Pure World of Dance Season 1, Week 7 (Cuts) – Power Rankings
Well, it was bound to happen at some point – the judges got it wrong. For the most part, I’ve generally agreed with them on most scoring – but they really screwed the pooch last night when they scored Diana, because they kinda backed themselves into a corner scoring her so high that they had to go even higher with Eva, thereby bumping out The Lab…who I think deserve a spot in the final two far more than Diana. And now we’re stuck with two angsty, flailing contemporary girls, representing (or rather, MISrepresenting) the entire talent pool of the junior division. We lost a fantastic tapper, a fantastic ballroom couple, and a fantastic hip-hop group for this???
The only saving grace for that FUBAR was Misty, who thankfully called out Diana in particular for some technique issues with her feet – I feel like some of the judges (particularly Jennifer) allow themselves to get so carried away in the emotion of a routine that they tend not to notice when the choreo or execution is a bit lacking…so I’m glad Misty didn’t seem to have rose-colored glasses on when she basically told Diana “Girl, work on your footwork.”
So because last night was a bit odd in terms of format (we got through the 5 acts in the junior division, and then only 2/5 team acts…three more to be shown next week), and because I’m absolutely exhausted from work and I feel a migraine brewing, I’m gonna keep it simple and just gonna rank the acts we saw last night purely in terms of my own enjoyment. This is irrespective of whether or not they advanced to the next round or how they scored – this is just how much I personally liked them (or disliked them). I’m hoping they get granted a 2-hour time slot next season, so they have a bit more time to work in all of these acts and don’t have to do some questionable scheduling to make everything fit 🙂
Predictions headed into next week? I think Swing Latino stands a good shot of making it through the cuts to the next round, but I think Super Cr3w is probably screwed, along with Ian Eastwood and the Young Lions and Chapkis Dance Family; Kinjaz seem to stand a good chance of making it through, barring any major snafus. I’m not even sure I want to think about the upper division – I’m guessing one of the spots is has already been reserved for Les Merde Twins, and the other seems like a toss-up between Fik-Shun and Keone & Mari; my ideal scenario would be Les Twins getting shut out completely in favor of Fik-Shun and Luka & Jenalyn advancing, just to add some variety to the next round…
1.) Swing Latino – You’ll see there’s a pattern among most of my high-ranking couples tonight: they all managed to somehow bring something different to the table than we’ve seen before, while still staying true to their style – and I think that’s a hallmark of a truly good dancer: being able to make every dance feel fresh, new, and exciting, even if it’s the same style each time. And unlike Derek, I was actually glad Swing Latino ditched the sparkly costumes – this felt more like a fun, West Side Story-inspired dance in the high school gym than the competition feel the sparkles gave them. And they brought more stunts we’ve never seen – loved how they were launching themselves over people and landing in crazy tricks. I also loved how the stopped on a dime, with everyone suddenly striking a pose.
2.) The Lab – Gone too soon, kids 🙁 They delivered a third, fresh routine, with insane synchronicity, high energy, and really athletic stunts…and it still wasn’t enough. I’m not sure what else the judges were looking for here, but a score of 86 was downright criminal – these kids are more coordinated and are better showman than most of the adult crews in this competition.
3.) Super Cr3w – I appreciate what they did – they probably went further out of their comfort zone than anyone last night, and I think it was worth it. Loved how they seemed to combine a b-boy vocabulary with a contemporary one, and still managed to work in some of the insane athleticism they’re known for – loved the sustained freezes they did in pairs, in particular. You have to have incredible core and upper body strength to maintain those poses. But when you boil it all down, I agree with Misty that it may not have been the most cohesive routine – there were just a few too many moving parts all going on at the same time, and that seems to be a problem Super Cr3w has had across the board, unfortunately. I doubt they’re going to make it through the cut, especially with a pretty middle-of-the-road score.
4.) Eva Igo – I will give Eva a bit of credit for at least trying to do some new strength moves, which did end up being kind of cool; but like Diana, this was basically the same as her qualifier and duel routines, just with slightly different staging and costuming each time. I will say that Eva is the better technician, though – so for that reason alone, I think she earned her spot in the final two of her division.
