TV'S MUST-WATCH DANCE COMPETITION RETURNS!

"ABBY'S ULTIMATE DANCE COMPETITION," SEASON TWO DEBUTS SEPTEMBER 3 ON LIFETIME

ABBY LEE MILLER, Celebrity Choreographer RICHARD JACKSON and Broadway Star RACHELLE RAK to Judge Aspiring Dancers in 12 All-New Episodes of Reality-Competition Program

LOS ANGELES, CA (August 6, 2013) - The second season of Lifetime's popular series, Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition (#AbbysUltimate) is set to come back bigger and better than ever on Tuesday, September 3, at 9:00pm PT/ET with new contestants and moms, unexpected twists, fierce challenges and more of the dance instructor everyone loves to hate, Abby Lee Miller.

With 11 of the country's most promising young dancers selected from more than 1,000 national title holders, this season of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition will reach a fever pitch while a new cluster of mothers brings an entirely new meaning to the term "stage mom" as their children put everything on the line for a $100,000 cash prize and a scholarship to the Young Dancers Program at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. Throughout the 12-episode season, each dancer will learn new routines and compete in a number of challenges designed to test their skills while performing before judges Miller, Broadway star Rachelle Rak (Fosse, Cats and Catch Me If You Can), celebrity choreographer Richard "Richy" Jackson (Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night") and a live audience. Along the way, each competitor's mother will play an integral part in the competition as they make critical make-or-break decisions on training, costumes, music and choreography for their child while building their list of "frenemies" among the group of intensely competitive parents.

New this season, the judges will be able to use a special "Call-back Card" to save one dancer from elimination, which is sure to heat up the tension on the panel and among the mothers. With dance themes such as Fame, Broadway, Modern Fairy Tales and Nightmares, this season's contestants will experience the rigors of performing under the greatest pressure of their lives as they vie to be a future star and crowned the winner of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition. Additionally, Maddie, star of Lifetime's hit docusoap Dance Moms, is set to make special appearances on the series this season. Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition is hosted by Kevin Mano (MTV's The Seven).

During its first season last year, Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition over-delivered Lifetime's prime average among Adults 25-54 by +16% and saw consistent growth throughout the season among Adults 25-54, Adults 18-49 and Women 18-49.

Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition is produced by Collins Avenue, with Jeff Collins, Michael Hammond, Bryan Stinson, Sandi Johnson and Abby Lee Miller executive producing along with Rob Sharenow, Gena McCarthy, Kimberly Chessler and Toby Faulkner of Lifetime. Adam Vetri and John Corella of Collins Avenue co-executive produce.

A+E Networks handles global sales for Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.

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Lifetime is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. In 2012, as a result of its aggressive triple threat programming strategy doubling its amount of original programming spanning scripted dramas, reality series and movies, Lifetime posted its strongest year-on-year growth among the key demographics in 10+ years, while also reaching its youngest median age in 16 years. Lifetime Television(R), LMN(R), Lifetime Real Women(R) and Lifetime Digital(TM) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.