TV's Pushy Mom Moment

It's 4 p.m. on July 13, and after a day of intense rehearsals, the young dancers of Lifetime's reality series Dance Moms are dirty, bruised and drained, a stark contrast to their usual makeup-caked faces and often provocative glitzy costumes. Sequestered in one corner of the low-budget dance space in Burbank, Calif., the show's five stage moms are on their best behavior, save for occasional gasps during a complicated tumble sequence. But that can't erase from recent memory the usual antics of this pack of maternal she-wolves, among whom catfights, insults and shriek fests are as common as their daughters' BeDazzled clothing. There was one incident earlier this year where one mom, Christi Lukasiak, allegedly attempted to choke the instructor of a competing dance team.