'Dance Moms' star Nia Sioux is back with a new series, 'Dance With Nia.'
Dance Moms star Nia Sioux is back with a new series, Dance With Nia. ET's Deidre Behar spoke with the now 19-year-old dancer and she talked about her continuing passion for dance as well as how her past as a Dance Moms star has affected her.
This July marks 10 years since the very first premiere of Dance Moms. Sioux says she's still close to a lot of the original cast, and that she's also still close to her mom, Holly Hatcher-Frazier.
"I mean, I grew up so fast, not only just being in the dance competition world, but being on a reality TV show as well helps you grow up a ton, and the people that I'm around helps you grow up a ton and really fast," she says. "I learned so many lessons from Dance Moms. Even though it still does have a negative kind of effect on me, I would never change anything because it's made me the person who I am today."
"I think it took away a little bit from my childhood, but I think it was just, like, a different childhood," she continues. "I wouldn't say I didn't have a childhood because I did have this childhood, which is different from everyone else's and that was my normal childhood. That was normal to me, like, going to dance competitions every week and having a camera in front of my face. ... And we still had fun traveling to different places and everything and getting to experience that with my mom. Like, who gets to do that?"
Overall, she is appreciative of the opportunities that being on the show gave her.
"I'm grateful to have been able to do it for those seven years," she says. "To be able to say that I did it, you know, it's given me a great platform to do the things that I love now. Even though it was really challenging, and sometimes I don't have the best things to say about it, but I do have to always give them credit for just getting me to the place where I am today. ... I have a lot to thank for the show, and I will never take that for granted."
These days, Sioux is focused on her new Facebook show, Dance With Nia, premiering on June 4. The series, produced by the triple threat herself and Brat TV, profiles dancers with disabilities.
"I'm highlighting dancers who are just incredible, but highlighting their stories, their journeys, and ... just highlighting the ableism that they face in the dance world and in the industry, because we're focusing on dancers who are disabled," she notes. "And these dancers are incredible. ... They all brought so much to this show."
Sioux is also a full-time student at UCLA, studying American literature. Sioux says one big goal she has is to be an EGOT -- an Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar and Tony winner.
"I think I'm literally just a performer," she says of her passion. "I'm a performer and I love to help people. ... One of my biggest goals, which seems so huge, but I really want to be an EGOT one day, because I love every aspect. I want the Emmy, I want the GRAMMY, I want the Oscar, I want the Tony -- not even getting all those things, but being able to do all of those things. That's my ultimate goal one day though. I love performing in any aspect and I want that to be my life. I feel like a different person when I'm on set or on stage or just performing in general."
As for her love life, Sioux says she isn't currently dating anyone.
"Dating right now is so hard," she admits. "It is so hard. This day and age, dating, you can ask any 19, 20-year-old, a teenager, it's hard. I guess for me in particular, finding a guy who is OK with being long distance-ish, because whether I'm in Pittsburgh or L.A., it's still going to be long distance because I go back and forth all the time. ... Another thing as well, I work a lot and I'm a very independent person and I don't necessarily need anyone. So, I think the fact that I don't, like, need another person in my life, I think might be like, 'Oh, she's too independent for me', and I'm like, 'No.'"
"I'm happy," she adds. "I'm truly happy how I am right now. If someone can add to my happiness that's amazing, but having fun in my life won't necessarily make me happy because I'm already happy, but it will add to my happiness."
Still, Sioux isn't closed off to the idea of dating and jokes that her "DMs are open."
"If anyone wants to slide in," she cracks.
RELATED CONTENT:
