Well, if case you were wondering, and even if you weren’t, I got spring fever this week and was outside too much to blog. 🙂 I’m going to have to refresh my memory on the Junior Division Cut Survivors so I can pick my favorites. We’ll discuss who got robbed later. The standings going into the Divisional Finals are:
Ellie & Ava with 95.3
Kayla Mak with 93.7
Julian & Charlize with 93
I don’t think this Division is as clear cut as some of the others may be. Ellie & Ava have been pretty strong all along.
This dance was really, really good – hard core. But what got me most was the shots of granddad in the audience afterward. Does that count? 🙂
Kayla Mak up next…
Absolutely Kayla’s best dance so far, and you know why?? Because I actually saw the ballet this time. Previously, I thought she was just another contemporary dancer wearing ballet shoes. Not this time. And I LIKE that. It’s different.
And that brings us to Julian and Charlize…
This is also my favorite dance of theirs!! Dang, that was really good, and I think Jennifer gave them good advice. I have no clue who to vote for. I think the Juniors are over all a weaker division than some of the others, but they’re still fantastic. Hmmm….
I have to go with Julian & Charlize, with a close second of Kayla Mak, and an equally close third of Ellie & Ava
This one is tougher. While I think Julian and Charlize won the week, I’m not so sure they should win the division based on their body of work. I think it could go to any of the three…who do you pick??
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
Well, what do you think? I think, based on the way the show was cut the other night, that there is at least one group that has no shot in the divisional final – and that makes me sad. This seems like a clear cut race between the top two groups, unless WOD is playing some games. Let’s review the dances and then you can pick who you think is going to win the division.
The Heima – 97.7 and the top spot of the night. Rightfully so, although I love all three teams quite a bit. I think this routine was genius, using their hands as masks instead of the usual masks, showing that they’re going to reveal themselves to the audience…and some of the moves!! That rocker move? The transition to slow motion in the middle?? Genius.
The Kings, also with a 97.7. Seriously, a transformer?? That was KILLER. I saw a few people on twitter saying this routine wasn’t really dance (and that it would have been better on AGT) – dance is highly subjective, and if a world class dancer like Derek says it’s dance, it’s dance. 🙂 And it was amazing.
Unity LA – 93.3. The video below is the entire dance uncut – which makes a HUGE difference. I was almost at the point of thinking that Radiance should have gotten through over them, in spite of Unity LA being one of my favorites since day one. No more, upon seeing the full dance! I’ve been talking about this issue for three seasons now (and I notice that others are *finally* on the same band wagon), and I have to give WoD props for getting a two hour show which allowed them to greatly reduce the number of dances they cut for time. They do a huge disservice to a group like Unity, who have been nothing short of fantastic all season long. Hell, they do a disservice to everyone who makes the show – after all, the vast majority are fantastic going in. This particular cut is a mystery to me. Typically, they cut dances where the dancer/team of dancers don’t make it through to the next round. That’s somewhat fair (although unlikely to garner any Emmy nominations for the show from an academy where dancers and choreographers are doing the voting). But this one I don’t understand. Are they implying that Unity just doesn’t stand a chance against the other two teams and therefore just cut them?? Why not cut one of the eliminated teams? This is nonsensical – it’s like they’re giving away the ending ahead of time. I guess we’ll see from the voting if that matters or not. Maybe The Heima and The Kings are just that far ahead.
So, what do you think?? Who had the best Dance of Week 9?
Who should win the division based on their body of work??
Also, what do you think of the decision to edit down Unity LA’s performance?? Was it total crap?? And what does it mean??
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
Okay, so we’ve discussed the winners of the Junior Team Division and the Upper Division, and voted who we think the real winner is, but who got eliminated last Sunday that just…shouldn’t have been eliminated?? To refresh your memory, these are the teams that didn’t make The Cut:
Upper Division
All Ready
D’Angelo Brothers
Jonathan y Jorge
I loved all three teams that were eliminated from the Upper Division, but honestly, All Ready were most intriguing to me. Love their latin vibe combined with some hip hop.
The problem is, I also really love tap. :::sigh:::
Dang. The thing that bugs me, even though I loved the three teams that won, is that there is serious training and skill that goes into ballroom and Tap. I kinda feel like, sometimes, these styles don’t get the credit they deserve. I get that contemporary and popping are also difficult, to a degree, but they seem to get preferential treatment on this show – even from Derek, at times, because as an award winning latin dancer, he’s got a tendency to be tougher on the latin dancers. And he’s a tapper too. For that matter, he does killer contemporary…so why does he seem to favor it? Because it gives him all the feels like it does JLo?? 🙂 Anyway, Jonathan y Jorge are up next.
Everything I said, above? Holds true here as well. Ah well. I think I’m voting for All Ready as “robbed” from the Upper Division – I think I could replace anyone from the top three except Derion and Madison. How about you?
Junior Team Division
Elektro Crew
Get Down District
JDC
Hmm…at first glance, I don’t think any of these three were robbed. Let’s rewatch their dances. Elektro Crew – I really like them, but I can’t point to any of the three winners (Dancetown Divas, Crazy 8s, VPeepz) and say that Elektro Crew should be there instead. That is, after all, the definition of being robbed, in this case.
