Nia Sioux, a UCLA senior and Dance Moms star, sits down with Podcasts contributor Megan Vahdat to discuss her time at UCLA, experiences on reality television, mental health initiative and plans for the future.

Megan Vahdat: Welcome to Bruin to Bruin, a Daily Bruin podcast that interviews influential members of the UCLA community. My name is Megan Vahdat, and I am a contributor to the Daily Bruin. Today, I am joined by UCLA senior and original cast member of the hit show Dance Moms, Nia Sioux.

Nia Sioux is an incredible singer, actress, author, and social justice advocate. With almost 6 million Instagram followers, she regularly works on White House campaigns and even recently interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss environmental policy. Nia’s most recent projects include starring in the Lifetime original movie, Imperfect High, as well as her critically acclaimed original Facebook Watch series, Dance With Nia, which she executive produced. Now, she has teamed up with AdCouncil to bring further awareness to being vulnerable and open in discussing mental health. The campaign titled Capture the Convo sits down with celebrities to speak on their own mental wellness and encourages audiences to do the same with their friends.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Nia. We are so excited to have you in the studio.

Nia Sioux: Thanks for having me. I’m really happy to be here.

MV: Nia, you got your start as a talented dancer and one of the stars of the hit TV show Dance Moms which was on Lifetime for 8 seasons. As a result, you’ve had the public’s eye on you ever since you were very young. And not many people know that along with all of the incredible projects you’re working on which we’ll discuss soon, you’ve been able to manage a full course load as a UCLA student who is graduating this spring. Can you tell us a little bit about your time at UCLA… What are you majoring in and how have you been involved on campus?

NS: UCLA has just been honestly the best time for me. I’ve come from being homeschooled for so long, so being able to have a somewhat normal college experience has been so amazing. I’m actually an American Literature and Culture major, which has been so cool to just be a part of because I didn’t know what to think of the major at first. I wanted to at first go for business but UCLA doesn’t have an undergrad business school. So when I was looking at different majors, American literature popped out for me because I loved to write and I was like, oh, this could be like a good lane to go down. And I’m so happy I did because it has been the most amazing experience and I’ve been loving the classes that I’ve taken. And I feel like I’ve just learned so much. So there’s that. But then I also am a part of Icarus Contemporary Dance Company.

MV: Oh, really cool that you have continued that through into college.

NS: I have. A lot of people think I stopped dancing after Dance Moms, but I’ve continued to dance. And Icarus has been literally the highlight of UCLA, for me, honestly. Yeah, I’ve made some great friends. And being able to continue with dancing has honestly been so therapeutic and I love it more than ever now and I’m really excited that I, well, I guess I’m just really happy that I’ve been able to find a space that was so great for dancing because you never know. I feel like people leave high school and they don’t really know what they’re going to do after when it comes to dance. To find a dance family here has been so amazing.

MV: Do you do a lot of practice with them? Do you perform? Can people come and see you perform?

NS: Yeah, we practice like twice a week. And then we have a big performance in the spring quarter. So we have three practices a week or more if we need to. But we practice a lot and then we have performances. So like every year we usually perform at the men’s basketball game, women’s basketball games, and First Thursdays. We perform a lot of different things, and then we have a big showcase at the end of the year, which is the best time ever. And it’s been so cool just to be able to work with the whole team and also being able to choreograph. It’s a student-led dance company, So we all get to choreograph something if we want to. So this year I choreographed like two or three pieces, which has been so cool. And one of the pieces that I choreographed was an all-team jazz number that we’ve been able to perform at different things. I think we performed at the men’s basketball game. Yeah, it was great. It went really well. And the crowd loved it. It was a jazz piece. It was fun. It was to “I Will Survive.”

MV: When you’re doing events like these on campus, do you get recognized a lot? Do people come up to you and talk to you? Are they a little bit more shy or reluctant?

