Payton Ackerman
Payton Alexandra Ackerman (born on August 24, 1997 in Pennsylvania) is a grown-up dancer from Pennsylvania, now living in Los Angeles, California. Payton is a member of the Abby Lee Miller Dance Company and was on the show Dance Moms for four seasons, though she was part of the regular cast starting with the show's second season.
| Payton Ackerman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 19 |
| Birthdate | August 24, 1997 |
| Nationality | American |
| Hometown | Los Angeles, California |
| Height | {{{height}}} |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| School Grade | College Junior (17/18) |
| Professional Information | |
| Profession | Dancer Student |
| Affiliations | n/a |
| Dance Studios | Abby Lee Dance Company |
| Titles | see below |
| Friends and Family | |
| Parents | Leslie Ackerman (mother) |
| Siblings | Taylor Ackerman |
| Friends | Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler Brooke Hyland Paige Hyland Nia Frazier Kendall Vertes Asia Monet Ray Gianna Martello Nick Dobbs Chloe Lukasiak Brandon Pent Sarah Reasons JoJo Siwa |
| Pets | |
| Nicknames | |
Payton left the show to graduate from high school and has since moved to L.A. She will still continue to dance and support the ALDC.
Her older sister Taylor, is also a dancer, but she never appeared on Dance Moms. She is however, one of the stars of VH1's Hit the Floor.
Dances
Solos
One Track Mind - jazz
- Unknown scoring - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 3rd overall age 11-12 solo - Dance Masters of Pennsylvania
- 5th overall preteen solo - Dance Educators of America Nationals in New York City, New York
- 9th overall preteen solo - Dance Educators of America in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Love Games - jazz
- unknown scoring - Dance Educators of America in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Eternally- jazz
- 7th overall teen solo, 2nd teen jazz solo - Starbound Talent Competition in Atlanta, Georgia
Sinking Feeling - jazz
- did not place - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 5th overall preteen solo - Dance Educators of America in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
China Doll - jazz
- did not place - Dance Educators of America in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- did not place - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2nd overall teen solo - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 3rd overall teen solo - Sheer Talent Competition Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada
Can You Predict the Future - jazz
- 2nd overall senior solo - Starbound Talent Competition Dancers Care Foundation Benefit in Atlantic City
Femme Fatale - jazz
Serial Killer - jazz
- unknown scoring - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- entered in title competition - Sheer Talent Competition Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada
- 1st senior jazz solo - Hollywood Vibe in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Lady Like - jazz
- 2nd overall senior solo - 24/SEVEN Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 9th overall senior solo - NYCDA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Waiting Game - contemporary
- did not place - Hollywood Vibe Nationals in Anaheim, California
- did not place - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 4th overall senior solo, 1st senior jazz solo - Hollywood Vibe in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Duets
She's So Beautiful - hip hop (with Brandon Pent)
Turn Me On - hip hop (with Brandon Pent)
- did not place - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trios
Locomotion (with Ryleigh Vertes and Auriel Welty) - 2013
- 2nd overall senior duet/trio - NUVO Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
All I Need - jazz (with Ryleigh Vertes and Auriel Welty) - 2014
Never Again - contemporary (with Katherine Narasimhan and Auriel Welty) - 2014
