Not much has changed from last week. Holly is still disappointed in Abby’s teaching methods, while Abby still thinks Holly should keep her mouth shut.

Holly is okay with Abby’s constructive criticism but wishes she would hold off on calling the kids names - and Abby thinks Holly is just making excuses for Nia’s failures.

Watch Dance Moms Season 4 Episode 28 Online

Bottom line: Abby’s the dance teacher and that’s all there is to it. She will continue to pull routines from competitions as long as the moms continue to not act like “ladies.”  So Holly can either deal with the way Abby teaches or she can jump on the highway with Nia to another dance studio.

But Holly will get the last laugh, because on Dance Moms Season 4 Episode 26 Nia spends most of her time getting coached by James and Gianna instead of Abby. And guess what? Nia’s solo, “Goodbye Maya,” a spoken word tribute to Maya Angelou ends up getting first place! Looks like Holly may have a point. Maybe Abby’s “no swimming, no sun, no fun” teaching style doesn’t work for Nia.

But while Nia ends up on top this week, there are plenty of others who topple to the bottom.

Take Sarah for instance. As a member of the Select Ensemble team, Sarah finally gets her chance to prove herself on the Elite competition team much to her mom Tracey’s excitement.

Tracey wants to be on the Elite team so badly she lets the pressure get to her and her daughter. Sarah looks so nervous during her acrobatic solo routine, “Sun Goddess” that she winds up in fourth place. And everyone knows what that means.

Not impressed, Abby asks Sarah and her mother to pack up and leave. She’ll be “in touch.”

Ah, those famous last words. Distraught by Abby's words, Tracey runs out the door, practically leaving her daughter behind. Of course, not before making one last stand, pleading with the other dance moms to stick up for Sarah. As if what those moms think matters to Abby anyway. Ha! Nice try, Tracey.

What does matter to Abby this week? Kendall ensuring Maddie’s award-winning solo from last week stays in first place. Kendall gets the chance to prove herself to Abby, and in the process, hopefully solidify her spot as Abby’s next go-to girl.

And as no surprise, Jill couldn’t be more excited about the prospect. But in the end, Kendall isn’t able to deliver and comes in second. Let’s not forget, though. She did have to compete against Nia’s dynamo Maya tribute. 

Abby’s consolation to Kendall’s loss? Not only does Nia’s solo come in first, but so does the group routine, “The Seven Dancers,” a musical theater number with probably the most annoying music Abby’s ever used.

For the group routine, Abby makes a personal phone call to Kaylee, a musical theater specialist, to perform as the seventh dancer in the group routine. She was next in line for the Select Ensemble team after Ava, who was ousted from the ALDC weeks ago.

And shocker! (not!) Her mom, Kate, has much to say about the current state of the ALDC Elite team. Coming in rather timid, it doesn’t take long for Kate to irk both Christi and Tracey by questioning Chloe’s injury then calling out Sarah’s sloppy feet and lack of connection with the judges.

But Kate wasn’t the only one talking this week. Enter Cathy. Cathy, you say? Yes, Cathy rears her ugly head again. She claims to have come to Dance Kids USA to “scope out” the competition for nationals…as if that’s going to help her in the slightest.

Reality is she just came to get a rise out of the ALDC. By talking trash about Kendall and the “awful” group number (her words, not mine) alongside her little Candy Apple-dance mommy-minion, she achieves this goal, getting both Jill and Abby to snap respectively.

And with nationals only a few weeks away, emotions running on a high, there’s sure to be many more shouting matches like this to come. So strap on those ballet shoes, because things are about to get dance moms crazy.