Pure World of Dance Season 1, Week 4 (Duels) – Power Rankings

NOTE: Once again, apologize for the lateness – although I’m afraid this might become a regular thing for the time being.  With one team member at work on maternity leave, and the other more inclined to whittle fidget spinners out of wood (true story) than actually help me with the work load, my days at the office are…hectic.

So the first round of duels was both interesting and a bit refreshing. While I will reserve judgment on how much the contestants may have been influenced by the powers that be when picking their duel opponents, I felt like the pairings were fair for the most part, and I commend all of the competitors for being really good sports and having a lot of respect for their opponents. I also found myself agreeing with the outcome of each of these duels – I don’t think the judges got any of it wrong. Will that continue to be the pattern? Guess we’ll see.

The love affair with contemporary dancers continues, but the fact that they didn’t seem to have qualms letting Nick go (while gushing over Eva) makes me wonder if the judges might be realizing that “there can be only one” in the finals and it’s probably gonna be Eva. I actually really liked how Jenna got more heavily featured in the duel rounds – we actually got to see her in her element as a dancer, actually working with the contestants a bit, rather than just providing moral support (albeit very adorable emotional support 🙂 ) to their families backstage, like she did in the qualifier round.

So what’s on the agenda next week? Looks like the featured “duel” is Kyle Van Newkirk vs. Les Twins – a pairing that I don’t necessarily think is fair on paper, but given that they seem to be touting some “big shock” and a “David & Goliath” storyline…my guess is that Kyle ends up beating them 🙂 I feel like I saw a promo that showed more of the duel pairings, but for the life of me I cannot recall where – but it looks like D’Angelo & Amanda, Super Cr3w, The Posse, Diana Pombo, & Pasion are on the roster. I’m rooting for D’Angelo & Amanda to make it through, but it looks like they’re either gonna have to beat Diana or The Posse – both contemporary darlings much adored by the judges. Then again, I don’t know that there’s really another decent ballroom act in the junior division, so I wonder if the judges might be inclined to keep them for variety’s sake…

The duel winners:

1.) Eva Igo – And the Eva Igo gushing continues, which makes me wonder if she’s the front-runner for the spot in the finals for the junior division.  Here’s what I have to say about Eva (and some of it may be an unpopular opinion): she’s a fantastic athlete with great dance technique, but I feel very little in the way of emotion from her on the floor, and I think she’s unfortunately going to fall into the trap of being a bit one-note. Her routine this week didn’t seem much different than last week – same costuming, same general “feel”, same over-reliance on displays of flexibility.  She is a good showman, but I need to see some range & variety before I really start to believe she deserves the million dollar prize.

2.) Fik-Shun – Thank the lord for Fik-Shun, for actually showing us he’s not a one-trick pony and giving us variety this week! I loved how he transitioned from the vulnerability and emotional angst of his qualifier routine to a more upbeat, “swaggy” routine that showed off where he really shines: just freestyling and playing with different steps.  His dancing is just so INTERESTING to me – he always seems to find new, clever ways to move his body, and I agree with Jennifer that his musicality really is unparalleled in this competition.  He really “dissects” the music with his steps. Probably one of the big contenders for the finale spot in the upper division.

3.) Keone & Mari – Probably the strongest routine of the night, choreographically-speaking, and I agree with Tabitha & Napoleon that it’s possible Emmy nom material come next summer. Loved that, like Fik-Shun, they really showed us another side this week – I can see that they’re going to be an act that I’m not going to get bored with, because they know how to change things up from week to week.  My only concern is that, while their routine and choreography are brilliant, I don’t know that it’s as “zingy” as a lot of the other acts – I think the simple genius of their steps may get lost on the general audience, and thus they may get cast aside by the judges in favor of a more mainstream-popular act like Jabbawockeez.

