Hey WOD fans…
The duels continue on World of Dance. Last week, it was the upper division taking the stage. Tonight, the junior teams are in the spotlight.
Once again, the higher scoring act advances while the eliminated act must wait to see if their score earns them a shot at redemption.
Vpeepz have decided to pick Battle Droids Crew
Vpeepz quickly say they picked the Battle Droids because they can beat them. The battle droids respond that they duel all the time. The Vpeepz are adding tricks this time to their routine. Both teams are watching the other and don’t seem very impressed by the competition.
Vpeepz
Very clean and very cohesive routine. They were all dressed as referees and they made good use of that theme with some clever moves throughout. I’m most impressed by the seamless transitions in and out of all the tricks and steps and how they made it look like a complete unit dancing with my eyes never wandering off to one or two people who were a step slower or a step faster.
Ne-Yo loved the cleanliness. Jennifer marveled that they stayed with the same energy. Derek noted a few wobbles but says they did their thing. Jennifer loved the athletic spirit of the routine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NuEdF4py0U
Battle Droids Crew
A good break dancing routine for sure but not at the level of the Vpeepz. It is tough to judge because what they do doesn’t adhere itself to needing to be so clean but you can’t help but notice some issues that needing a little cleaning up. It was nothing that took me out of it but it was there. It also lacked a real narrative as it contained mostly the same type of breaking steps we always see with a couple of burns to the other team and neat tricks thrown in for good measure.
Jennifer loves what they do. She feels it is a lack of technique that allows them to do what they do. Ne-Yo anticipated the tricks to be amazing but he wishes the dancing was a little better. Jennifer agrees that the in-between moments needed to be better. Derek loves them and their creativity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJqz2RovfPc
Vpeepz
Ne-Yo- 92
Derek- 94
Jennifer- 92
Score- 92.7
Battle Droids Crew
Ne-Yo- 90
Derek- 91
Jennifer- 90
Score- 90.3
Winner: Vpeepz
A good score for the Battle Droids to perhaps earn a shot at redemption. We will see if that holds up. That being said, the right winner was selected here.
Next up, Intention choose to duel against Get Down District
Two very opposite dance styles going at it here with one team, Get Down District having barely made the duels with their whacking. Intention is a strong contemporary crew and they feel confident.
Get Down District
I don’t think we got to see the entire qualifying performance from these girls and if we did, it didn’t leave too much of a mark on this viewer. From the little snippet they showed tonight, they are better here with this duel performance. It seems to be more thought out and well choreographed. They also diminished the whacking a bit and added some other steps which could help or hurt them depending on how those steps are received. But it was a fun, energized number.
Jennifer noted that they never lost steam as they did last time. Derek says it was a huge improvement from the qualifiers. Jennifer thought it was a really strong performance. Ne-Yo feels like he could tell some of the dancers got tired and he doesn’t want to see that. Don’t be sloppy with the style he adds. Jennifer wasn’t a fan of how the quick chance was handled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAvglkMdePE
Intention
Nice. I find myself a bit bored with huge contemporary groups unless they do something visually stunning or with an emotional wallop. Intention is a group of very skilled dancers but I’ve seen all that before. I think they will end up taking this duel but if I had my pick, I would go with their opponents in order to see something different and unique. I don’t know what else Intention could have brought here but I actually preferred their qualifying routine to the Billy Joel song more than this- as that was different and unexpected.
Jennifer wanted a different song. Derek disagrees but feels the choreography let the song down. He feels there was a disconnect. Ne-Yo agrees. Jennifer notes they are strong dancers though. She also notes they tried a little whacking in there. Ne-Yo feels too much may have been going on at once. He does say they are all top notch dancers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpf6KF0HGjI
Get Down District
Ne-Yo- 89
Derek- 87
Jennifer- 88
Score- 88
Intention
Ne-Yo- 87
Derek- 86
Jennifer- 88
Score- 87
Winner: Get Down District
Interesting. I agree with that decision but I am surprised that the judges went the way they did. It was so very close though and Intention has to hope for redemption now. So far, Battle Droids have the higher score.
We move forward as MKAM opted to go against Elektro Crew
Simply put, MKAM feels they can beat them easily. Elektro says they respect them but will not fear them. Elektro says MKAM doesn’t know what they got themselves into. MKAM wants to send their opponents home. They plan to go all out. One of them though, during rehearsal, broke his foot and will not be able to perform. Yikes. Not much time to rework their choreo. Good luck to them.
MKAM
Very nice. Super strong routine. Quite clever and fun to watch. Some great tricks in there and good dancing between those moments. Loved the narrative and musicality too. They didn’t miss a beat in that and it will take quite a strong number to come close to that. Solid job all around.
Jennifer loved the warrior theme. She enjoyed the formations and pictures. She feels it had too much going on in a good way and wasn’t confusing. Derek loved the duel mentality and calls it a strong performance. Ne-Yo likes smart choreography. He mentions some missed musicality moments but thought overall it was very good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toatbsBuGys
Elektro Crew
Hmm. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I saw some things in there I haven’t before (always a plus) and they were super entertaining to watch. However, it wasn’t as clean and seamless as it could have been and at times, was a bit too chaotic for my taste. So, does originality trump sloppiness? Does being memorable go over being more technical?This is a tough one.
