On the original Dance Moms, it was evident that Abby Lee Miller favored Maddie Ziegler — and coach Gloria Hampton on the revival has her own top student in Audrey Brudner.
“I mean, it’s [a] fair [comparison] in that they’re probably the strongest dancer on each team,” Glo, 56, exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, August 5, ahead of the Hulu premiere of Dance Moms: A New Era. “I love Maddie and I love [her mom] Melissa [Gisoni]. They’re great people. We’re friends.”
According to Glo, Audrey, 13, is “a little more versatile” than Maddie, now 21.
“I don’t know that she has the storytelling that Maddie had,” Glo explained to Us. “Yes, because they are going to be the leads in a lot of the dances, I think they definitely will draw a comparison, but they’re still different dancers.”
Maddie starred in the OG Lifetime hit between 2011 and 2016, opting to leave after becoming a household name in Hollywood. Dance Moms: A New Era, meanwhile, premiered on Monday and followed Glo’s competition team at Studio Bleu Dance Center in Ashburn, Virginia.
Season 1 of A New Era also marked Audrey’s return to the competition after a brief run in The Music Man revival on Broadway.
“Everything just worked out for a reason, I really think,” Glo said on Monday. “She was able to take that year off and go do her professional Broadway run in The Music Man. We really [are] mindful of that. This is what I’m preparing them for [and] I’m not holding them back to just a competition team. I want them to go have these opportunities.”
Both Glo and Abby Lee, 58, support their students pursuing professional dance jobs but approach teaching differently.
“I’m a firm tough teacher, who wants my students to succeed. I expect my moms to trust me and let me do my job but to also help in that respect,” Glo said. “It depends on what they’re looking for in a coach, I teach a little differently and I think that’s OK. It’s a different time. It’s a different era.”
Glo further gushed that A New Era features her “homegrown students” that she trained through the years.
“I’m not going out and just picking the best dancers from around the country,” she said. “We have our struggles and they all are very different, but I think that has a lot to do with the love of the first show. Those kids that knew each other and they grew up together and people could relate to them because they weren’t necessarily the national champion soloists.”
Dance Moms: A New Era is currently streaming on Hulu.
With reporting by Aileen Bergin
