Hey WOD fans…
The duels enter week three tonight. Last week, the junior teams battled it out. We move on to the regular junior division this evening before finishing off with the upper teams next week.
Once again, the higher scoring act advances while the eliminated act must wait to see if their score earns them a shot at redemption at the end of the show.
We begin tonight with Ellie & Ava, who have picked Audrey & Mia to duel against
Ellie & Ava, a contemporary sister duo know that going against krumpers will require them to bring the intensity. Audrey & Mia plan on working a lot harder after their critiques in the qualifying round. They are planning on bringing burns to go against the dancing sisters.
Ellie & Ava
Nice. First off, picking two American Idol winners as your song choice is always a positive. Now, to the dance. These two remain stunningly elegant and pretty yet athletic and strong in their dancing. They complement one another so well and they know how to use the music to tell a story. Really impeccable musicality.
Ne-Yo thought the dancing was so good and the emotion was so real. Jennifer got a sisterly love but sibling rivalry out of the routine and called it beautiful and technically perfect. Derek says the quality of movement is superb. He notes they added more emotion from the qualifying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6I1Ft-_WMk
Audrey & Mia
Cute routine with the whole toy box theme. They are good krumpers but the majority of that fell a bit flat for me. I wanted more and I feel like they are good enough to give more. I’m not sure they really stepped it up from what was a low scoring qualifying routine. A couple of out of sync moments and no real transitions between the tricks make them look very pedestrian compared to the sisters.
Jennifer calls it grit versus grace when comparing the routines. She feels both were strong and thinks it will be tough to score. Ne-Yo believes they hit harder this go around. Derek agrees they stepped up their game and enjoyed the spaces in the music. He feels towards the end, they had some missed moments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8QdMmCdD68
Audrey & Mia
Ne-Yo- 91
Derek- 90
Jennifer- 89
Score- 90
Ellie & Ava
Ne-Yo- 90
Derek- 93
Jennifer- 92
Score- 91.7
Winner: Ellie & Ava
That’s a high score, which could see them right back in it with redemption. We shall see. For me, a few points higher than they deserved for what we saw. We move forward now to…
Kayla Mak has picked Funkanometry to duel
Contemporary ballerina Kayla thinks picking funkanometry was a risk. The funk duo has taken Ne-Yo’s words to heart that they need to up their game. They are coming with a harder dance and more tricks. Kayla believes any burns from them will only push her further.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6sgIu47MPA
Funkanometry
Really good job. A clear and obvious step up from everything they did in qualifying. Very hard hitting. I especially enjoyed that they matched one another and were bringing more complex movements. If I had to critique something, I would say the taller in the duo has a tendency to hit somewhat harder with a more staccato movement but that’s nitpicking. They did a very good job and I thought going into it that Kayla would have an easy time.
Jennifer loves a performer. She loves great entertainment and they brought that. Ne-Yo says that they earned the funny and he loves the duel mentality. Derek says they make him laugh in the best possible way. He thinks the choreography was perfect for them.
Kayla Mak
An unexpected song choice led to a very fierce and powerful routine. I wasn’t expecting that from our little ballerina. Love the ferocious attitude. A little wobbly in spots, especially toward the beginning so she needs to be careful of that because for a ballerina, it stands out. But overall, a solid routine that was perfectly designed for dueling. Will it be enough to score higher than her opponents?
Ne-Yo says he has never seen battle ballet. Jennifer loved the song choice and found it very impressive. Derek loves that she spins classical ballet and brings something new. Jennifer notes the wobbly moments but for the most part, she thought it was a good performance overall.
Kayla Mak
Ne-Yo- 90
Derek- 93
Jennifer- 90
Score- 91
Funkanometry
Ne-Yo- 92
Derek- 92
Jennifer- 91
Score- 91.7
Winner: Funkanometry
So close. Great score for Kayla to try for redemption. We will see if her score can hold.
Our third duel tonight happens as Aydin Eyikan picks Moving 4Ward
Moving feels as though Aydin made a huge mistake picking a quartet to duel against. Both were given some criticisms in their qualifying dances. Aydin is working hard to fill the stage from the second he takes the stage. Moving 4ward wants to prove the judges wrong.
Aydin Eyikan
Nice. Really loved that. When they told him in the qualifying to fix his musicality, he really took that to heart. When the song soared here, he soared. When it was time to match the lyrics with steps, he matched. Lots of things to marvel at in that routine and he made a real statement there.
Jennifer calls it an amazing performance with so much attack and fire. She really felt his fight. Derek notes that the opening was beautiful. Ne-Yo says he dances like he has been dancing for 35 years and he says he reminds him of Michael Dameski. He notes it is a compliment and give him something to work towards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c02E2nLr17Y
Moving 4Ward
So pretty. By virtue of having three more people dancing, they were able to create stunning pictures in that. That being said, I didn’t see anything that we haven’t already and I wasn’t over the moon about the song choice mixed with the usual flailing contemporary. I think they had better technique overall but a very forgettable routine. This should be quite close. I would personally give the edge of Aydin.
