Is Abby Lee Miller about to kick one of her long-time students to the curb?

The temperamental DANCE MOMS star is holding an open call audition for new girls to mentor November 23 in New York City.

“Abby keeps saying she is going to replace a child this year — or maybe more than one child,” says Melissa Gisoni, mother of current dancers Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler.

“I don’t feel like it is going to happen, but you really never know with Abby.”

Melissa tells me she and the girls have already filmed six episodes of the new season, which premieres January 1 on Lifetime.

“So far, it is all the same kids,” she says.

And a lot of the same drama.

“There’s a lot of Kelly and Christi hatin’ on Abby and Abby hatin’ on them,” she says. “We just have to see if someone gets replaced this year. That’s the big thing.”

Here’s more of what Melissa had to share during our exclusive interview.

Have you been to any of the open auditions?

Yes. People are really desperate to be on the show. We had an open call this past weekend [in Atlanta] and I have never seen anything quite like it before. When you go to a typical dance audition, you sit in a corner and your child does all the work. These mothers get to come into the audition. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen in my life. It was like a football game instead of a dance audition.

Why do they want so badly to be on this show?

They want their child to be a star. That is exactly what it is. Of course [being on the show] is a fabulous thing. My daughters have gotten so many opportunities from it.

Was that your original motive for going on?

Absolutely not. We never thought it would even go [on the air]. We weren’t told it was a reality show. We were told it was a docu-series called JUST DANCE. So we signed on for 6 episodes and it went crazy and they turned it into DANCE MOMS and now we are going into season 4.

Did it take some time to get comfortable with the fame the show brought?

It is like nothing to me. I am just a normal mom. I am not a diva by any stretch of the imagination. Our studio is like my second home. When we are not filming it is wonderful to hang out with all the kids and the moms.

This show has changed your life. You are a reality star now! How do you plan to use that to your advantage?

I don’t really use it to my advantage at all. It is my children’s thing. I think that once this show is over, they are going to have so many opportunities because so many people know who my children are, which is a fabulous thing… I am so grateful to Abby for that. When they go to any kind of dance event or competition, people know who they are, which is pretty darn cool.

So you have no dreams of being in show business beyond this show?

Well yes, actually… I wouldn’t mind being on a talk show. I love THE VIEW. I am not very political or anything like that, but I think it would be fun to have a talk show with the other moms. The five of us could have such a fun talk show. Oh, my God! It would be so super fun. But my kids come first.

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