JoJo Siwa Gives Advice to Cast of 'Dance Moms: A New Era' (Exclusive)
JoJo Siwa is hoping the cast of Dance Moms: A New Era won't have any tears to save for their pillows.
Ahead of the reboot's Aug. 7 release on Hulu, the OG series alum offered her advice for the kids following in her, Maddie Ziegler, Kenzie Ziegler, Chloé Lukasiak, Brooke Hyland, Paige Hyland, Nia Sioux, Kendall Vertes and Kalani Hilliker's carefully choreographed footsteps.
"Honestly, y'all are so young," the 21-year-old, who spent two seasons as a member of Abby Lee Miller's junior elite competition team, told E! News in an exclusive interview. "Have fun with it. Don't be nervous about it."
And, by all means, make the most of the time spent livin' on the dance floor.
"You got to film a TV show," said Siwa, who signed a lucrative deal with Nickelodeon after exiting stage left from the Lifetime series in 2016. "Enjoy the wave and make the most of it. If something is showing success, go further in that direction. But if for one second you don't like it, run away because it's a very hard industry to be a part of. And if you got it, you got it. But if you don't, you don't. And that is okay as well."
readHow Dance Moms Trauma Bonded JoJo Siwa, Chloé Lukasiak, Kalani Hilliker & More of the Cast
And though Siwa and her castmates have been thriving as soloists since the series took its final bow in 2019, she hopes the new dancers will choreograph their own moves.
"Stay original," she advised. "Don't try to be Maddie and Kendall and Kalani and Nia and JoJo and Kenzie because that's not you, and you are special. So be yourself."
Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
She'd recommend the same to dance mom and studio owner Gloria "Glo" Hampton, who's already lifted a few of Miller's tricks, using the dreaded pyramid to remind her students that everyone's replaceable.
"Don't try to be Abby," stressed Siwa, "because Abby is Abby and no one can be Abby."
Either way, though, Siwa is ready to have fun watching the new series.
"I’ll sure as hell be tuned in and can't wait to watch, because I know the behind the scenes of what really happened and so I'm excited to see how it really plays out on TV," explained the "Karma" singer, noting she's eager to see "if it's really real or are they, like, trying to make a TV show?"
Because what she believes put Dance Moms near the top of the reality TV pyramid was "that was really real. We weren't trying to make a TV show."
And years later, she and her teammates are still as rock solid as their competition routines.
"I don't think people know that we're friends," Hilliker told E! News in April. "And there are so many different storylines on the show between our mothers that people just tend to think that we all hate each other, or that we picked sides with different people. But we're actually all super close."
As it turns out, being constantly reminded just how replaceable you are will do that to a group of girls.
"It's a trauma bond," admitted Hilliker.
Echoed Siwa, "It really is, whether that be a good trauma or a bad trauma. It doesn't necessarily mean it's a negative thing, but there's just such a familiarity."
Lifetime
She felt a similar closeness when she signed on to film the horror flick #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead (in select theaters, on digital and demand Aug. 2) with fellow Nickelodeon alum Jade Pettyjohn.
Hearing about the film, said Siwa, "I was like, 'This sounds fun. Didn't necessarily think twice about it. Love horror movies, love Jade, stoked to work with somebody that I know again. I was like, 'Yeah, why wouldn't I do this?'"
And the experience was definitely not a horror show.
"It was so much fun," Pettyjohn raved to E!. "When we had a little bit of alone time between takes, I was like, 'So what have you been doing?' And I'm like, 'Wait, it's actually been years since we've really, really been around with each other.' So I was like, 'Oh my God, we're catching up on years of tea right now.' But it was great."
Agreed Siwa, "It was a ball. The set environment was great."
Of course, she's not the only Dance Moms alum livin' off the dance floor. See how the rest of her castmates are handling their next acts.
