The original Dance Mom

“SHE’S just LA – a total diva – but a lovely woman too.”

That was Much Ado Stage school’s Rois Kelly-Lynch and her summation of reality TV star, Abby-Lee Miller, following a dance masterclass in Donegal on Thursday.

Rois had taken 150 of her performing arts students to meet Abby-Lee at Jackson’s Hotel which, as well as the dance class, also featured a special insight into the world of musical theatre.

Abby-Lee Miller is an American television personality who founded the Abby Lee Dance Company, which appeared on the reality television series ‘Dance Moms’ for eight seasons.

“The atmosphere was great – electric,” Rois enthused. “People literally travelled from everywhere to see Abby-Lee.

“My children, because there were so many of them, they had a private session with her ahead of the public session. Overall, I would say there were between 600 and 800 there on the day.”

Rois, who runs Much Ado in Castlederg, had also been involved in organising the event, alongside Perform Ireland. She had previously met Abby-Lee during an event in Dublin and the American star had promised to visit the north west as soon as she could.

“It was absolutely chocablock,” Rois continued. “Th

ere was a Q&A and a very extensive class. There was no easy ride with it, either. Abby-Lee stretched them, gave them technique and she worked with them for two hours.

“The kids really enjoyed it. Abby-Lee is a very unique character. She is very passionate about teaching and she’s not scared to correct. She was also trying to give the kids an insight into what the industry is really like. I personally found it very insightful as well.

“She had some of them singing – she said, just sing a song. She really challenged them. It wasn’t a case of her just going along to meet them. She showed them if you want to be a dancer, you have to train hard.

“It was a really good experience. You know the persona, and you just hope that she would be kind and nice to all the weans. She’s just professional to the bone. She has her persona and she lived up to it.

“The kids gained so much.”