Dance Moms

Maddie Ziegler just turned 13 and if you're wondering what a kid who's starred in 3 Sia music videos and a reality show gets when they reach teen-hood ... ice, as in a pair of diamond stud earrings.

Ziegler's family surprised the "Dance Moms" star with a birthday party at their family's favorite hibachi restaurant. We're told the youngster was punked by her family and friends, who all profusely apologized saying they couldn't make it out for her birthday.

But when Maddie showed up at the restaurant ... her BFFs Nia, Kendall and Mackenzie from the show all yelled SURPRISE!!! We're told 2 dozen people were in on it, even Abby Lee Miller.

After the group sang happy birthday, they took down a cheesecake. And to top it all off she also got what every other 13-year-old out there wants ... an Apple Watch.

Next stop for the youngsters ... L.A., where they'll be filming the new season of "Dance Moms."

Phoenix Sundown -- the man currently behind bars for sending sexual material to a 12-year-old star on "Dance Moms" -- is so obsessed with the show he has a tattoo of Abby Lee Miller on his throat.

Sundown was interviewed in his jail cell by KGTV in San Diego, and he revealed JoJo was not his only target ... he says he also set his sights on 12-year-old Maddie Ziegler, sending her 11 boxes of material.

It will be interesting to see what happens to this guy ... whether he's prosecuted or put in a psych ward ... or both.

The guy busted for sending child porn to one of the "Dance Moms" kids had violent fantasies about Lindsay Lohan and served time in prison and a mental hospital ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs we've obtained ... Phoenix Sundown was arrested back in 2007 for assaulting his 18-year-old girlfriend. He was 29 at the time. Sundown got 3 years in a state pen, but was eventually diagnosed with a mental disorder and transferred to a prison hospital.

During counseling there ... doctors discovered Sundown had several photos of women with red pen and wax markings on their breasts and crotches. One collage showed a Lindsay Lohan pic with trails of red dripping on her body, and Sundown holding a long knife over her.

He also copped to writing to Spin magazine about his sexual fantasies with several other female celebs, but said he never contacted them directly.

Cops nabbed the guy who allegedly sent creepy packages to a "Dance Moms" star who is a minor -- and they believe some of the items he sent were pornographic.

TMZ has learned the suspect is named Phoenix Sundown ... and San Diego PD arrested him Tuesday afternoon. As we reported earlier ... the packages arrived at a Pennsylvania post office on Tuesday, and the bomb squad was called in to destroy them.

36-year-old Sundown was booked for sending explicit or obscene matter to a minor -- specifically images of a minor engaged in sexual conduct. He's being held on $25,000 bail.

We've spoken to reps for the "Dance Moms" student to whom Sundown sent the package. We're not revealing her name because of her age -- but the rep tells us Sundown started harassing the child 2 months ago.

The rep says Sundown would post pics of Elizabeth Smart, tag the the "Dance Moms" star ... and included the hashtag, "#futuregoals." They immediately reported the activity to police.

One of the kids on "Dance Moms" got a bunch of suspicious packages in the mail -- and the bomb squad was called in to destroy them.

According to a report, the packages -- sent to a P.O. Box in Allegheny, PA -- contained an Elvis blanket, a tribal-style blanket, a coffee maker, a scrapbook and handwritten letters. Authorities aren't revealing the intended recipient ... since he or she is a minor.

After intercepting the packages Tuesday at the post office, cops said there didn't appear to be any explosives -- but just to be safe, the bomb squad destroyed them with a water cannon.

"Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller thinks her producers are trying to ruin her show by creating phony, unnecessary conflicts.

Abby went on TMZ Live Wednesday and trashed her production team. She says she's plenty capable of making kids cry ... she knows exactly which buttons to push and she can do it on a dime.

As for whether she's gunning for their jobs, Abby says it's not necessary ... it's the old, "Ya give 'em enough rope ..."

Abby Lee Miller is a huge and vicious bully who attacked one of her "Dance Moms" co-stars like a rabid dog ... this according to a new lawsuit filed by the alleged victim who's looking for at least $5 million.

Kelly Hyland just filed a lawsuit against Abby over the knock-down drag-out catfight TMZ first reported last month ... where the two women came to blows during a rehearsal in NYC.

In the suit ... Hyland, a regular on the show, claims she got fed up with Abby yelling at her 2 daughters -- but when she attempted to leave ... Abby jumped in front of her and started yelling and lunging toward her.

Hyland goes on to describe a Cujo-like attack ... claiming, in the docs, Abby was "gnashing her teeth loudly attempting to bite [me]."