- did not place - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 1st overall teen trio - Sheer Talent Competition Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada
- 2nd overall teen duet/trio - Dance Educators of America in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2nd overall teen trio - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 3rd overall senior duet/trio - NUVO Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Groups
with Abby Lee Dance Company (Outside “Dance Moms”)
| Year | Dance Name | Dance Style | Choreographer | Other Dancers | Competition | Place Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Bushel and a Peck | unknown | unknown | unknown | Fire and Ice (Pittsburgh) | did not place |
| Country Cuties | unknown | unknown | unknown | Fire and Ice (Pittsburgh) | did not place | |
| Mini | unknown | unknown | unknown | Fire and Ice (Pittsburgh) | did not place | |
| 2010 | Barnyard | Tap | Matt Saffron | Nick Dobbs Brooke Hyland Olivia Ice Katherine Narasimhan Brandon Pent Maddie Ziegler and others |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | unknown scoring |
| DEA Nationals (NYC) | 1st in Preteen Lines | |||||
| Dance Masters of PA | 3rd in Age 11-12 Lines | |||||
| Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy | Musical Theater | unknown | Nick Dobbs John Fiumara Brooke Hyland Olivia Ice Kassidy Leon Katherine Narasimhan Brandon Pent and others |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | unknown scoring | |
| Dance Masters of PA | 1st in Age 13-14 Lines | |||||
| Corners | Lyrical | unknown | Nick Dobbs Paige Hyland Olivia Ice Chloe Lukasiak Maddie Ziegler and others |
DEA Nationals (NYC) | 2nd in Junior Lines | |
| Funhouse | unknown | unknown | Elissa Berardi Olivia Ice and others |
JUMP (Pittsburgh) | unknown scoring | |
| Note to God | Specialty | unknown | Brooke Hyland Olivia Ice Kassidy Leon Katherine Narasimhan and others |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | unknown scoring | |
| JUMP (Pittsburgh) | unknown scoring | |||||
| 2011 | Americano | Tap | Matt Saffron | Elissa Berardi Brooke Hyland Maddie Genre Olivia Ice Katherine Narasimhan Brandon Pent |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | 2nd in Teen Groups |
| DEA Nationals (Las Vegas) | 5th in Teen Groups | |||||
| Dance Masters of PA | Platinum Award | |||||
| JUMP (Pittsburgh) | unknown scoring | |||||
| Beautiful Flower | Specialty | unknown | Elissa Berardi Maddie Genre Brooke Hyland Olivia Ice Katherine Narasimhan Hope Roberts and others |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | did not place | |
| DEA Nationals (Las Vegas) | ||||||
| Bombay Dreams | Specialty | unknown | Nick Dobbs Brooke Hyland Kassidy Leon Katherine Narasimhan Brandon Pent and others |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | did not place | |
| DEA Nationals (Las Vegas) | ||||||
| Dance Masters of PA | Gold Award | |||||
| JUMP (Pittsburgh) | unknown scoring | |||||
| Charleston | Jazz | unknown | Nick Dobbs Maddie Genre Brooke Hyland Paige Hyland Kassidy Leon Chloe Lukasiak Kassidy Leon Brandon Pent Hope Roberts and others |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | 3rd in Preteen Lines | |
| DEA Nationals (Las Vegas) | ||||||
| 2012 | Addicted to Love | Jazz | unknown | Elissa Berardi Katie Genre Olivia Ice Nina Linhart Brittany Pent Stephanie Pittman Elizabeth Rohm Kendall Vertes Ryleigh Vertes Auriel Welty |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | |
| Checkmate | Contemporary | unknown | Nick Dobbs Brooke Hyland Paige Hyland Olivia Ice Chloe Lukasiak Katherine Narasimhan Brandon Pent Hope Roberts Kendall Vertes Auriel Welty |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | ||
| Glam | Jazz | Gianna Martello | DEA (Pittsburgh) | |||
| Jet Set | Musical Theater | unknown | DEA (Pittsburgh) | |||
| JUMP (Pittsburgh) | ||||||
| Life of the Party | Tap | Matt Saffron | Elissa Berardi Maddie Genre Olivia Ice Katherine Narasimhan Brandon Pent Maddie Ziegler |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | ||
