One controversial episode features a burlesque themed routine

The girls often dance in suggestive and/or revealing costumes. There is occasionally very mild sexual dialogue.

There are moments where the mother's actually become aggressive with each other and physically fight.

Sometimes, the girls deal with injuries, and occasionally, their mothers get into physical altercations. Some of the dances ("Where Have All The Children Gone" and "The Last Text", for example) involve violent themes.

The moms often say "hell", "damn", and "bitch". Sometimes they say "shit" or "fuck", but these words are bleeped out. There are various insults such as "whore", "fatty", "psycho", etc.

The moms often go to restaurants and drink alcoholic beverages while their daughters practice.

The episode where Abby's dog dies is very sad.

Abby constantly screams at the girls and belittles them, making them cry. The girls' mothers often argue with each other. Several dances have serious themes ("Where Have All The Children Gone" being an infamous example). Many would argue Abby is blatantly biased towards the Ziegler family and verbally and emotionally abusive towards the other families (especially the Lukasiak family).