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Bottom of the Pyramid: A Memoir of Persevering, Dancing for Myself, and Starring in My Own Life
Not yet published
Expected 4 Nov 25When you’ve been told over and over that you belong at the bottom, how do you come out on top? Dance Moms star and triple threat Nia Sioux shows the way via her story of resilience, triumph, and defining success for herself.
Young dancer Nia Sioux was only nine years old when she stepped into stardom as one of the original cast members of Lifetime’s reality TV show Dance Moms. Nia learned new choreography week after week and competed against dancers from across the country as well as at her own studio. Perhaps her greatest obstacle was suffering through her dance teacher’s ranking of the girls against each other in her infamous pyramid, where Nia spent the majority of her time on the bottom—all in front of an audience of millions.
But there was much that viewers didn’t see. How her experiences in the studio went far beyond what made it into the show. How she was ostracized for not fitting into an aesthetic that wasn’t designed for girls like her. How her friendships and her mental health crumbled under the strain of the show. How she lost control of her story and her voice.
But don’t be fooled—this is a story about resilience. Nia is not looking for pity, sympathy, or validation as she reflects on her experiences. Instead, she is choosing to use her story as a celebration of triumph. Nia finally gets to tell her story in her own way and in her own words. In this captivating memoir, Nia reclaims both the spotlight and her narrative.
In addition to going behind the scenes of the seven seasons of Dance Moms, she shows how she fought against the negative perceptions that dominated her tween and teen years and emerged as a confident young woman secure in her talents and her direction. Anyone who has ever felt misunderstood, overlooked, or stuck at the bottom of the pyramid will be inspired by Nia’s story of overcoming. “Despite barriers and constant naysayers, assumptions and criticisms, only you know who you are inside and out,” Nia says. “And you have the power to create your own narrative, your own level of success.”
Young dancer Nia Sioux was only nine years old when she stepped into stardom as one of the original cast members of Lifetime’s reality TV show Dance Moms. Nia learned new choreography week after week and competed against dancers from across the country as well as at her own studio. Perhaps her greatest obstacle was suffering through her dance teacher’s ranking of the girls against each other in her infamous pyramid, where Nia spent the majority of her time on the bottom—all in front of an audience of millions.
But there was much that viewers didn’t see. How her experiences in the studio went far beyond what made it into the show. How she was ostracized for not fitting into an aesthetic that wasn’t designed for girls like her. How her friendships and her mental health crumbled under the strain of the show. How she lost control of her story and her voice.
But don’t be fooled—this is a story about resilience. Nia is not looking for pity, sympathy, or validation as she reflects on her experiences. Instead, she is choosing to use her story as a celebration of triumph. Nia finally gets to tell her story in her own way and in her own words. In this captivating memoir, Nia reclaims both the spotlight and her narrative.
In addition to going behind the scenes of the seven seasons of Dance Moms, she shows how she fought against the negative perceptions that dominated her tween and teen years and emerged as a confident young woman secure in her talents and her direction. Anyone who has ever felt misunderstood, overlooked, or stuck at the bottom of the pyramid will be inspired by Nia’s story of overcoming. “Despite barriers and constant naysayers, assumptions and criticisms, only you know who you are inside and out,” Nia says. “And you have the power to create your own narrative, your own level of success.”
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 4, 2025
2640 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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May 9, 2025Out of all the girls that could write about their experience on Dance Moms, Nia is the one I want to hear from the most! Very much anticipating this.
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May 14, 2025I am SAT
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May 23, 2025The anticipation is REAL!! The title eats down!
This is a well deserved moment for Nia and as a fan of the show, I am so tremendously proud of her. For becoming great despite the negativity shown to her, for standing firm in who she is and WHOSE she is, and for telling this truth as an adult who has overcome and, hopefully, healed from that toxic environment.
She never gave bottom of the pyramid but look who’s on top now!
This is a well deserved moment for Nia and as a fan of the show, I am so tremendously proud of her. For becoming great despite the negativity shown to her, for standing firm in who she is and WHOSE she is, and for telling this truth as an adult who has overcome and, hopefully, healed from that toxic environment.
She never gave bottom of the pyramid but look who’s on top now!
September 30, 2025
okay so this is like a 3.75?? i think because there are a lot of anecdotes that help this book serve as an important primary source for anyone interested in dance moms or television or the racism that black women face in media, i can't judge this book solely on the quality of it's writing. the content balances out nia's unfortunately juvenile cadence, narrative structure, and syntax, so while bottom of the pyramid can start to repetitively drag at times because of her lack of literary practice, it isn't like the book is terrible slop. the best way i can think to describe it is that if feels like a bunch of different college application essays put back-to-back—events are a bit too patched together to feel truly linear, but the vignettes are vivid enough to hold things down and keep you going.
