- Cathy! You're finished,
you're washed up, you're old, you're nothing!
- Oh, am I?
You're a hypocrite.
- And you're a joke! - And you're...you're.
- I'm OG Dance Mom, Christi Lukasiak,
and on this episode
of "Dance Moms Epic Showdowns"
- I can guarantee you, - You know what...oh.
she will beat their ass, wearing a [bleep] leotard.
- I doubt it. I doubt it. - Watch.
- The Abby Lee Dance Company faces off
with their biggest rivals, the Candy Apples,
and their leader, Abby's number one nemesis,
[dramatic music] Cathy.
- Run along, little doggie.
- [Jill Vertes] You're a wanna-be, Cathy, go back home!
- Cathy, right there, you crossed the line
and you know it.
- Nobody wants your opinion, - Oh sit down, sit.
nobody cares about your opinion, you're nothing!
Get out of here!
- [Christi] This is "Dance Moms Epic Showdowns,
Cathy Chaos."
- Don't touch other people.
- I'm not touching you! - You sat in the theater
and poked me in the back.
- I poked you to shut your mouth
because all you do is talk! - You don't touch other people.
[dramatic music]
[bell rings]
- Cathy always seemed to just appear,
like the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Look at the shambly mess.
Get your rodent butt out of my dressing room!
- Throw this at the witch? - Shut your mouth,
- [Abbie] Shut your mouth. - Whoo!
- I thought the witch would melt.
I wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire, sweetheart.
- I would walk over you if you were laying dead.
- And if Abby even sensed Cathy's presence,
it meant bad news for everyone.
I couldn't believe when I heard Cathy's voice.
- Uh, be careful, there's an incline there.
- That annoying, whining-
- Good luck today, everybody.
Chloe, fabulous shorts.
- We're late, we're rushing,
we only have like 10 minutes to get these solos
and get them out here.
Forget about Cathy, forget about whoever.
I don't want any chaos.
- Chaos was Cathy's middle name.
At a competition in Miami,
she literally couldn't help but poke the bear.
[playful music]
- And then Cathy's insults continued on
from the competition to the dressing room.
- Hi ladies.
Hey listen, I just wanted to tell you congratulations.
Dumbest routine that I've ever seen that you guys did.
- Cathy comes in and she is like a raging lunatic.
- Know what, Nationals, we have something enormous planned.
- Of course you do. - Bigger than you.
So look out, because I think that you
will not have anything to say because you're amazed.
- I have had it with Cathy's mouth today.
She brings out the absolute worst in people, including me.
Hey, stop!
- Oh stop, who wants to hear your mouth?
- Cathy, you're finished, you're washed up,
you're old, you're nothing! - Oh am I?
- Oh really?
- Get on the broom and fly away. - How can I?
- I don't need to get on the broom and fly away home.
- Don't touch other people!
- I'm not touching you.
- You sat in the theater and poked me in the back.
- I poked you to shut your mouth - Stop touching other people.
'cause all you do is talk through other kid's dances.
You're a hypocrite- - And you're a joke!
- And you're...you're.
- One thing's for sure, whenever Cathy showed up,
chaos always followed.
- Go back to your studio. - You know what,
I'm not, I'm here to stay, - Yeah.
so like it.
[dramatic music]
- Cathy and Abby weren't always rivals.
In fact, Cathy was actually an OG Dance Mom,
and she asked Abby to train her daughter, Vivi-Anne.
- Maybe it's just time for me to be the mom
and for somebody else to be the coach.
- But Cathy quickly proved that she was not a team player,
when her daughter, Vivi, was asked to share a costume
with Kelly's daughter, Brooke.
- All eyes fall on Vivi's top, and all of a sudden,
Brooke is now wearing Vivi's top.
- [Christi] And then just minutes
before Brooke was to go on stage
for the Star Power Competition, all hell broke lose.
- I don't want Brooke wearing the costume.
I'm sorry, I've thought about it
and I saw you over here floundering
the way you were sewing that,
and it's not gonna look the same tomorrow even.
We just need to come up with something else.
- Whatever, Brooke, take the costume off.
Get the costume off. - It has nothing to do
with being- - My daughter is dancing
in three minutes and you're taking the costume
of of her back. - Well I'm sorry, I know,
but it's ridiculous that you guys aren't prepared.
- Cathy's way out of line, coming up to me,
three numbers before my daughter's going on stage
and having her take her costume off.
And I think it's [bleep]
- It's ridiculous,
I never saw such disorganization in all my life.