Get Down District – note here that WoD lists this as a “full performance” when it’s clearly not.
They were fun, but I think they need more seasoning. Next up, JDC…
Again, not a full routine although it is labeled as such. WoD is doing much better this year, in this respect, but they’re never going to get Emmy Awards if they keep chopping dances up. Anyway, what we see of this routine appears to be at a lower level than the three winners. They should all try again next year after they find better choreography and practice like crazy.
So, was anyone from the Junior Team Division robbed?? I don’t think so, but what do you think??
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
The Heima are a stand out group in the Upper Team Division. Breaking fusion is their style and they’ve won international competitions. They are from Seoul, South Korea and range in age from 21 to 28 years old. Let’s look at some of their WoD performances. Here’s their performance from the Qualifiers.
What I love about these guys is they are so smooth and melodic – graceful. I really appreciate that flow that they have to their routine. All that and some great B-boy moves. And seriously…the ending of this routine is just killer. Love the masks too. Next is their duel…
This was another beautiful routine. And some of their tricks were just amazing. Who were the Heima before WoD?? Here’s a routine from 2017 at a competition…I can’t believe they only got third place!! Beautiful.
And this is just cool as hell. 🙂
If you want to know more about The Heima, you can hit up their facebook page or any of their social media that I’ve listed below. You know, that’s one of the great things about World of Dance…it introduces many of us to groups and performers that we might never have seen otherwise.
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
Whew!! Busy week. I haven’t had a chance to think about the winners of this past week. I thought about those who lost and if any of them got robbed. 🙂 Since it’s been several days, let’s take a look at who won their duels:
Now, just looking at that table, I have to say my favorite are Unity LA…followed by The Kings. Personally, I think the only reason that Unity LA are lower than the Kings is because JLo had some weird beef with their song selection. That was just…weird. Anyway, let’s take another look at the dances. First up, the redemption winner, Exiles – first their duel performance, followed by the redemption round.
Exiles come in at 0.56
Going from lowest score to highest, next we have Fuego Dance Crew. Love how this one started out with the very cool, gravity defying move.
Radiance…they’re the shared video of the week meaning that their video is paired with their competition, Main Guys. I loved this routine for its prowling, stalking feel. Excellent.
Up next, the Heima – B-boys who seem to have it going on, but they’re not actually in my top three for this group, I don’t think.
Okay, changed my mind. I think I actually like them better than the Kings. Kinda funny what happens when you rewatch the dances after the first time.
Next up…my favorites, Unity LA.
It’s funny, because they’re listed as contemporary, but they’re so much more interesting than your average contemporary dancer these days. So much, going on, so layered and complicated – I love it. And how much do I love Zack Everheart?? Very, very much. Have I mentioned he started out as a tapper on SYTYCD??? 😉
And the dance of the night (for the judges anyway)….The Kings. I totally get the complaint that some had about it seeming like an elite cheerleading squat…but we call professional cheerleaders who show up on DWTS ringers for a reason. 🙂 These guys are quite awesome.
So, you have a pretty good idea of my top three….who are your top three. Vote below.
I ended up going with Radiance, Unity LA and the Heima, with Kings nearly tied with them. Who did you vote for??
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
Love, love, love Unity LA!! They made it to the Cut on Sunday night and two of their members have been my favorites since they toured with Derek and Julianne Hough a couple years ago. Zack and Ashley, that is – the two focal points for the group. This group is also choreographed by Tessandra Chavez who also does a lot of work for Derek, and won an Emmy with Derek and Julianne…two years ago?? Fairly recently.
Anyway, Zack started out as a tapper on So You Think You Can Dance back in 2015…
Then, as all good dancers do, the morphed into a man of many styles, including contemporary dancer…a really good one. He toured with Derek and Julianne Hough in 2017, along with Ashley
Zack and Ashley apparently teamed up after that to go after the WoD Crown. Zack and Ashley on last season of WoD:
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
The only team that didn’t make it that I wanted to make it was Suidy Flamenco…I want some ballroom-adjacent acts to go far!! As for the show as a whole, I see people on twitter complaining that they show behind the scenes stuff and then in the next tweet someone commenting that they love the behind the scenes stuff. Count me in group two. Not only is Derek routinely hilarious, but those behind the scenes bits humanize JLo to a huge degree. It makes me LIKE her, where if all I saw was her judging, I don’t know that I would. I love the guys relationship – just fun. And I would be very happy with Derek attempting a dance move at least once per episode. 🙂
Anyway, let’s refresh ourselves on the winners and losers from Sunday night’s duels:
As I said, I prefer Suidy Flamenco in the first duel…Fuego Dance Crew is not a group I remember today, the day after seeing them perform. Suidy Flamendo, on the other hand…
While the non-Flamenco parts were a bit basic, the skilled required to do flamenco should count for something, IMO.