all that said, abby lee miller really is an even eviler person than we all thought and the fact that essentially kid from dance moms ended up relatively well adjusted is absolutely wild to me. nia is a far more forgiving person than i would ever consider being coming out of this situation (though, not to abby, which is the correct decision). she dealt with racial aggression on a daily basis for like 15 fucking years (pre-dating the show in many incidents) from almost everyone she interacted with. idk if she would still be friends with a lot of these people if they weren't trauma-bonded from their experience on this nightmare reality child abuse vehicle. at the end of the day, this is probably going to be the only decent account of dance moms we'll be betting for a long time, specifically because nia suffered such specific emotional terrorism at the behest of lifetime's producers and america's lack of real child labor laws (and sag-aftra's lack of protections for reality tv stars).
idk how we can make anything close to dance moms illegal but if going to the dnc is so cool we should focus on lobbying for children being protected in the media next
all that said, abby lee miller really is an even eviler person than we all thought and the fact that essentially kid from dance moms ended up relatively well adjusted is absolutely wild to me. nia is a far more forgiving person than i would ever consider being coming out of this situation (though, not to abby, which is the correct decision). she dealt with racial aggression on a daily basis for like 15 fucking years (pre-dating the show in many incidents) from almost everyone she interacted with. idk if she would still be friends with a lot of these people if they weren't trauma-bonded from their experience on this nightmare reality child abuse vehicle. at the end of the day, this is probably going to be the only decent account of dance moms we'll be betting for a long time, specifically because nia suffered such specific emotional terrorism at the behest of lifetime's producers and america's lack of real child labor laws (and sag-aftra's lack of protections for reality tv stars).
idk how we can make anything close to dance moms illegal but if going to the dnc is so cool we should focus on lobbying for children being protected in the media next
October 14, 2025
Nia has grown into a beautiful woman. I can’t imagine what trauma writing this book could have brought back up for her.
From watching the show you can tell how toxic Abby was and that the girls went through things that a kid should never have to go through. But hearing from Nia’s experience and what was not shown on camera makes the situations even worse. I can’t believe some of the things that Nia reveals in this book!
I am so glad Nia talks about how her mom advocated for her. Like Nia says in the book, people are willing to do anything for fame (or in this case get on Abby’s good side) and they throw what’s right and sometimes morals out the window. Holly being there for Nia was huge!
The book talks a lot about the racism displayed in the show and how Nia was treated. I think this is an important aspect for Nia to talk about, but at times I felt through the writing, some parts became repetitive.
Also there is a chapter stating how she isn’t throwing any of the cast under the bus, but at some points, even after that chapter, it felt like it. In my opinion it’s absolutely fine to talk about your experience with the cast, but you can’t speak for them.
I like how the book ends highlighting Nia’s achievements, growths, and what gives her joy in her life.
If you read this Nia, you are the star in your life! You are talented and have so many great adventures ahead of you! Thank you for sharing your story.
From watching the show you can tell how toxic Abby was and that the girls went through things that a kid should never have to go through. But hearing from Nia’s experience and what was not shown on camera makes the situations even worse. I can’t believe some of the things that Nia reveals in this book!
I am so glad Nia talks about how her mom advocated for her. Like Nia says in the book, people are willing to do anything for fame (or in this case get on Abby’s good side) and they throw what’s right and sometimes morals out the window. Holly being there for Nia was huge!
The book talks a lot about the racism displayed in the show and how Nia was treated. I think this is an important aspect for Nia to talk about, but at times I felt through the writing, some parts became repetitive.
Also there is a chapter stating how she isn’t throwing any of the cast under the bus, but at some points, even after that chapter, it felt like it. In my opinion it’s absolutely fine to talk about your experience with the cast, but you can’t speak for them.
I like how the book ends highlighting Nia’s achievements, growths, and what gives her joy in her life.
If you read this Nia, you are the star in your life! You are talented and have so many great adventures ahead of you! Thank you for sharing your story.
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September 24, 2025I can't believe theres only 3 reviews on this!! I just found out about this but let me tell you TRUST I will be getting this, growing up dance moms was (and still is) one of my fav shows, I watch pretty much daily and so when I saw that nia (out of all the og girls) is the one to be writing a book about her experiences, I was really excited and intrigued to see what she has to say about the show and dance and abby etc. hopefully theres an ARC somewhere so that I can get my hands on it earlier cause i canNOT wait to read this!!
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October 9, 2025me and my eighth grade dance moms phase SAT for this book
October 21, 2025
I read this book in one sitting lmao.
If you are a huge Dance Mom’s fan (as I am myself) and a fan of Nia you will not be disappointed in this book.
Very proud of her for sharing her story/struggles in the form of a book. As it allowed her to flesh out everything she went through, her thoughts, feelings and experiences during that time of her life. Without having her story being edited for the cameras.
A beautiful read 🤍✨
If you are a huge Dance Mom’s fan (as I am myself) and a fan of Nia you will not be disappointed in this book.
Very proud of her for sharing her story/struggles in the form of a book. As it allowed her to flesh out everything she went through, her thoughts, feelings and experiences during that time of her life. Without having her story being edited for the cameras.
A beautiful read 🤍✨
October 31, 2025
Nia was always the person from the show that I always wanted to hear from the most. I can truly resonate with her having grown up myself in a predominantly white space of what started off as a hobby. She did an exceptional job of speaking her truth while remaining the respectful and classy even in this moment when she could have torn down others. I’m proud of her accomplishments after the show and hope she continues ti thrive.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews