Nia Sioux addresses ‘Dance Moms’ racism in new book | Page Six Radio

Nia Sioux addresses ‘Dance Moms’ racism in new book | Page Six Radio

I absolutely had moments where I was like, “Oh, this is painful to write about. It’s very vulnerable.” Um, especially just like some of the things that I talk about. I talk about, you know, some of the racism I faced on the show. You were very candid about that in this book, which I thought was really powerful. Can you tell us about that? Cuz I feel like the average viewer of Dance Moms might not have caught it back in the day, but now as an audience, we’re just we’re more astute and we’re paying closer attention. And so when you rewatch episodes of Dance Moms or scenes or clips on TikTok, you’re like, “Wo, that was crazy what was said in front of Nia’s face.” Absolutely. A lot of And and you know what? There was a lot of stuff that was said to me that was off camera as well. Yeah. And I talk about that in the book. Uh because there were a lot of things that they cut out or just happened to me prior to the show and and even after the show. And even if it wasn’t shown, it’s still impacted during the time. So, can you can you give our listeners an example of maybe something you heard or something that you cover in the book? Yeah, something that I cover a lot in the book is just like how I was seen I was seen as the weak link, the bad dancer. Some of the things that were said about me, like they they tried to make the narrative like the little black girl couldn’t dance and that was the narrative that they ran with. Um, and you know, they had seven seasons to turn that narrative around and they never did. They failed to do so. And that’s part of the reason why I had to write the book because that’s not the whole truth. That is not the whole truth. I started in one place, but by season 7, by the end, I was completely different dancer, completely different person. Um, and I wasn’t weak. That’s the thing. I was I was a very strong dancer. Even whenever I was at the beginning, I I had some health issues before the show even started, which which is a whole another thing that I do talk about in the book. Um, so I was set back a little bit at the beginning, but you really see that growth uh throughout the seasons. It’s It’s also hard because it’s not really you because you were on the show as a kid, so it’s not like you could advocate for yourself. There’s only so much produ and also cuz it’s like the life of being a dancer, but also on a show. So you’re dealing not just with the dance scenes, but also the production and everything behind it and having no one in your Do you feel like there was more often than not no one in your corner? Well, here’s the thing. Fortunately, I have a great mother and a great family. So, Polly, Polly is such an icon. Truly icon. Like, she is my best friend. She’s my ride or die. Um, and yes, there were times where I felt like no one else was in my corner. Yeah. Like, literally no one except for my mom. Uh, we were a team and, uh, like she’s literally my rock. She’s the person, the reason why I’m able to be well adjusted today, why I feel like I I have a voice and I and I can do these things. You know, it’s it’s her and the rest of my family.

Nia Sioux stops by Page Six Radio and chats about how difficult it was to revisit some of racist moments she experienced as a child on “Dance Moms.”

#niasioux #dancemoms

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