NS: It depends. I feel like a lot of people will come up and say hi. People do recognize me. But it’s never weird. It’s usually just really sweet and it’s nice to know that people recognize the work that I do. And it’s really sweet because people just come up to me and say “I’m really proud of you. I love you.” And it’s just really nice to just go on my normal Tuesday or Wednesday, and then someone will just come up to me and be like hey I love you. It feels pretty good.

MV: That’s so incredible. I also think a lot of people might not know about your major because the American literature major is one of our more niche things on campus that a lot of people don’t know about. Something cool about it is that it’s kind of a cross between a lot of these English analytical classes that you’d normally take in a typical English major with a lot of American politics and political background. And you’ve emerged as a new political leader. You recently interviewed Kamala Harris about the climate crisis, you went to the White House for Black History Month. Can you tell us a little bit about those experiences and how they shaped you as a student and an influencer?

NS: Yeah, absolutely. I think both definitely go hand in hand. Something that’s really cool is Kamala Harris is part of a sorority called Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, which I recently just joined in the fall of 2023, so last fall. And I feel like that brought us closer. I like to think this. I like to think that that brought us closer together. She actually wrote me a letter congratulating me on the sorority. It’s just so crazy. So I know, it’s kind of crazy. I feel like we’re besties, even though we’re not. Being able to have these conversations with huge leaders has been so rewarding. And to be able to be that person to kind of, I guess, be the voice for young adults, it’s been really cool in such a privilege to be able to have these conversations that are not like conversations that you know deal with real things like the climate crisis. I did a round-type table talk with Kamala Harris about reproductive rights and just our rights in general. She has a whole campaign tour that she’s going on right now about fighting for your rights. So we talked all about the rights that we should be fighting for and we have to be careful to be aware of these things so that you know they don’t pass this by. I was able to work with the White House and meet President Biden because of the COVID vaccines and getting people correct information and helping them kind of get that information out to the youth so they know what’s going on, what they should be doing. And it’s been really cool to be that kind of person for the White House where they can call me up and be like are you interested in doing X, Y, and Z? And usually, I’m like, absolutely. Because it’s a big responsibility and it can be really scary sometimes because you are putting yourself out there. But at the end of the day, I always just stand up for what I think is right. And I always just like try to keep in the back of my head that, you know, like this work doesn’t go unnoticed and it can actually help people. So that’s been a really cool journey for me, just being able to be around huge figures like that. Like people who are actually in power and being able to like use my voice and speak up, that has been really cool and I think it’s definitely helped me in college as well because I feel like usually I’m really scared to talk in class or give my opinion and be able to speak with leaders. And I’ve gotten a lot of great advice from them. And just, you know, I take that with me and I don’t take it for granted. And I use that with me like every single day when I go to class like I remember I’m like you know what you can do hard things. You can speak your mind, you can advocate.

MV: You’re talking about issues that aren’t really surface-level. They are super complicated and have a lot of layers of history and debate that revolve around them. And it’s amazing that you’re using your platform to spread what’s important, to inform a lot of your followers, a lot of whom I think are maybe of a younger age, and to give them a sort of political consciousness even when they’re really young. And most recently, you’ve released a new series called Capture the Convo, which features discussions around mental health. Why was that a particular issue that you wanted to focus on? Can you tell us a little bit about that program and those sorts of things you’ve been doing?

NS: Yeah, absolutely. So mental health has always been a matter really close to my heart. I feel like it’s something that everyone goes through. And although there’s more talk about it now, I feel like growing up there really wasn’t any room for that conversation, especially like a normal, like setting a one-on-one or even just opening up to your friends about your mental health, like that wasn’t really like a thing. So being able to help people, specifically young adults, know that there are people out there that can help them, whether it’s a family member, whether it’s a friend, someone that you can trust and confide in, is so, so important. And, you know, it’s just always so important for people to know that there’s always help and there’s always someone out there for them. And that’s part of the reason why I wanted to help out with a campaign like this because everyone can use it, You know? Yes, it’s specifically for young adults, but it can apply to anyone. And I wanted it to be something where it was just a conversation between two people, two people that usually are friends, but among two people that’s casual and it doesn’t feel terrifying, it doesn’t feel daunting, it doesn’t feel like you’re sitting down to have like this big conversation, it could be casual and it doesn’t have to be scary, you know. You want people to feel as comfortable as possible to be able to open up and meet people where they’re at.