| Piano Man | Tap | Matt Saffron | Elissa Berardi Nick Dobbs John Fiumara Katie Genre Maddie Genre Olivia Ice Kassidy Leon Nina Linhart Katherine Narasimhan Brandon Pent Brittany Pent Stephanie Pittman Hope Roberts Elizabeth Rohm Ryleigh Vertes Auriel Welty |
DEA (Pittsburgh) | 1st in Teen Lines | |
| JUMP (Pittsburgh) | 2nd in Teen Extended Lines | |||||
| Unzipped | Specialty | unknown | John Fiumara Nina Linhart Malena Maust Brittany Pent Elizabeth Rohm Ryleigh Vertes Auriel Welty |
JUMP (Pittsburgh) |
Reign Dance - lyrical - 2013 (with Elissa Berardi, Olivia Ice, Kassidy Leon, Nina Linhart, Malena Maust, Katherine Narasimhan, Stephanie Pittman, Hope Roberts, Elizabeth Rohm, Keara Sweeney, Kendall Vertes, Ryleigh Vertes, Auriel Welty, and Maddie Ziegler
- 1st overall teen line - Sheer Talent Competition Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada
- 4th overall teen line - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The American Dream - lyrical (with Elissa Berardi, Nick Dobbs, Nia Frazier, Brooke Hyland, Paige Hyland, Olivia Ice, Kassidy Leon, Nina Linhart, Chloe Lukasiak, Malena Maust, Katherine Narasimhan, Brandon Pent, Hope Roberts, Elizabeth Rohm, Keara Sweeney, Alison Taylor, Kendall Vertes, Eve Vinkler, Auriel Welty, and Maddie Ziegler) - 2013
- 2nd overall preteen group - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Wish I Didn't - contemporary (with Nick Dobbs, Nina Linhart, Brandon Pent, Elizabeth Rohm, Ryleigh Vertes, and Auriel Welty) - 2013
- did not place - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
America Gone - lyrical (with Mariah Aivazis, Nia Frazier, Olivia Ice, Kassidy Leon, Katherine Narasimhan, Ian Schmoke, Keara Sweeney, Alison Taylor, Kendall Vertes, Ryleigh Vertes, Eve Vinkler, Auriel Welty, Mackenzie Ziegler, and Maddie Ziegler) - 2014
Garland Waltz - pointe (with Mariah Aivazis, Olivia Ice, Kassidy Leon, Katherine Narasimhan, Hope Roberts, Ian Schmoke, Keara Sweeney, Ryleigh Vertes, and Auriel Welty) - 2014
Just Another Number - contemporary (ALDC version with Kamryn Beck, Nia Frazier, Kendall Vertes, and Maddie Ziegler) - 2014
Vampire Heart - lyrical (with Mariah Aivazis, Olivia Ice, Kassidy Leon, Katherine Narasimhan, Hope Roberts, Ian Schmoke, Keara Sweeney, Ryleigh Vertes, and Auriel Welty) - 2014
Everybody Goes - contemporary (with Maddie Bennett, Nia Frazier, Sarah Hunt, Olivia Ice, Brooke Kosinski, Kassidy Leon, Katherine Narasimhan, Ryan Nogy, Madison Porter, Hope Roberts, Ian Schmoke, Keara Sweeney, Alison Taylor, Kendall Vertes, Carolyn Whitney, Mackenzie Ziegler, and Maddie Ziegler) - 2015
- 2nd overall teen extended line - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2nd overall teen line - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 4th overall teen line - Sheer Talent Competition Nationals in Foxwoods, Connecticut
Forget the Past - lyrical (with Olivia Ice, Kassidy Leon, Katherine Narasimhan, and Hope Roberts) - 2015
- did not place - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- did not place - NYCDA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 3rd overall senior group - Sheer Talent Competition Nationals in Foxwoods, Connecticut
- 4th overall senior group, 3rd overall senior small group - Hollywood Vibe in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
I Forget Where We Were - lyrical (with Nick Dobbs, Kassidy Leon, Katherine Narasimhan, and Keara Sweeney) - 2015
- 1st overall senior group - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 1st overall senior group - Sheer Talent Competition Nationals in Foxwoods, Connecticut
- 3rd overall teen group, 1st teen specialty - NYCDA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Love - contemporary (with Maddie Bennett, Ryan Nogy, Madison Porter, Keara Sweeney, Alison Taylor, and Carolyn Whitney) - 2015
