn't mean she still isn't close to her fellow Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC) dancers. I know from experience that being in a dance company while you're young can either create lifelong friends or rivals, so is Maddie friends with the other Dance Moms girls? Even with Abby Lee Miller pitting the girls against one another and Maddie working with Sia, Maddie has stuck around on the Lifetime show — and her friends from the ALDC may have something to do with it.
Currently in Season 5 of Dance Moms, there are six dancers — JoJo Siwa, Kalani Hilliker, Kendall Vertes, Mackenzie Ziegler (Maddie's younger sister), Maddie, and Nia Sioux. There have been many changes in the ALDC's lineup over the five seasons of Dance Moms, but Maddie has kept and maintained friendships with girls who are still on the team. For those who have left Dance Moms, Maddie's relationships are a little more complicated, like with former teammate Chloe Lukasiak. Although Chloe and Maddie were always portrayed as rivals on Dance Moms, Maddie said in 2014 that isn't the case in real-life. Maddie told InTouch Weekly , "Chloe and I are still friends, we just don’t see each other as much when we aren’t filming. She does her own thing, she does [events] with her mom a lot. Nia, Kendall, Mackenzie and I are all traveling around the world together now, and it’s so much fun."
While there is a lot of evidence of Maddie hanging with Kendall and her sister Mackenzie, neither Maddie or Chloe's Instagrams show the pair hanging out, but I'm just glad that the girls aren't bad-mouthing one another. Maddie also doesn't seem as close with Brooke or Paige Hyland, also probably a byproduct of them not being on the show anymore.
A lot can change when it comes to friendship in a person's young life, but it still seems like Maddie is friends with Nia, Kendall, and also the newer additions to the ALDC — Kalani and JoJo. Their Instagram accounts are a vault of photos capturing the cute friendships, so here are six times that Maddie's friendships with the other dancers of Dance Moms were highlighted.
1. Shopping With Kalani
Maddie posted this photo of Mackenzie, Kalani, and mutual friend out on a shopping trip to Top Shop. Although Kalani is a newer member to the ALDC, the girls have seemed to bond quickly, and Maddie even used her own Instagram to promote an event Kalani had coming up.
2. Laughing With Brooke
Maddie and former ALDC member Brooke Hyland don't seem to hang out anymore since neither of their Instagrams feature any recent pictures of the duo. That's understandable since their lives have gone in different directions, but it's good to see that Brooke has left up old photos bonding with Maddie, like the above picture she posted over a year ago that she captioned, "always laughin' with these girls."
3. Sending Birthday Wishes To JoJo
JoJo is the newest addition to the ALDC, so even though Maddie may not know JoJo as well as the other girls, she still is friends enough with her to send the above birthday wish. And, even with her mom running her Instagram account, I assume that Maddie doesn't let her mom post any photos or thoughts that she doesn't agree with.
4. Breakfasting With Nia
Although it looks like Maddie may see the other girls from Dance Moms more often since Maddie's Instagram doesn't feature Nia as frequently, Nia recently reposted this photo of Maddie, Kendall, and her having a sleepover that Kendall's mom had shared. Nia and Maddie have been on the show together since the first episode, so their relationship goes way back.
5. Taking The Back Seat With Paige & Chloe
Brooke's sister Paige has no evidence of any friendship with Maddie on Instagram, but Paige and Chloe are still friendly with Nia, as shown in the above photo. Although it's sad, it would be unrealistic to expect every girl from Dance Moms to maintain their friendships forever.
6. Being Besties With Kendall Vertes
Out of all the Dance Moms girls, Maddie appears to be the closest with Kendall. They are such best friends that the pair of them were featured in People 's National Best Friends Day photo special. According to their Instagrams, these two seem to hang out the most — or at least post about each other the most — which is pretty adorable.
While all of the young women from Dance Moms have a lot of growing up to do, hopefully the friendships and bonds they've made with their fellow dancers will stay intact over the years, because when you've got the insanity of Abby Lee and your moms surrounding you constantly, a friend who understands is a good thing to have.