Ne-Yo saw improvement from the qualifying round. Jennifer notes the juniors on a whole are more savage than the adults. She loved the “Thriller” type theme of the dance. Ne-Yo didn’t have to think so hard which is a good thing but he says they were a little off. Jennifer disagrees with Ne-Yo on that. Derek feels they fought back. He feels their quality of movement is actually better but he thinks it gets too intricate at times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xRTKfd2ry0
MKAM
Ne-Yo- 92
Derek- 92
Jennifer- 88
Score- 90.7
Elektro Crew
Ne-Yo- 93
Derek- 90
Jennifer- 90
Score- 91
Winner: Elektro Crew
Dang. Three-tenths of a point. Ne-Yo really helped them out there with that score. They should be kissing him right now. And with that score, Intention is officially eliminated. MKAM takes their place in redemption.
Dancetown Divas will duel against JDC
This is a default duel. They had the same score and neither were picked by anyone. Both teams got some heavy criticism by the judges during their qualifiers. JDC will be using a prop during the dance because they feel they need something strong to go against the divas. The divas meanwhile are confident in their abilities.
Dancetown Divas
YES. Paso Doble power. Loved that. All those girls really brought it. It is tough to have so many people on the floor doing a ballroom type routine but they excelled. They really were able to capture the essence of the dance while being stunning to look at and fierce. An A+ on those costumes too. Everything matters in these duels. So good. That was definitely my favorite routine of the night thus far.
Derek loved how unified it was. Ne-Yo is at a loss for words. Jennifer was pleased with the music choice. Derek notes they are primarily Latin dancers and commends them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xeg_ucdZWNQ
JDC
Yikes. I thought this was going to be easy but JDC just brought it. They answered back with a hard hitting contemporary routine filled with emotion. Really, the mirror prop was unnecessary. The dancing truly spoke for itself. Loved the tricks in that as they added to what we usually are seeing in a contemporary routine. Such flexibility too. Can we keep both teams? Ugh.
Jennifer calls it a beautiful piece. It soared and was magical she says. And yes, she got goosies. She calls it perfect. Derek was drawn into the performance immediately and marvels at the contortions. Ne-Yo says no move was done for the sake of just doing it. He calls it intelligent choreography.
Dancetown Divas
Ne-Yo- 96
Derek- 94
Jennifer- 95
Score- 95
JDC
Ne-Yo- 98
Derek- 95
Jennifer- 95
Score- 96
Winner: JDC
Once again, Ne-Yo’s score pushes the winner over the edge. And with that high score from the divas, Battle Droids Crew has lost the shot at redemption. At the moment, the divas and MKAM are up for redemption with one duel left.
The final duel of the night puts top scorers The Crazy 8’s against West Springfield Dance
Wow, Crazy admits they picked them because they are in last place. LOL. Well, honesty is great. West Springfield notes though that they have stuff ready to surprise. Remember, Crazy 8’s has that dancer who suffers from selective mutism. West Springfield says they need to up the choreography. The Crazy 8’s meanwhile know they need to top what they previously did.
The Crazy 8’s
Well, these girls are just showing off now. Do they have bones? Crazy flexibility. Dang. And amazing turns. The dance didn’t really have a story to go with it which I am sure the other team will have in spades. But seriously, I don’t think they will be able to do anything to come close to the sheer raw power of these young ladies. They are just insane.
Jennifer calls them a group of little attack monsters. She calls them pretty amazing. Derek loves that they are tiny but dance huge. Ne-Yo wanted more transitions and more to the actual dancing because in his opinion, they got it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cixj393ZFDQ
West Springfield Dance
As expected, they brought the story here. The clown/carnival theme worked and I’ll definitely remember that dance. But…it wasn’t as well dances as their opponents. Simple as that. It had nice moves and all but nothing we haven’t seen done over a dozen times on the show before. Truly. If narrative was all that mattered, heck yes. But narrative has to marry good dancing for an exceptional routine.
Derek is terrified of clowns. Jennifer loves the artistry. Derek notes it was a huge step up from the qualifying routine. He enjoyed the theatrics. But technically speaking, he doesn’t think the quality of movement is great. Ne-Yo agrees that the maturity of movement isn’t there. But he gives them props on originality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTH5xWg2N1k
The Crazy 8’s
Ne-Yo- 94
Derek- 94
Jennifer- 92
Score- 93.3
West Springfield Dance
Ne-Yo- 92
Derek- 87
Jennifer- 89
Score- 89.3
Winner: The Crazy 8’s
And with that final score, West Springfield fails to make the redemption round. The little girl who doesn’t speak wants to come over and say hello to Jennifer. And everyone is in tears because of course.
-REDEMPTION-
It is Dancetown Divas Vs. MKAM for redemption. Head to head to the same song and the judges pick the winner. Jennifer wants an explosive performance.
Dancetown Divas
That was hot. They were able to put incorporate their Latin style with other genres to make a hard hitting and exceptional routine. Very good job. I do wonder how long these groups have to put together these redemption numbers. Something tells me it is an all day taping so they probably get hours to prep. I can’t imagine they put that together quickly.
MKAM
That was clever. Loving the little bit of shade in the dance at the females. They knew they had to do something that was eye catching and they stepped up. But was it enough? While fun and engaging, I think the girls really cemented themselves with their routine. I would be surprised if MKAM took this.
The judges decided by majority vote that the winner of redemption is Dancetown Divas
https://youtu.be/XBlhwZdW8-Y
Sucks for MKAM, as they really did a wonderful job in both their original duel and redemption but the DD’s were just a bit better and earned that spot in the cut. Both teams should be very proud.
So the SIX acts that move on from the junior teams are-
JDC
The Crazy 8’s
Vpeepz
Elektro Crew
Get Down District
and Dancetown Divas.
Next week, the junior division gets the call, followed by the upper teams the following week. I hope you enjoyed the show tonight and I’ll see y’all next Sunday night. :D
