Corinne Borno Corinne Borno A+E Factual Studios A+E Factual Studios A+E Factual Studios
Lily Borno, now 12, has been dancing since she was 3. During the pandemic, she began to get serious about her dance craft, learning over Zoom with a family friend who is a dancer, and waking up at 6 a.m. every day to practice before her family woke up.
“When I’m on stage, I want to tell a story, I want the audience to feel something when I’m dancing, and I like to become a character,” Borno said. “My favorite style of dance is contemporary, especially dark contemporary, because I’m the polar opposite of dark. I like to be the polar opposite of my personality, and that’s what I enjoy so much.”
Lily’s mother, Corinne Borno, explained that Lily had been taking dance classes at multiple studios and had exhausted everything she could learn, so they headed to a dance studio in Ashburn to help Lily reach her full potential.
“I don’t want to be the mom that pushes her or forces her to practice more. I want to let her do it herself. Lily has had a very unique drive from a young age. It’s always been her, and whenever she wanted to take more classes, it was her choice,” Corinne said.
She told Lily, “If you want to take seven classes, you have to choose. You can’t do Girl Scouts. You can’t do soccer. So it’s always about choices.”
Shortly after arriving at the Ashburn studio, the application process for “Dance Moms: New Generation” began. The Bornos weren’t entirely sold on the idea, but they applied anyway. The studio’s dance team continued to move forward as the TV production team narrowed down which studios they wanted to select for the show. Eventually, Corinne and Lily became one of eight mother-daughter pairs to train and compete under Gloria Hampton, known to her students as Miss Glo. In 2022, Hampton was awarded the title of Teacher of the Year by the Star Dance Alliance.
The show’s format follows the same rhythm as the original “Dance Moms” program. Every week, students learn a new dance and compete in tournaments across the country. They compete internally through a pyramid to highlight the troupe’s best dancers. There will be “fights” and tears.
The Bornos explained that the show is unscripted. It was shot about 40 hours a week for 10 weeks. The schedule was stretched even further this year when COVID-19 hit the studio during the second week of production. They also took a week off over Christmas.
The schedule is demanding in many ways. Most weeks, Lily goes to school on Mondays. The rest of the work week, Corinne wakes up at 3 a.m. to start her day. She wakes Lily up at 4 a.m. They drive from Fairfax Station to Ashburn to apply makeup and go over other details before taping. The group films from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After filming, the girls are expected to attend their regular dance classes.
The troupe learned at least one new dance every Wednesday, then spent three days perfecting their moves before competing in a weekend competition against girls who had been practicing for months.
Being on a reality TV show has its pros and cons. Lily was in the spotlight and learned a lot of show business skills she never knew she needed. Her busy schedule also meant that instruction and technique sometimes took a back seat.
“Ms Guro has helped me a lot. She has helped me grow a lot. She is a very good teacher, she points out our mistakes and explains things to us. She is very strict but it’s tough love. She loves us very much and wants us to grow and she cares a lot,” Lily said.
The Borno family just received news that Miss Guro will be opening a new studio this fall called Dance Lab, and all the girls in the program will be dancing there.
“I’m really proud of Lily’s dedication and her kindness and her character,” Corinne said. “I think she’s always stayed true to herself. She’s been a good teammate. She’s a hard worker.”
All episodes of Dance Moms: A New Generation are currently available to watch on Hulu.