MV: Because a lot of the time, these types of conversations around mental health are not something that’s easy to weave in when you’re talking to a friend or, you know, just having a casual talk. And I think you approach that really well on your show, and that’s something difficult to do and often overlooked in our media. And you’re someone who’s been in front of the camera a lot and this is one of your first experiences as a director. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Have you enjoyed getting that chance for one of the first times?

NS: Absolutely, like I love being in front of the camera but I also like being behind the camera too, because I like seeing how things work. When I did Dance with Nia a few years back, I got to executive produce, and being able to do that was really amazing, and it kind of got me in the field of being behind the scenes. And ever since that, I’ve been really wanting to do more of creating my own things and to really be a person who can make those decisions and have a say on set about certain things. So being able to be there and come up with set design and talk with people and make sure the questions that we ask are appropriate with the help from the other people at AdCouncil. But it’s been so cool to just have that aspect of the behind the scenes work. I don’t know, I really like it because it feels like my baby, you know? It feels like it’s something that I truly created. And I like having some sort of control because I feel like for so long, like, let me refuse this. I just feel like people’s stories and like the narratives can get messed up so easily.

MV: Especially because you have a reality TV background. Sometimes we overlook as viewers that what we’re watching is something so edited or that stories can be misconstrued. So it must be an empowering feeling to be the person who’s in charge and can make those sorts of decisions.

NS: Absolutely. Because first and foremost, I always want to make people comfortable, but I also want to make sure that we get the message across. And having those two intersect, I think, being in charge of that is a huge responsibility, but I’m really happy with the outcome of the whole project. And yeah, I just, being a director is kind of crazy and not something that like little Nia would have ever even thought I could do.

MV: That’s so exciting. And what’s really cool about your show is you’re having a lot of conversations with celebrities about mental health. And I think from an audience’s perspective, a lot of times we idealize the kind of public figures that we see. We’re only seeing part of the whole story on social media or on Instagram. And a lot of those difficult conversations, those hard moments, are overlooked. So I wanted to ask you, when you were working on this show, was there a storyline or conversation that you had or a breakthrough that was particularly meaningful or striking to you as you were working on the process?

NS: There were so many. I feel like every person individually is amazing and they all have their own stories and their own things that they want to talk about. But one of the people who did it, Zach Hood, he’s so cool. We had an amazing conversation. I think that comes out next week, or the week after that, but it comes out soon. So I don’t wanna talk too much about it, because I want people to see it first. But he was just so lovely to talk to. And to be able to see a young male open up the way that he did, I think is going to be really inspiring for a lot of people, especially young men, because I think it is really hard for males to talk about mental health and to have him talking about it is really powerful. But along with that, being able to have an open and honest conversation with one of my good friends that I literally grew up with, Kenzie Ziegler. Like she’s amazing and I’m so proud of her. She even uses her own platform to talk about mental health and she’s very open about it. I think that what she does is really great and I look up to her. She’s younger than me, but I look up to her because she’s doing amazing things. So yeah, all the conversations were so special. Gayle, I mean, her energy is just amazing. And she genuinely, like when you meet her, you feel like you’re her best friend. You feel like you’re her friend. And the way that she talks about mental health is so honest. And it came up so naturally for her. And being able to ask her these questions and the feedback that I got from her, I just felt like I could trust her with anything. But I’m really happy that people got a chance to see these people that are public figures, are famous, and getting to see them in this light because everyone like people really like idolize and glorify you know celebrities, but I think it’s really important for people to know that they’re just like you and they literally have emotions and feelings and I think social media has like a really big role in this as well, because people will say whatever online about celebrities or influencers or whatever. Although, yes, we are prone to it because this is our job. But it’s important to remember that everyone’s a human.