- [Kelly Hyland] You're doing it to show Abby something-
- No, I'm not doing it to show Abby anything.
- Here's your costume and you can sew it yourself.
- She ripped the costume off of her
and she had the audacity to throw it at me.
- No, my daughter is gonna dance in her leotard and tights,
and I'd like to have one of your kids from your studio
out there dancing against her 'cause I can guarantee you,
- Are you...you know what? Oh.
she will beat their ass, wearing a [bleep] leotard.
- I doubt it. I doubt it. - Watch.
- I doubt it. - Let's go.
Do not let it upset you, okay?
You look fine, you don't need a costume to win.
- [Christi] Well, maybe a costume might have helped
because Brooke placed sixth in her division.
I hate Cathy.
I ended up fixing Vivi's costume.
You couldn't tell I had touched it at all.
Cathy just needs to keep her mouth shut.
- As if that would ever happen.
- You think way too highly of yourself,
especially the way you dress. - Listen Granny-
- You know what, Christi?
- Take it out in the hallway. - Listen.
The ALDC beat Cathy over and over and over again,
so it's no shock that at the Rising Star Competition,
Cathy came up with a new trick.
- The word on the street
is that Cathy has entered somebody
directly against Brooke,
as far as age goes.
So Brooke needs to go out there
and show everybody that she is flawless.
- I came up with a new plan, to come back with a vengeance.
This competition is on my home turf,
and those dance moms aren't gonna know what hit 'em.
- Have you guys missed me?
- We don't talk that much about you, I'm sorry.
[laughter]
We were used to beating Cathy
and her Candy Apples all the time.
So it's not surprising that in order to win,
Cathy had to play dirty.
- [Announcer] Next up, Candy Apples Dance Company,
with "Baile Espinola." [audience cheers]
[upbeat latin music]
- These girls totally look a lot older than our kids.
They look 14, 15.
- Yeah.
- They looked really old.
Some of them were almost my height.
- Shh.
- And I really questioned Cathy's integrity
because you don't wanna be known
as somebody that lies about kid's ages at a competition.
- [Christi] Something smelled rotten
and the solos confirmed it.
- I think Brooke gave an amazing performance,
but I'm a little bit worried because
that other girl from Candy Apple
was much more mature than Brooke.
- [Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni] She doesn't seem like
she was from Cathy's studio at all.
- Exactly.
She's at least 15. - Yeah.
- [Christi] There's no way that kid's 11, 12.
- I don't think so either.
- Hi there. - Hello.
- I was just wondering if we could talk to Cathy
and Erica's mom. - Sure.
- [Abigale] If you guys could come upstairs with me.
- Mmhmm. - Shh.
- They're questioning Erica's age.
- Who is? - The competition.
- Yeah, 'cause I was back there
and the girl walked over and goes,
"We need birth certificates for Cathy's students."
- Hi Cathy, I'm Leigh with Rising Star, hey.
- Hi. Hi, nice to meet you.
- We've got a lot of people questioning Erica.
- Yeah. - Erica's age.
- Yeah. We have people complaining
that they have seen her perform
in the 14 age division at other competitions.
- Okay, so I don't have birth certificates.
I didn't have to have birth certificates at the last...
- Let me ask you a question, how old is Erica,
and her date of birth? - Erica is 14.
- Correct- - January-
- 17th- - yeah.
- 1997. - So '97, she's 13, 14.
- Yeah. - Then all right,
she is in the wrong age division.
- And so is Brooke. - Of course,
Cathy had to deflect getting busted,
so she tried to throw us under the bus.
- [Leigh] Okay, I'll take that up in a minute with Abby-
- We definitely need to take that up, okay.
- Okay I will. - I promise you, I will.
- Okay.
- Hi Abby. - Hi, how are you?
- Good, we got somebody questioning Brooke's age.
- [Abby Lee Miller] Okay, she's 13, and she turned-
- [Leigh] When is her birth date?
- January- - Of what year?
- I don't know.
- Of '98. - Our ages go
as of the first of the year.
So she would have been 12- - Right.
- [Leigh] The first year she turned 13, in January.
- Right.
- I can call and get it faxed. - That'll do.
- In the end, Cathy's sinister little plan backfired
when her Candy Apple was disqualified,
and Brooke ended up taking first.
- We're a little wilted because
there wasn't a whole lot of air conditioning-
- There was air conditioning,
there was just a lot of hot air.
[dramatic music]
- We usually avoided Cathy at all costs.
So when someone sent her tickets
to the annual ALDC Dance Concert, it was a true mystery.
- Somebody sent me tickets to Abby's recital.
Now who would have sent these to us?
Should we go? - They invited us.
- It would be kind of funny though because,
you know, some of you
have never really been to other recitals
to see how awful it is compared to ours.
Since I've been invited to Abby's recital,
I would like to bring some of my moms
to come witness what thrown together is just to make money.
And Rhonda can take notes
on dos and don'ts of a bad recital.
I can't imagine that her recital compares to ours.
There's no way.
- [Dance Mom] Well, you put on a very good show, so...
- Not only am I, like, mystified as to who sent these,
but I'm also laughing because
they're paper-print-out tickets.
And it would be a quick laugh.
- I'm always up for a good laugh.
- No one was really sure why someone
would invite Cathy to our annual dance concert,
but we all knew who she would act when she got there.
- I'm not expecting any type of real theme.
I'm not expecting anything that is, I guess, Broadway style.
I'm just expecting to see a recital, or concert,
I'm expecting to see just one number after the other happen.
Oh my God, we're in the nose-bleeds.
- Somebody sent me tickets to Abby's recital.
Now who would have sent these to us?
Should we go? - They invited us.
- Somehow, our arch-rival, Cathy,
ended up with tickets to the ALDC Annual Dance Concert,
which just gave her another opportunity to annoy us.
- There's a hiphop number
and for some reason,
I'm just not thinking of Abby as a Grand Master Slam.
And nothing's worse than sitting and watching
little girls come out, who are incorporating their jazz
and trying to call it hiphop.
[audience applauding]
- Cathy might not have cared for the recital,
but she was never going to pass up an opportunity
to recruit a new Apple.
- It's been an outstanding show
and now I want to sit back and relax and enjoy my evening,
when all of a sudden,
I hear this agitating, grating voice.
- We, you know,
groom you into becoming part of our competition team.
- I'm footing the bill for this and she was not invited.
All I know is she has no business
being anywhere near my customers.
- Technically, her dancers were amazing.
- But didn't you feel that, like,
the steps were somewhat limited, like,
not a whole lot of choreography going on?
You know what, you sound like you would make a dandy Apple.
- Yes she would. [group laughing]
- We're a little wilted because
there wasn't a whole lot of air conditioning in there.
- There was air conditioning,
there was just a lot of hot air.
- Thank you so much for having us
invited to this lovely show.
- I didn't know you were invited.
- Yes, you invited us, we got tickets from you.
- Not from me. How did she get here?
I don't see a broom in sight. - No backdrops.
Black curtain. - No.
- No money on your end? Come on, you gotta step it up.
- Did she fly in?
Who knows.
- Clean houses. - Listen, listen, she's
the one that invited us.
- I invited Cathy because I wanted her to see
how Kendall fits in with this team.
- Oh Jill invited you. - I wanted them to see
what we've all been up to. - Your tickets are paper.
- Jill, use your brain. [claps hands]
Why would she bring
my arch-rival enemy
into my own show?
To steal more ideas, to steal more music?
- We only saw five minutes of your show
and that was enough, so, but thanks for the great reception.
- You're welcome.
Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
- Oh honey, you can't afford a door, that's the problem!
- Cathy, you're awfully brave with all of that smack-talk
on our home turf.
- Why do you always have to interrupt.
You are the rudest person in - But...
the room, shut your mouth! - Was she talking to you?
- Shut your mouth.
- One of the things that really pissed Abby off
was that Cathy was becoming a celebrity in her own right.
- [Crowd] [cheering] Cathy, Cathy...
- [Christi] Which emboldened
that little granny Apple even more.
[crowd cheering]
Like the time we faced the Candy Apples
at the Masters of Dance Competition.
[crowd cheering]
Cathy's new-found fame was going straight to her head.
She picked fights with Asia's mom, Christy.
- Don't touch me, don't you touch me.
- With me. - How's your striped socks
and black shoes, Hag?
- That's a good one. - She always comes up with...
With Melissa and Jill.
- Oh, and by the way, Melissa, I have had no face lift.
Why would you say that?
- Well you need to shut up about...
- Why do you always have to interrupt?
You are the rudest person in the world.
- Was she talking to you?
- Shut your mouth!
- Shut your mouth. - I'm gonna take my bra off
and show her how my boobs are still perky.
She said I needed a lift.
- Who is that white-faced bag
to tell anybody about anything?