5.) Mihacevich Sisters – Better than the angsty flailing of last week, but still a bit of a ho-hum routine in the grand scheme of things – but I did appreciate that they seemed to return to their more “traditional” contemporary roots and weren’t contorting and flailing like Diana & Eva. Contrary to belief, it actually is possible to do a contemporary routine that’s rooted in happiness instead of angst 😉
6.) Immabeast – Their performance was cut woefully short, but I thought the concept was cute and they were all very expressive. Still think they’re “The Lab, Lite” though.
7.) Diana Pombo – Yes, I’m fully aware that she had the third highest score of the night and is one of the two finalists in the junior category – but her performance was the one last night that I enjoyed the least, and here’s why: it was nearly identical to both her duel and qualifier routines, and I don’t see her showing anything even resembling variety or versatility. Diana has given us basically the same flailing, emotionally overwrought, and flexibility-display-laden routine three times now, just with slightly different packaging each time.
What are your thoughts on last night’s results? Did the judges get it right or wrong?
I loved the Super Crew routine. I agreed with Derek when he said to the other judges, “did we just watch the same routine?”
I really love reading your analysis of the show Courtney. It makes me feel happy. Thank you.
The level of dancing seemed very elevated this episode and having Misty Copeland critique them was enlightening. This is a dancer that was often cast as the athletic, technical dancer rather than the lyrical dancer. She pushed to be cast as the romantic heroines like Giselle. She’s pretty damn incredible and it was a delight to see her on this show.
I’m completely gobsmacked by Swing Latino’s speed, energy and playfulness. When the girl dancer was launched in the air over her fellow dancers, it was joyous and fun. Dance doesn’t have to be angsty and flailing to make an audience feel. It can be joyful and fun too.
On a fashion note, I loved JLo’s ruffled shoulder dress thingy. It was perfect for upper body, dramatic shots. Ms Diva knows what she is doing.
Great analysis! I generally have the same thoughts on the dances. I really hope the Upper division ends up being either fun-shun/keone and Mari and luka and Jenalyn.
As usual, Courtney, you are right on the money! I agree with everything you said, although I hadn’t thought about Swing Latino in the finals. There was too much going on for me!
I hope Luka and Jenalyn make it through the Cuts next week, but I’m not sure the judges love them. I don’t think they really understand their genre.
I loved Misty as a judge too!
Well done, Court!! I loved Misty as a judge too. I hope she comes back next year.
Man, I loved Super Cr3w the most this week. I can’t get enough of that performance.
Watching this episode I started to think I was watch dwts, the most memorable year, there were so many tears. Feeling the music and performing those feelings, like you said, doesn’t always have to be sad. I choose joy, feeling good, and Swing Latino did that for me. I don’t care how good a dancer you are, one can only handle so many dances of “woe is me.”
On another note: Love Misty, I appreciate her art form, but it’s hard for me to sit through an entire ballet, I find them boring.
Kandy, I would recommend a ballet other than the long form classic ballets. Something by Balanchine like Agon or The Four Temperments or Jerome Robbins’ The Concert, which is sort a spoof of ballet cliches and is delightfully kooky and fun.
I’m still peeved about The Lab being eliminated. They were my pick to win the whole thing.
I dearly hope a Contemporary dancers doesn’t win the whole thing. Nothing against that type of dance, but televised competition Contemporary has become so stale, repetitive and uninspired.
I really enjoyed the show. I bought the hype about Eva and I think she delivered big time. She really made an impression on me emotionally and she does have lovely technique. I am glad she captured the #1 spot. I guess I’m a sap but I never tire of really good contemporary.
I love Misty and could watch her dance all day everyday. Her critiques were excellent because they were informative without any snark. But then I’m a ballet geek.
I really love Swing Latino and I hope they do get a finale spot. They are incredible dancers, taking away the flashy costumes focused me more on the flashy footwork. Holy. I would not mind if they win the whole darn thing, if it’s not ballroom, it’s street salsa and I’ll take it!
Super Crew were very strong, I loved this team. It’s only a personal opinion but I thought the emotion was difficult for them to handle in terms of execution. I thought there were a few miscues where syncro is the main aspect of this type of dancing. I actually preferred them last week when they were upbeat and battle ready. For me, although it was a great effort, b-boy dancing doesn’t lend itself as easily to emotion as say lyrical hip hop does.
I just watched Just Jerk on AGT! Man, they were fantastic! I do hope they make it to W of D next season!