The Australia Trip That Exposed Everything | Season 5, Episode 20 | Back to the Barre

Christi Lukasiak & Kelly Hyland

25 May 2026

Christi and Kelly recap and react to Dance Moms season 5, episode 20 — “Dance Moms Down Under, Part 1.” The show heads overseas to Australia... but without Abby, who gets left behind after losing her passport. Of course, that doesn't stop her from controlling everything from thousands of miles away on the phone. She yells at Melissa over the phone, questions whether the whole team was even invited to perform, and says Maddie can just dance by herself if she is not there. This is where the Australia episode starts to expose everything. Nia and JoJo are treated like they were never really part of the plan, the moms clash over who is tied to Abby’s Australia events, and the viral Ireland video mocking JoJo brings even more tension into the trip. Then Maddie misses rehearsal for an interview while the other girls keep working as her backup dancers, only for the episode to later handle her mistake onstage completely differently than it would have handled anyone else’s. For Christi and Kelly, this trip is not just about a lost passport or one chaotic performance. It is about the different rules, the selective protection, and the favoritism that creeps up episode after episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.