- [Christi] But in the end,
the only fight that mattered
was between our girls and Cathy's,
and once again, we won. [crowd cheering]
- Nobody wants your opinion,
nobody cares about your opinion! - Oh sit down. Sit.
You're nothing! - Talk about gutter,
you're a gutter. - Go, get out of here!
Go!
[dramatic music]
- It was Cathy's mission in life to destroy Abby Lee Miller.
- I want Abby to always think of me as a nightmare.
Do you wanna be her nightmare?
- Yes. - Yeah,
I want her to fear the CADC
- Abby would never admit this,
but when the ALDC met the Candy Apples at Nationals,
Abby was scared.
Her biggest fear was to lose to Candy Apples
on a national stage. - The time is finally here,
it's Nationals, and I have put my whole heart
into this team for the entire season.
- [Jill Vertes] Hey girls, line up in front of the beach.
Say, "ALDC!" - ALDC!
- [Abby Lee Miller] They have to be good enough
to beat the Candy Apples.
We have to win.
- It's your moment. - Go away!
- Gimme this.
[dramatic music] [people hollering]
- Abby always wanted to win at Nationals,
but this time, she had to
because we were going up against Cathy and her Candy Apples.
- [Dance Mom] Welcome to Nationals, you guys!
- Are you guys lost?
- We're back!
This is what I think of you.
That's what you call gutter trash!
- The only reason they're in here
is 'cause they know they're not gonna beat us in dancing.
They gotta beat us with their mouths.
- Honestly, we think that Kalani is the entire team.
Everybody else can pack it up and go home.
- I disagree with that. Wait a second.
You've gone too far now. - Come on, Holly.
- At a certain point, that was wrong.
- Kalani is the whole team.
- Kathy, I've given you a lot of respect,
but right there, you crossed the line and you know it.
- I am allowed to have my opinion.
- You're allowed your opinion. - But nobody wants your opinion,
nobody cares about your opinion, - Oh sit down. Sit.
you're nothing!
- Talk about gutter, you're a gutter.
- Go, get out of here, go!
Nobody cares about you, go!
- Things had never been so tense between Abby and Cathy,
but trash-talk wasn't gonna settle it.
The only thing that would settle it
was what happened between the girls,
and it wasn't gonna be easy.
- [Announcer] All right, here we go with our next group,
from Candy Apples Dance Center, "Abduction."
[audience applauds] [dramatic music]
[audience cheering] [audience applauding]
- [Jill Vertes] It was good, it was a good dance.
- Yeah, it was nice, beautiful dancers, all of 'em.
- That Candy Apples routine was amazing,
and Abby was visibly nervous.
So it all came down to this routine.
- [Announcer] And now, from Abby Lee Dance Company,
"Is There Still Hope?" [audience applauds]
[dramatic music]
[audience cheers] [audience applauds]
- And then the moment of truth.
- This is our senior group grand champion,
put your hands together for...
[dramatic music]
"Is There Still Hope," Abby Lee Dance Company, come on up!
[audience cheering] [audience applauding]
- The ALDC goes down in history as winning Nationals.
And I'm glad because these kids are incredible.
They are my life. They're like my own kids.
- The battle on the dance floor was won.
[everyone cheering]
But the ALDC had one more round to go
with our rotten apple, Cathy.
- Shut your mouth. - You're not gonna
ruin this day for me, no way!
Put your tail between your legs and waddle on home.
- Get your [bleep] outta my face!
- Woo! - You need to leave.
- This is the girl's moment- - Go away!
Gimme this. [people hollering]
- [Dance Mom] I'm not gonna be in the middle of this,
I'm not. - Don't even touch me.
- Don't touch me. - Don't touch me!
- Get outta my way. - Don't touch me!
- Get your finger outta my mouth.
- And you're not gonna go after 'em, you just touched me!
You don't touch me! - I did not touch you.
- You pushed me! - Go away!
- You're not welcomed here anymore.
[everyone yelling] - Walk!
- I got it, I got it. - Walk! Walk!
- Walk your [bleep] outta here, [bleep]. Adios.
- Oh get those wrinkles fixed, [bleep]
- What is their problem? - They lost!
They're sore losers! [dramatic music]
- Bitter Betty.
- It's an outrage that she won.
- Pain in the ass.
- Take your 80s hairdo and your ass outta here.
- You name it- - I live to be obnoxious.
Remember that. - Cathy just kept coming back,
no matter how hard we tried to get rid of her.
- [Jill] Get lost, [bleep]