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Kalani Hilliker Is Doing Just Fine Without 'Dance Moms,' Thank You Very Much

From Woman's Day

Abby Lee Miller was able to pinpoint Kalani Hilliker’s star power and dance skills when she first appeared on Abby Lee's Ultimate Dance Competition. The ballerina, however, did not become a full-time member of Abby’s prestigious elite competition team until the fifth season of Dance Moms. But by then she had already made a name for herself with TV appearances and an impressive list of dance accolades. Now, the 18-year-old is continuing on the path to fame, while remaining grounded and doing what she loves.

Kalani’s Dance Moms origin story is similar to that of former castmate Jojo Siwa: She was a competitor on season two of Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, where she wowed Abby and the judges with her stellar technique and natural look. She and her mother Kira were then invited to be a part of Dance Moms, though they were originally supposed to appear in just one episode. Kalani ended up staying for all of season four and became a full-time team member by season five, instantly bonding with her fellow teammates Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler, Nia Sioux, and Kendall Vertes.

Photo credit: Vincent Sandoval - Getty Images
Photo credit: Vincent Sandoval - Getty Images

No stranger to TV (she had also appeared in Disney’s Shake It Up and Freeform’s Bunheads), Kalani took to Dance Moms like a pro and emerged as somewhat of a leader for her team. She danced as a part of the Abby Lee Dance Company until the second half of of the seventh season, when she and the other original dancers banded together to form The Irreplaceables, lead by Dancing With The Stars alum, Cheryl Burke.

When the show wrapped, The Irreplaceables — made up of Chloe, Kendall, and Kalani — took their talent on the road and created the The Irreplaceables Tour, holding workshops and dancing in cities across North America and abroad.

Like most of the other Dance Moms alumni, Kalani maintains an impressive social media following, making money through paid partnerships on her Instagram of 5.6 million followers, and Youtube channel of 700,000 subscribers.

Currently, she has a fun sock line called “Pretty Feet by Kalani” which is sold at Claire’s, and a prom dress collection she helped design in partnership with PromGirl.


She also starred on the show Dirt on BRAT network as Sabrina from 2018 to 2019 and helped judge the Miss Teen USA competition in 2017 and 2018.

According to her Youtube channel, Kalani just finished her senior year of high school and is apartment shopping in LA.

Watch the all new episodes of Dance Moms season 8 on Tuesday nights on Lifetime and catch up on all the old seasons on Hulu.

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