- did not place - Hollywood Vibe in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 1st overall teen group - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2nd overall teen group, 2nd teen contemporary - NYCDA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nameless - jazz (with Nia Frazier, Kalani Hilliker, Olivia Ice, Kassidy Leon, Katherine Narasimhan, Ryan Nogy, Hope Roberts, Keara Sweeney, Alison Taylor, Kendall Vertes, and Maddie Ziegler) - 2015
- 2nd overall teen line - JUMP Dance Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 3rd overall teen line - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 3rd overall teen line - Sheer Talent Competition Nationals in Foxwooda, Connecticut
Never Gonna Change - contemporary (with Nick Dobbs, Olivia Ice, Kassidy Leon, Katherine Narasimhan, Ryan Nogy, Hope Roberts, Ian Schmoke, and Keara Sweeney) - 2015
- 1st overall senior line - Sheer Talent Competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2nd overall senior group, 2nd overall senior small group - Hollywood Vibe in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
with Abby Lee Dance Company (on “Dance Moms”)
| Year | Dance Name | Dance Style | Choreographer | Other Dancers | Competition | Place Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | All Kids Go | Contemporary | Abby Lee Miller | Nia Frazier Brooke Hyland Paige Hyland Chloe Lukasiak Maddie Ziegler |
Starbound (Atlanta) | 1st in Junior Small Groups |
| Light My Fire | Hip Hop | Gianna Martello | Nia Frazier Brooke Hyland Paige Hyland Chloe Lukasiak Kendall Vertes Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler |
n/a | n/a | |
| The Huntress | Lyrical | unknown | Nia Frazier Paige Hyland Chloe Lukasiak Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler |
Starbound (Woodbridge I) | 2nd in Age 9-11 Power Small Groups | |
| What Comes Around | Lyrical | Abby Lee Miller | Nia Frazier Paige Hyland Chloe Lukasiak Kendall Vertes Maddie Ziegler |
Hollywood Vibe (St. Louis) | 1st in Intermediate Modern Small Groups Platinum Award | |
| 2013 | Just Be | Contemporary | Gianna Martello James Washington |
Nia Frazier Brooke Hyland Paige Hyland Chloe Lukasiak Asia Monet Ray Kendall Vertes Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler |
Believe (Sandusky) | 1st in Age 9-11 Power Small Groups |
| On the Verge | Lyrical | Gianna Martello | Nia Frazier Chloe Lukasiak Asia Monet Ray Kendall Vertes Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler |
Xpression (Orlando) | 4th in Junior Groups | |
| Open Waters | Lyrical | Abby Lee Miller | Nia Frazier Chloe Lukasiak Asia Monet Ray Kendall Vertes Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler |
Believe (Lancaster) | 1st in Age 9-11 Power Small Groups | |
| 2014 | Girlz Night Out | Jazz | Molly Long | Nia Frazier Brooke Hyland Paige Hyland Chloe Lukasiak Kendal Vertes Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler |
Sheer Talent (Wheeling) | 3rd in Junior Small Groups Titanium Award |
| Just Another Number | Contemporary | Gianna Martello | Nia Frazier Brooke Hyland Paige Hyland Chloe Lukasiak Kendall Vertes Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler |
Believe (Columbus) | 1st in Age 9-11 Power Small Groups | |
| Lift You Up | Character | unknown | Nia Frazier Chloe Lukasiak Kendall Vertes Mackenzie Ziegler Maddie Ziegler |
World Class Talent (Rockville) | 1st in Junior World Groups |
Dance Titles
- Regional Teen Miss Fire and Ice 2012
- Regional WCDE Elite Teen Dancer 2012
- National Teen Miss Dance Educators of America 2012
- Regional WCDE Elite Teen Dancer 2013
- Regional JUMP Senior Female VIP 2014
- Regional WCDE Elite Senior Dancer 2014
- National Senior Miss Sheer Talent 2014
- Hollywood Vibe Regional Senior Dancer of the Year 2015
Trivia
- Payton began dancing at Abby Lee Miller's studio when she was 11 years old.
- According to Abby Lee Miller, Payton was one of the best hip-hop dancers at her studio.
- Payton's favorite color is yellow.
Gallery
-
-
-
-
-
Payton on "Dance Moms" -
Payton and Mackenzie Ziegler -
-
