'Dance Moms' Star Nia Sioux Accuses Abby Lee Miller of Racism In New Memoir

In her new memoir, Bottom of the Pyramid: A Memoir of Persevering, Dancing for Myself, and Starring in My Own Life, Sioux, who was the only Black dancer in the core cast for much of the series, chronicles the trauma of being a child of color in a predominantly white, high-pressure environment. 

For those not familiar with the cutthroat world of Dance Moms, Sioux starred on the show for seven seasons from 2011 to 2017, along with her mom Holly Frazier. She was only 9 years old when it first aired and turned 15 during the show's final season.

The now 24-year-old dancer recalls multiple specific incidents of alleged racism, as reported by People. One particularly striking claim details an off-camera exchange where Miller, 60, allegedly questioned Sioux's appearance. "Don't you just wish you had white-girl hair?" Miller reportedly asked her. When Sioux responded that she did not, Miller pressed, "‘Oh really?’ she said. 'Like you don't think it would be much easier?'"

Sioux also alleges that Miller used harmful racial stereotypes to criticize her dancing. While Miller frequently commented on Sioux's "bad feet" on the show, the memoir claims Miller attributed this perceived flaw to a racial generalization. According to Sioux, Miller stated, "'Well, you know your people have flat feet,'" suggesting Black people were "physically predisposed to having flat feet."

"This struck me as ignorant; I know plenty of Black dancers with perfectly arched feet! Yet, despite the fact that she actually believed this ridiculous generalization was true, she'd threaten punishment for my perceived shortcoming," Sioux writes in the book. “'If you don't point that foot,' she’d warn, 'I'm gonna come out there and break it.'"

Sioux writes that Miller’s criticisms often focused on her body, which she believes stemmed from racial bias. She states that Miller critiqued her "thighs, my butt, and even my muscular legs," noting that these comments often “trickled down to some of the girls and their moms.”

And in one instance during Season 6, Miller implied Sioux was "fat because I was not working hard enough," creating an illusion for viewers that the dancer was lazy. “Viewers and some of my castmates ate that up without question,” Sioux writes. 

Sioux’s book also details how racially charged themes were allegedly woven into her competition routines. She claimed her first solo on Miller's competition team before the show used a song called "Nattie of the Jungle," a routine about a child raised by monkeys. Another early solo was allegedly titled "Satan’s Li’l Lamb." Sioux claimed that while her mother, Holly Frazier, would often confront Miller about the problematic routines, she sometimes had to "bite her tongue" so that Sioux, who was eager for the opportunity to perform, could dance.

Miller did apologize for racist behavior in 2020, though only directly mentioned dancers Kamryn and Adriana in her apology.

During a May 2025 interview with People, Sioux told the outlet that a primary motivation for writing the memoir was the feeling that her story was never accurately told on the show. She stressed that being the sole Black dancer for a majority of the series "had lasting effects" on her, and that it is important to share these experiences, especially regarding being the "token Black girl."

Bottom of the Pyramid is now available for purchase.