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Maddie Ziegler Is Leaving Dance Moms After Season Six

Abby Lee Miller and Maddie Ziegler
Abby Lee Miller and Maddie Ziegler

To all Dance Moms fans, please prepare to chassé over to the tissue box, because you might need a few. Multiple sources confirm to Us Weekly that Season 6 of Dance Moms will be Maddie Ziegler’s final season with the franchise. Yes, you read that correctly — Maddie Ziegler is dunzo with Dance Moms

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Ziegler, 13, is one of the original cast members who appeared on Dance Moms alongside her sister Mackenzie, 11, and their mom, Melissa Gisoni, when the show debuted in 2011. A natural-born performer, Ziegler began dancing at the Abby Lee Dance Company when she was 4 years old and quickly rose to fame on Season 1 of Dance Moms after winning all but one dance competition for the ALDC team.

Lifetime has not officially confirmed whether Dance Moms will be returning for a seventh season, but regardless, the tiny dance pro will appear on the show only through Season 6.

Before all of you dedicated and extremely passionate Ziegler fans start freaking out, please take a deep breath, because there will be no shortage of Maddie Mania. A source tells Us Ziegler has simply grown out of her role on the show and has her sights set on Hollywood, with big plans to focus on acting post–Dance Moms.

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Ziegler’s pursuit of the big screen is already in motion thanks to her frequent collaborator, mentor and bestie, Sia Furler. The “Alive” singer cast Maddie as the lead in Sister, a feature film that Sia, 39, wrote and will direct. “Acting is something she’s really excited to pursue and [Maddie] is in high demand,” says the source.

The Dance Moms star has previously starred in three music videos of songs from Sia's 2014 hit album, 1000 Forms of Fear including “Chandelier,” “Elastic Heart” and “Big Girls Cry.” Maddie most recently appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show, where she danced along to Sia performing her latest single, “Alive,” and just wrapped filming Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow’s The Book of Henry with Naomi Watts, Lee Pace, and Sarah Silverman

Meanwhile, Dance Moms HBIC Abby Lee Miller's future is looking a bit more bleak as she comes to terms with the fact that she might be spending less time in her brand-new Beverly Hills dance studio and more time in a federal courtroom. 

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Miller, 49, was indicted on 20 counts of bankruptcy fraud charges in October, according to United States Attorney David J. Hickton. On November 2, the dance instructor pleaded not guilty to the charges, requested a trial by jury and reportedly paid a $10,000 bond during a federal court hearing in Pittsburgh. Miller’s fate on the show has yet to be determined, and if convicted, she could face five years in prison as well as a $250,000 fine for each count.

The notoriously unpredictable studio owner also revealed in a December 7 Dance Moms newsletter that she might be missing from a few episodes in the new season because she is “fighting with a producer,” according to Deadline.

Season 6 of Dance Moms premieres January 5, 2016, on Lifetime at 9 p.m. ET.

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