MV: Right. And I like how your conversations unfold super naturally. They’re kind of spontaneous and off the cuff. And a lot of the conversations are, although they’re with celebrities, are with celebrities of different backgrounds, like you mentioned. Even regarding gender identity – we see a huge difference in general in how women talk about mental health versus how men do. So I like how you’ve drawn attention to that through your platform. And you talk a lot about the importance of speaking up and having these kinds of difficult conversations, which are sometimes hard to talk about. And just recently, Lifetime hosted a Dance Moms Reunion, which featured almost all the members of the original cast talking about a lot of the mental health struggles they experienced on the show. And just because I know we have a lot of Dance Moms fans listening, I have to ask you, why did you decide not to participate in the reunion and share your perspective on the show?

NS: I genuinely just didn’t want to do it. I, when they came to me the first time about it, they asked me several times. I just really didn’t want to do it. I mean, I talked to some of the other girls about it and I respected their decision to do it. They respected mine. I think we all, especially like the OGs, like we all went through very similar things and we know where we’re coming from and we literally grew up together. So people, especially the girls, understood where I came from and I feel like even people watching in, fans and supporters, they understand too. I feel like you can kinda just look at the show and know why. It just wasn’t the right time and it’s not that I won’t ever do something like that. It just wasn’t the right time for me to do that. I’m in college. Was I busy that day? Probably not, but I just didn’t want to do it because it opens up a whole new can of worms I’m really happy with where I am right now, and I’m just trying to finish up school, and there’s a lot of things that I am just doing right now and that was just like another thing to do. So it was just not something I could put on my plate as well.

MV: That’s a lot to go through, especially on such a public forum. Some would argue that your childhood being broadcasted to millions of viewers might have been a little bit stressful or overwhelming at times. So many of the people who you’ve interviewed have mentioned the stress of constantly being in the public eye. How do you think your experiences on Dance Moms or on reality TV as someone so young shaped your perspective on mental health and how you narrate these conversations?

NS: Ooh, that’s a good question. I feel like reality TV just really prepared me for this industry, the entertainment industry in general. And also just to do really hard things. I feel like after the whole Dance Moms experience, I feel like it can handle pretty much anything. And I feel like mental health wasn’t really talked about on the show too much, you know, we were told not to cry. So it’s been, after that, I’ve had to really work on, you know, crying and like knowing it’s okay to cry. And I think that’s why it’s so important to me because for so long I felt like I wasn’t able to have these emotions. I just had to be happy or pretend that I was happy. And it’s totally okay not to be happy all the time. Like that’s totally normal. And I think we need to normalize not always being happy all the time. And that’s OK. And I’m all about spreading positivity, absolutely. But just because we spread positivity doesn’t mean that you don’t have bad days. I mean, maybe don’t go out and do something crazy or bad. But as long as you’re not hurting anybody, it’s totally okay to go out and have a bad day. Like that’s okay. And that’s totally normal. And that’s part of being a human. And I feel like having these conversations with these celebrities kind of validates my feelings as well because of what you’ve been going through. What I’ve been going through because they can relay in there like you know what yeah everyone has an opinion not just the people that are in your life but people outside of your life to have an opinion on your life. So It’s really good to have these conversations. And it’s been actually healing for me to have these conversations with people as well.

MV: It’s nice that you acknowledge kind of the difficulties of all that you’ve experienced, being in the public eye and constantly, whether you like it or not, having to hear people’s opinions of what you’re doing, but at the same time, it’s given you a sense of strength from what I’m getting.

NS: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. It’s definitely given me a sense of strength because, you know, it’s good to hear opinions, you know, good opinions, bad opinions, whatever, they’re gonna come, but it’s good to like know that no matter what you’re gonna be okay. And just because people have these opinions of you or tell you you’re something, you don’t have to internalize that. You can be whoever you wanna be. You don’t have to let what people say define you. Like, yeah, so I feel like, I don’t know if that answers that question, but I’ll go on a tangent.

MV: We’re going to transition into a series of the show called the Bruin to Bruin rapid-fire: Dance Moms edition. We’re going to ask you a series of quick questions about your time on the show and at UCLA and we’re really excited to get your inside scoop. We just want to hear the first thing that pops into your head. Are you ready?