Jennifer says they were dancing with their hearts open. Derek notes that they improved so much on their qualifying routine. Ne-Yo loved the pictures but he says in one or two moments, they weren’t as in-sync as he wanted them to be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uirddO0do0A
Moving 4Ward
Ne-Yo- 94
Derek- 92
Jennifer- 93
Score- 93
Aydin Eyikan
Ne-Yo- 91
Derek- 91
Jennifer- 89
Score- 90.3
Winner: Moving 4Ward
With Aydin’s score, it eliminates Audrey & Mia as Aydin takes their place in redemption- for now.
In tonight’s next duel, it is (by default) Julian & Charlize versus The Trilogy
Julian feels, as it is his choreography, he needs to step it up. He notes they are battling to win. The Trilogy knows they need to do better with their transitions.
Julian & Charlize
Yikes. That was nasty! In the best sense of the word of course. So many burns to their contemporary opponents. So much grit and determination. So much in your face choreography. One of the better routines we have seen tonight overall.
Jennifer says the musicality was nuts. Derek says Charlize was unbelievable. He says he would rewind and watch that routine again. Ne-Yo calls it duel mentality 101.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BunklIatIK4
The Trilogy
Very pretty. The goal here for them was to improve on those transitions they had during qualifiers and they did that. It was solid. It had some stunning moments, especially the lifts. But it was very contemporary 101 without anything brand new to really get you excited. Their opponents brought the excitement, these guys bring the technical prowess. What do you prefer personally is the question.
Jennifer feels like they were soaring through the performance. She notes the moves looked more effortless this go around. Derek compliments the pictures they create. Ne-Yo feels they will score high technically but for a duel, he feels he needed to see more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxYf9E0PQK8
Julian & Charlize
Ne-Yo- 96
Derek- 94
Jennifer- 96
Score- 95.3
The Trilogy
Ne-Yo- 89
Derek- 91
Jennifer- 90
Score- 90
Winner: Julian & Charlize
Yeah, they killed that and sadly, The Trilogy didn’t earn enough of a score to make redemption. So for now, with one duel left to go, Kayla Mak is definitely in the redemption round.
In the final duel of the evening, the highest scoring junior act, Lauren Yakima has picked House Of Tap
House of tap feel like the underdogs as they are last on the board. They are going to add some hio-hop elements and make sure the sounds of their feet are heard. Lauren is bringing a more aggressive side to the stage.
House Of Tap
Tap is so undervalued on this show. I watched it, knowing it would be fabulous, yet still realizing there is no way the judges would pick them over a beast of a contemporary dancer. That’s unfortunate. They couldn’t have made their case any stronger than they did. Everything about it was on point and true and blue entertainment. Hopefully, if they do indeed lose out, they earn a high enough score to battle in the redemption round.
Derek says they represented tap amazingly. Ne-Yo was a little worried but he says they came out there and worked and made it a real duel. Jennifer didn’t know they had that in them. She says it was a smart strategy to use some hip-hop which pleases the crowd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g6Robwc8_M
Lauren Yakima
I feel like Lauren just went back and watched some of Eva Igo’s best bits and made a routine. No shade though because both are brilliant. But I have to be on the side of the tappers this time. Despite the tricks and athleticism and sheer undeniable brilliance that Lauren brings, my need for something different on this show takes importance. But no denying this girl is one hell of a dancer.
Jennifer says her power and star quality is undeniable. Derek says she is so grounded with no wobbles. He says it all takes incredible skill and control. Ne-Yo says she dances with so much confidence. Jennifer mentions that Lauren shows you just can’t mess with her. She does note though that the dancing was a bit sparse as compared to the jumps and flips.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtzaN42BvKU
Lauren Yakima
Ne-Yo- 97
Derek- 96
Jennifer- 95
Score- 96
House Of Tap
Ne-Yo- 92
Derek- 93
Jennifer- 89
Score- 91.3
Winner: Lauren Yakima
Of course. However, that 91.3 puts House of Tap in redemption. Sadly though, that does eliminate Aydin from the competition. Redemption is officially between House of Tap and Kayla Mak.
-REDEMPTION-
House Of Tap
Really good. Hard piece of music to tap to but they worked it out. The good thing is that it leaned itself to hip-hop so they were able to do a little something in that besides just tapping. Will it be enough to beat…
Kayla Mak
Interesting. She was more solid there than she was during her original duel routine earlier. But this reminded me of what we just saw from Lauren. Brilliant yet same old for me. Again, I would go with House of Tap but the judges are going to be predictable here and of course go with Kayla. I mean, you could see this coming a mile away. Sigh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpUbIF9q7v4
The judges decided by majority vote that the winner of redemption is Kayla Mak
Yup, thought so. Oh well.
So the SIX acts that move on from the juniors are-
Lauren Yakima
Julian & Charlize
Moving 4Ward
Ellie & Ava
Funkanometry
and Kayla Mak
Next week, the last duel episode as the upper teams take the stage. OH, a 100 from Ne-Yo in the preview. Interesting. I hope you guys enjoyed tonight and I’ll see you in a week’s time. :)
