A dance studio has gone viral after a mom posted a TikTok of a coach hugging every member of a dancing group — except her daughter, the only Black student.
Melissa Breglia shared a video on TikTok on March 24 showing a dance teacher from Dance Xpressions in Plainville, Connecticut, walking onto a stage at a dance competition to congratulate four young girls after they won an award. The coach then hugged three of the four girls standing on stage, excluding only Breglia’s daughter, six-year-old Shaniah.
The video, which was filmed by another member of the audience and sent to Breglia later, has garnered more than four million views.
“I’m sad,” Breglia told The Independent. “I’m hurting for my children because I can’t fix it.”
Commenters were quick to agree with Breglia.
“Wow, that was super disturbing to watch,” one user commented, receiving more than 12,000 likes.
“Momma… please read the room,” another said, earning 31,000 likes. “It wasn’t just ‘rude’ it was a micro-aggression. Please get her out before it gets bad.”
Breglia said her six-year-old was devastated when she came off the stage.
“[Shaniah] said, ‘Mommy, how come she didn’t hug me?’ I leaned down to her level and gave her a hug and was like, ‘Baby girl, mommy gives you all the hugs you need. You don’t need anybody else to hug you.’”
Breglia then approached the coach backstage.
“I immediately walked up to her and was like, ‘How dare you?’ She stiffened up and said, ‘Why are you yelling at me? I didn’t do anything,’” Breglia recounted. “I said ‘I’m not yelling,’ … I was like, ‘You made my child feel less than and she deserves more than that.’”
Shortly afterward, Breglia received a letter stating Shaniah and her nine-year-old sister had been removed from the dance program because she was aggressive with staff. Breglia says she was never aggressive and never yelled at the coach.
Now, her daughters are missing dance class.
“Shania is mad she can’t dance with her friends, mad she practiced the dance and she doesn’t get to wear her outfit again,” Breglia said.
“My nine-year-old, who was also kicked out of the studio, is the one that’s actually being affected emotionally,” she added. “She’s the one that this is taking a toll on, because it’s a more impressionable age.”
Phyllis Boucher, owner of Dance Xpressions, told NBC Boston she’s “deeply saddened” by the “recent misunderstanding.”
“Our instructor sincerely believed she had embraced all the students, including Shaniah, and was unaware of the oversight,” Boucher said. “Following the competition, concerns were raised by Shaniah’s family regarding the incident. Our instructor immediately addressed the situation by apologizing to Shaniah, expressing that the exclusion was unintentional and never meant to cause hurt.”
“Over the past years, we have worked to support all our dancers and their families, including Shaniah and her sister,” she added. “After careful consideration, we made the difficult decision to part ways with the family, as we strive to maintain a positive and respectful environment for all members of our studio community.”
The Independent was unable to contact Dance Xpressions for comment, as the studio did not answer the phone, and its voicemail box was full. Their social media accounts also appear to have been deleted.