NS: Okay!

MV: What was your ultimate favorite Dance Moms group dance?

NS: Oh. Oh my gosh. I don’t know. I’m like forgetting them too. I don’t remember what they’re called. This is so bad. I’m just gonna say “Where Have All the Children Gone” even though I literally was like the first one off the stage. It was a good one.

MV: I totally agree. It was a good one. Okay, is there a favorite class you’ve taken at UCLA?

NS: Ooh, okay. It’s between two. Sorry, this is supposed to be fast. One of the classes I’m taking now, I’m taking a memoir class, which is so cool. And then one of my favorite classes was Communications One, because I made a lot of friends in that class, and I also met my boyfriend in that class. So yeah, it was a fun class. And also it was a public speaking class. That was really cool.

MV: Really cool. Hopefully it’s coming in handy. What is the best place to eat at Westwood Village?

NS: Ooh. I personally just love BJs. I love the cookie skillet, the pizookie. Yeah, but also Prince of Venice. 10 out of 10, It’s so good. I feel like it’s a hidden gem.

MV: What do you think is the most iconic dance mom Holly line from the show?

NS: Oh, okay. Everyone says it’s “empty chair, do a solo,” but for me personally, it would be “you’re entitled to your wrong opinion” because I feel like it just always puts people in their place.

MV: I use that in day-to-day conversations. Sometimes it weaves its way in. What is your all-time favorite UCLA memory?

NS: Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. This is so hard. Okay, probably last year, our dance showcase, “Soul”, it’s held at Royce Hall, and that was like the best feeling being able to dance on a stage in front of so many people, like friends and family, that was really cool, and I think that was one of the best moments because my friends and family came out to see me, I was dancing, and I don’t get, you know, I still dance, but I don’t get to perform on stage that often anymore, so that was a really special moment.

MV: Who was your favorite Dance Moms guest star? Or a cool person that the show had on?

NS: Oh, Shangela for sure. She’s the best. She introduced me to the drag queen world. And my life has changed forever. And I’m so grateful for that.

MV: Lastly, what is the number one piece of advice you would give your freshman self?

NS: Ooh. Honestly, have fun. I feel like I’ve had a good time, but I feel like there’s always room for more fun. So like literally have fun. And I would say, go to your classes. Like literally go to all your classes. Yeah go to your classes like you will regret not going to your classes.

MV: Thank you so much, Nia, for participating in our rapid-fire and for sharing about your experiences and projects you’ve worked on over the past couple of years. To finish off the interview today, I wanted to ask you about your plans for next year because you’re graduating this spring. Congratulations. How are you hoping to spend your time after college and what types of things can we expect to see from you going forward?

NS: Oh my gosh, so much. I’m excited. I’m going to take a huge nap once I graduate. I’m going to take the longest nap ever. And then I’m going to start auditioning again and seeing what other projects come about. I already have some fun things that are kind of in the work that I can’t necessarily talk about yet, but I do have a lot of fun things and you will be seeing me and I’m gonna continue with my social media and using it for good in a platform where people can go and like either get help or be happy or you know, feel something, something good. And Yeah, I feel like there’s a lot in store and I’m just so excited to start with this next journey, this next chapter in life, where I’ll actually be able to focus strictly on my career. I’ve been doing both, I’ve been doing school and I’ve been working since I was nine years old, like simultaneously. So I’m really excited to finally be able to hone in on my career because it’s something I’ve been looking forward to for so long, but I had to get that degree first. Had to because that was definitely first on the list, but so excited. I’m really excited to like, just dive deep into everything.

MV: Well, congratulations. Thank you so much for speaking to our audiences today and for coming on this show. We really appreciate your time.

NS: Awesome. Thank you so much for having me.

MV: This episode of Bruin to Bruin was brought to you by The Daily Bruin Podcasts. You can listen to this episode and all Daily Bruin Podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. The audio and transcript of today’s interview are available at dailybruin.com. I’m Megan Vahdat, thank you for listening.