Then she added this gem ... "Miller is a very large woman" who she believes "weighs around 300 pounds or so."

In the docs, Kelly says she slapped Abby and pulled her head away, but only in self-defense. The brawl aired -- pretty much how Kelly describes it -- this week on Lifetime.

Kelly also claims producers intentionally drove her away from the fight and put her on a plane -- knowing police would issue a warrant for her arrest ... and thereby create a juicy story line.

"Dance Moms" star Kelly Hyland has been legally FORBIDDEN from having any contact with co-star Abby Lee Miller after a nasty catfight ... which means they can't even tweet each other, TMZ has learned.

Hyland was in court this morning in NYC facing assault and harassment charges after allegedly attacking Miller -- who owns and runs the dance studio -- in a fit of jealousy back in November.

As we previously reported, sources tell us the two women had a hair-pulling brawl at the dance studio after Kelly accused Abby of slighting her young daughters.

Both women showed up at the courthouse this morning ... and so did a camera from Lifetime ... 'cause you KNOW this is going to be part of the TV show.

During the hearing, Hyland was ordered by the judge to stay away from Miller while the case is pending ... which means no talking, no phone calls and NO TWEETING at her.

#drama.

12:30 P.M. PT -- Outside court, Miller vented for the cameras ... accusing Hyland of playing a dumb blonde to get attention.

"Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller just emerged from bankruptcy ... but the real news is that she went belly up in the first place.

Miller -- a dance instructor who owns a studio in Pittsburgh -- filed for bankruptcy Dec. 3, 2010 ... according to legal docs obtained by TMZ. She claimed assets of about $325K ... but owed more than $400,000.

The bulk of her debt -- a $245K mortgage that went into default and the $106K debt on her dance studio.

According to docs, Miller got into financial trouble after she fell behind in real estate taxes ... her property was teetering on foreclosure. She also claimed customer interest in her studio had waned.

But her fortunes began to improve shortly after she filed ... as she started earning money from "Dance Moms" which debuted in July, 2011.

Miller spent three years digging herself out of the hole ... and her case was officially discharged on New Year's Eve. Her lawyer tells TMZ all creditors were paid in full.

Fun Fact ... Under assets Miller listed her beloved dog, Broadway Baby -- and attached a value of zero. She really loved that dog.

And then it died.

"Dance Moms" head honcho Abby Lee Miller is offering up health advice to 7-year-old reality star Honey Boo Boo ... telling TMZ, Boo Boo needs to be down with the fitness if she wants to win pageants.

Miller was at the Abbey in West Hollywood when she admitted she wasn't happy with her own weight issues -- but moments later started ripping HBB ... saying she "needs to get in shape. She needs to be at a dance studio. She needs to be training. She needs to work on her turnout."

If you've seen Abby's show, you know she doesn't pull punches -- even with kids -- but we gotta ask ...

"Dancing with the Stars" pro Mark Ballas has a MAJOR problem with the "Dance Moms" reality show -- telling TMZ, the angry screaming dance coach is verbally abusing the kids ... and she doesn't know jack squat about dancing.

In case you haven't seen the show ... dance company owner Abby Lee Miller has become famous for berating the children ... once telling a crying little girl, "You save those tears for your pillow, in your room, alone."

Mark tells us, "She's not dancing, she's just yelling at them" ... adding, "I just don't think it's the correct way to teach somebody ... Those kids are 6 years old. They're learning. They're babies ... They need to be treated the correct way."

The producers behind the Lifetime reality show "Dance Moms" have been banned from one of the biggest children's dance competitions in the country ... after event organizers complained about the way the event was portrayed on the show last year.

"Dance Moms" is a show about intense mothers who enter their young daughters into dance competitions ... and during Season 1, the second episode focused on a HUGE competition in Pennsylvania called StarQuest.

TMZ spoke with SQ associate producer Michael Ian Cedar who claims producers did not air the true results of the competition ... and edited the footage in a way that misled viewers into believing certain dancers were competing against each other .... when in fact they were not.

Cedar also claims "Moms" producers misled him into thinking the show was about young girls in the competitive dancing world -- not about their catty foulmouthed mothers.

Despite SQ's grievances, Cedar tells us "Moms" producers once again reached out to SQ ... hoping to feature a StarQuest event on Season 2. Cedar claims he shot down the request.

TMZ spoke with "Moms" producer Jeff Collins ... who brushed off Cedar's editing allegations as "nonsense" ... adding, "We're sorry he feels misled ... we'd love to work with StarQuest again."