4.) Swing Latino – I love Swing Latino – really, I do. But I’m afraid I felt a bit let-down by them this week, because I don’t feel like they showed us much in the way of variety or range in their dancing.  This just felt like a continuation of their qualifier routine – as if last week’s episode was “To Be Continued…” and this routine just picked up right where the last one left off.  Same type of music, same costuming, same stunts (although the stunts they do are really unique and daring). I realize that Columbian salsa is what they do, but I really want to see them take it in a bit different direction – maybe do something with slower music? Something a bit edgier? At the very least, change the costumes up a bit? I think as we advance in this season, it’s going to become a lot more important to show well-roundedness in your dancing – and while they impress the hell outta me with what they do, I think it will grow old if they continue on this same trajectory.

 

The duel losers:

1.) Quickstyle – I just love how CLEAN they are, and how they dance as if it’s no big deal – nothing looks hard for them, and they look like they’re just having fun grooving up there. I think they probably would have beaten Keone &  Mari if the latter had not come out and done such a unique, choreographically-unique piece, as they seemed a bit more capable of handling very intricate, complex choreography.  I was glad to hear them say they would love to return next season, because they’re definitely a group I think could really hone their skills and become big contenders next time.

2.) Kyntay – Gah, these two girls are adorable, and I just love their attitudes – they were still optimistic about possibly beating Eva in the duel round, even though they thought she was “basically perfect”. And I actually really loved their stage presence, too – just FEARLESS. They came out and served attitude, and they weren’t afraid to not look “pretty” or “graceful” – I actually really love when girls come out and break the mold society has made for female dancers, and aren’t afraid to get a bit grimy. Another act I would love to see back next year, when they’ve had a bit more time to hone their skills.

3.) Miami All-Stars – Say what you will about their mediocre performance in the qualifying round – I actually thought their duel performance was a VAST improvement, and unlike Swing Latino, they actually showed us something different than their qualifier performance.  They were a lot more in sync this time, and seemed quite a bit more energetic – they also seemed to work with the stage a bit better, as if they actually sat down and said “Ok, how can we fit what we do to this smaller platform?” The whole thing felt like something out of West Side Story.  I dug it, and I think they left on a high note.

4.) Nick Daniels – Not gonna lie – I was not disappointed to see Nick go. Like Eva, I think he fell into the trap this week of not really showing much in the way of variety, but unlike Eva, I don’t think his stage presence is terribly strong and his dancing can come across a bit limp & emotionless, even if he’s doing very athletic, high-intensity moves (and like Eva, he seems to rely a bit too heavily on those moves). He’s a dancer that I think really needs the “Allison Holker treatment” – just needs to go live life a bit, maybe get their ass kicked a bit and get a bit more of an edge and a connection to his emotions.

 

The duels themselves, ranked:

1.) Quickstyle vs. Keone & Mari – Probably the most evenly-matched duel, in terms of skill, and the fact that they were all friends from way back just added an air of mutual respect and love to the duel that I really appreciated. I honestly wasn’t 100% sure who was going to win it – so it was exciting to watch.

2.) Swing Latino vs. Miami All-Stars – This one actually ended up being much closer than I thought it would be –  with Miami All-Stars improving quite a bit from their qualifying performance and also pulling out a routine to a different style to show their range, while Swing Latino basically just did a remix of their qualifier routine and had a few messy areas, I was pleased that it was a bit more of a horse race and not just Swing Latino mowing right over the All-Stars.

3.) Fik-Shun vs. Nick Daniels – I applaud Fik-Shun for having the cojones to pick someone that, on paper, probably should have beat him handily – and then went on to actually beat him 🙂 One of the more unexpected pairings, but a good one; just wish that Nick had showed up to play like Fik-Shun had.

4.) Eva Igo vs. Kyntay – Sorry, but I’m not gonna sit here and pretend like I didn’t know from the jump who was gonna win this one – not really a fair fight, if you ask me, but it is what it is. I would have preferred to see Eva take on someone whose skill set more closely mirrored her own – I think a duel between her and Diana Pombo would have  been far more interesting to watch. Not sure if she was told who to pick, but if she really did pick Kyntay on her own volition – bit of a cop-out, in my opinion.

So do you agree with the outcome of the duels? Who were your favorites? Which acts do you think are shaping up to be the frontrunners this season?