Nia Sioux is leaving Dance Moms, Teen Vogue has learned exclusively.

“It’s crazy to see how far it’s come and how much I’ve been through,” Nia told Teen Vogue about leaving the show that made her famous. “I was just like, I’m 16 now, I’m growing up, the show has been a great platform, but it’s time to move on. During the show, I couldn’t take all the opportunities that I wanted to, and now since I’m off the show I’m getting to do what I want to do."

The decision to do so wasn’t as hard as it may sound. After 7 seasons running, Nia was the only remaining original cast member who didn’t break her contract early. She’s not only ready to start trying new things in her career, but to also solidify her platform as an entertainer and role model.

As for all those things she wanted to do? Right now, it’s music and acting. Her newest project, Summer Dance, is a movie about a young dancer who falls in love and finds herself having to balance her relationship and pursuing her dreams, with Nia playing the protagonist Jasmine. The film is set to debut as an independent feature film in the spring of 2018.

But don’t worry OG stans, Nia isn't done with dance forever. “I will always be attached to dance. Dancing has been a part of my life forever, so no matter what I’m doing dance is still going to be there,” Nia affirms. “But I definitely want to go into other things. I have acting going on, music… my new music video, in 24 hours it went to No. 1 on iTunes.” She went on to talk about her experiences performing in off-Broadway shows, and why she will always be an entertainer first and foremost.

“Performing is just part of who I am,” Nia said.

Looking back, Nia says that Dance Moms trained her in a way that nothing else really could have. “While I learned so many things from the show, one of the biggest ones is probably how to deal with so many different kinds of people [and situations]… Whether it’s a costume breaking a minute before you go on stage, or [handling] an argument with someone… and I think I can take that with me wherever I go,” she said. She also mentioned that the speed at which she and her team had to memorize routines was great training. “Learning our dances so fast — in 2 to 3 days — has been a part of my life for basically 7 years. So, picking up choreography fast, it’s one of the biggest things I am so thankful for because doing that so many times every single week really made me a strong dancer… and now, whenever I go on jobs and everything it helps so much because you have to learn very quickly.”

But learning quickly and managing personal conflicts weren’t the only things Nia learned over the years that she was on television. For anyone who follows her on Instagram, you’ll know that she posts something called #RoleModelMonday, in which she shares a post about an inspirational person that she thinks her fans should know about. Her most recent one was with actress Monique Coleman, who many will remember as Taylor from High School Musical. She chose Monique for her work as a philanthropist and activist, specifically mentioning her work as an Ambassador and Youth Champion at the United Nations. “Thank you for being someone we can look up to!” Nia wrote.

It was the time that she spent in the public eye that inspired Nia to promote healthy role models. “It’s funny because as a teenager in general, with or without the TV cameras, it’s hard growing up. It’s really hard,” she said. “I get body shamed a lot. I get told I’m not good enough, and that I should look like this or look like that. Multiple people have said these things to me.”