Next, we have Unity LA versus Style and Grace. Style and Grace just had the misforture of being picked by this powerhouse group, headed by Zack and Ashley from last season and choreographed by Emmy winner Tessandra Chavez. Who did Tessandra win one of her Emmys with? Derek and Julianne Hough. Zach and Ashley also traveled with Derek and Julianne on tour. And that is because they, and the rest of their team, are just first rate dancers. Style And Grace just couldn’t compete with that. They are very good, but they’re just outclassed. They had a few little moments that were a tiny bit sloppy.
Next up, the Exiles take on The Heima…this is another David versus goliath story, I think. I want to root for Exiles because they seem like ordinary dudes with families – much more appealing than a large, professional group, but what are you going to do. I thought this was a pretty damn good routine – competitive. And, luckily, they are made and won redemption. But I’ll show their video anyway. 🙂
Radiance takes on Main Guys next, and win. This matchup only got a single video which shows both dances. Radiance is up first, Main Guys start at about 1:30. Main Guys were excellent, but they had a rough finish on one of their tricks, and I think Radiance being all dressed the same gives their Sync a bigger impact. They were just cleaner with more people.
Final duel of the night was Motiv Crew against, literally, The Kings. You had to know how this one was going to go even before it got started. Here’s Motiv Crew’s performance:
Another David versus Goliath moment that Motiv Crew had little chance of winning. They just seem too immature in their dance compared to The Kings. They may well have fared better against someone else.
When I started this post, I was inclined to say that Suidy Flamenco was robbed – but I no longer think that. I really wanted the Flamenco girls to go to the next round, but Main Guys were really good and probably should have moved on – but the problem is, everyone who made it through SHOULD HAVE made it through. So, can you say that anyone was really robbed when that happens, or just unlucky? I think unlucky. 🙂 So, once again, I’m going with no one was robbed. How about you??
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
I think there is a fairly clear winner of this Division so far. Let’s refresh our memories and we’ll see if I hold to my same opinion as we rewatch the dancers who made it through to the Cut. First, here our the duel winners for this division:
Juniors – Advancing to the Cut
Ellie & Ava
91.7
Funkenometry
91.7
Moving Forward
90.3
Julian and Charlize
95.3
Lauren Yakima
96
Kayla Mak
Redemption
Kayla Mak was our redemption winner. Very good dancer, but too close to Lauren Yakima (who got a 96!!) to likely survive much longer. But I think she was the rightful redemption winner as much as I love me some tap.
Yeah, there’s no way that Kayla wasn’t going to win this particular match up. I did love House of Tap’s first number of the night, though. After Kayla, Moving Forward is the low scorer of those moving forward to the next round.
I really loved these guys. What they’re going to have to do is clean up their sync some. That’s the advantage that Kayla and Lauren have – they don’t have to worry about being in sync with anyone else. But this is also what makes a group like Moving Forward so visually appealing. Loved it.
Next up is a tie between Ellie & Ava and Funkenometry with 91.7 – not that this score matters any longer. First, Ellie & Eva:
They are obviously excellent dancers. But I find them falling into the same stuff that other contemporary dancers do – the emotion seems forced or put on to me. I appreciate much more a group like Moving 4ward who don’t try to force it and let the dancing speak. I’ve seen too many dancers actually crying when a routine is over to buy the faux emotion in your average contemporary routine.
I can’t actually find Funkenometry’s duel! What’s up with that?? So we’ll move on to Julian and Charlize…
I actually thought these two needed to tighten up when they first got started. Charlize seemed to be lagging a bit behind Julian. But by 1/3 of the way in, they were on fire. I think the burns gave them life – and those were some pretty funny burns, I must say. 🙂
And that brings us to Lauren Yakima. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I’m not a big contemporary fan. It has to be REALLY well done. Like Travis Wall (or Derek Hough) or Allison Holker well done. Or Lauren Yakima well done. 🙂
Why do I like Lauren?? Well, she doesn’t seem to default to weepy emotion. She’s strong, confident and tough…or at least, that’s how she dances. She just kills this routine…and she may just kill the whole competition. 🙂 I keep thinking Game of Thrones when I watch her dance. 🙂 P.S. JLo is full of CRAP. She is one of the reasons that contemporary seems fake weepy 90% of the time. There is NO reason why Lauren’s way can’t be THE way.
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
I didn’t have too much trouble with the duels this week. I’m still seeing a lot of commentary about the behavior between the dancers, although I think there was improvement last night. I also saw a lot of love between the competitors. And on top of that I saw an article about the behavior that used Derek’s “stepping in” as proof that it’s going too far. Come on. I think anyone who knows Derek could see that his “stepping in” between groups throwing shade was all in fun. It’s not like any of these dancers were Ryan Locte protesters that Derek threatened to throw out of the DWTS ballroom. Let’s not get carried away.
Don’t get me wrong, there is certainly the possibility that some of these folks could go too far in their shade – but I haven’t seen that yet. And I see most of it as a way to hype themselves up to compete at the highest level.
So, did you agree with the judges or did someone get seriously robbed of their rightful spot in The Cut?? Here’s a reminder of the losers (and the Winners): Read more..
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
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