Dance Moms is an American reality television series that debuted on Lifetime on July 13, 2011. Created by Collins Avenue Productions, the show follows the training and careers of children in dance and show business under the tutelage of Abby Lee Miller as well as the relationships between Miller, the dancers, and their often bickering mothers. Set originally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later in Los Angeles, California, the show is primarily filmed at the Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC) studios. The show follows the girls on the ALDC Junior Elite Competition Team as they learn their dances and then compete them at dance competitions all across the country. Synopsis Primarily set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and later in Los Angeles, California, the show originally followed the Abby Lee Dance Company's Junior Elite Competition Team of dancers aged 6–16 as they traveled week-to-week to various dance competitions, winning awards and preparing for Nationals, while at the same time being prepared by Abby Lee Miller to be "professional, employable working dancers". The series depicted the doting mothers as rivals of each other on behalf of their daughters, often arguing with Miller and each other, and sometimes closing ranks against rival teams. Dance performances were creatively conceptualized by Miller and her dance instructors, with input from the show's producers, while the choreography was done by Miller, her staff, and occasionally a guest choreographer. Various rival dance teams spurred the team's competitiveness. The show's success was often credited to the drama and conflict among Miller and the moms, along with the weekly dances and the close relationships among the girls as viewers watched them grow up and improve their skills. The show features Miller as an extremely strict dance team coach who, over the series, relied more and more on criticism, sometimes personal, to motivate the girls, with an emphasis on hard work and competition against teammates. Every week on the show, Miller used a pyramid of individual headshots and gave feedback to each girl about her ranking, previous week's performance, attitude, effort, and the behavior of the girl herself and her mother. Miller had never used a pyramid in her studio prior to Dance Moms, and when once asked about it, Miller stated, "I've never done that in my life. That has nothing to do with me. That's the show; they came up with that whole process." In season 5, Miller relocated the team