At nine years old, Nia Sioux stepped into the bright lights of Dance Moms—and straight into a ranking system designed to keep her “at the bottom.” In Bottom of the Pyramid (2025), she tells the story the show couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell: the brutal weekly grind, the pressure of national competitions, and the constant criticism from Abby Lee Miller that chipped away at her confidence. As the only Black girl on the team, Nia also faced racist typecasting, appearance policing, and a painful double standard that forced her to grow up fast.
But this isn’t just a story about what happened to her—it’s about what she built anyway. With family support, hard-won boundaries, and a fierce refusal to quit, Nia reframes “the bottom” as the foundation she rose from. If you’ve ever felt underestimated, this summary will hit home.
