World of Dance, By the Numbers – Week 8

Well, the last of the cuts tonight and then it gets even harder.  I’m quite sure, at this point, that my favorite won’t win, but I’m going to try to not let that spoil the show. 🙂

As always, you’ll have to bear with me as my view of the show usually changes over the course of the week and rewatching….

But that didn’t happen with the Kinjaz – they are freakin’ amazing!! I love them. And I want a jacket too. 😉 But I have to say it broke my heart to see the looks on SuperCr3w’s  faces as Kinjaz got their scores. Very sad. Anyway, The Kinjaz end up with a 93.2 with two great scores from Derek and Misty (95 and 96, respectively) and kinda ridiculously low scores from Ne-Yo and Jennifer. I’ll be curious to look closer at the scoring of all four once the season ends.

Chapkis Dance Family has been doomed from the start, unfortunately, due to the need for time. Their routine looks pretty cool up until that last big turn at the end. Of course we don’t actually know if it was at the end because it was so shortened. For that matter, we don’t really know if it made sense because of the editing- there could have been a really strong story there.

Ian Eastwood and the Young Lions are one of my favorites – I love the lyricism, I can’t lie. And I feel like they got the short end of it this week. Ian is the choreographer and the star of the show – I’ve seen some complaining about (or commenting on) the fact that he’s the center. I kinda feel like that’s going to be obvious when YOUR name is in the name of the group. He’s clearly the star and I don’t see why that’s a problem. I don’t recall a rule saying a team has to lack a star, that all members much be created equally. In any case, they need to stop editing these dances, otherwise I have to say that Ne-Yo is full of shit. I wonder if all the contemporary moves that Ian adds is just not Ne-Yo’s bag. Another case of going outside your lane. Misty and Derek again do right by Ian, while Ne-yo’s score is just damn ridiculous.

All that said, of everyone on this show, I feel like Ian Eastwood is the least “in need” of recognition. This kid is going places. You read it here – he’s going to be huge. I think he is the next big choreographer. On top of that, he’s a gorgeous kid – all the girls are going to go insane for him, if they aren’t already.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts popping up all over the place. Star power.  That’s the great thing about this show, despite all of it’s faults – Internet sensations can go mainstream.

Luka and Jenalyn – my opinion from the first time hasn’t changed. I feel like this was their best routine thus far. It’s hard to remember how young these two are – ballroom dancers always seem older than they are, but the reality is that Jenalyn is only 16 while Luka is 20.  One of the biggest issues they still have is their connections (which is why I think Derek was hard on them) – and I think that can be almost directly attributed to their age – and the age difference between them. When you’re in your 30’s four years isn’t that much. But when one is 16 and one is 20, four years is a long time. Combine the connection issue with the need some have to see MORE dancing and you’re going to score low. I think they’re on their way up, however.  I used to want to see more dancing, but I’ve come to appreciate them for what they do. They do it very well.  Oddly, Ne-Yo is the high scorer while the other three all hand out 80. Jennifer claims this is their best yet, yet it’s the lowest score she’s given them. Huh. She gave them an 89 in the first round.

Fik-shun – I’ve always had a soft spot for him since SYTYCD. That said, he’s not in my top five in this particular setting. Still love him though and still think that Ne-Yo is full of crap. I loved the use of the umbrella.  I wonder if it’s too soft for him. I feel like I’m starting to see a pattern where Ne-Yo favors the “hard core” dancing but doesn’t appreciate anything that can be seen as too soft or lyrical.  Not his bag? In any case he’s not the low scorer this time around, Misty is, despite “disagreeing” with Ne-Yo’s comments. Derek and Jennifer are high scorers and Fik-Shun ends up with an 84.2 which seems criminal to me.

Pasion – didn’t get to see nearly enough. Like Chapkis Dance Family we have no way to judge if this was a really good routine that was underscored or a really bad one. It started out in an interesting way, but I have no idea if it played out well. They end up with a 78.8 – I suppose it doesn’t matter because there is no way they were going to beat other teams in that group at this point.

As for Les Twins? Of course they were good. Great even. But I don’t feel like I’m seeing much new from them and I don’t think they are the best in the competition – but they are certainly being portrayed that way and the judges are all over them. I don’t get it. I don’t get how they are better than Kinjaz, Keoni/Mari, SuperCr3w, The Lab or Fik-Shun. They just aren’t. I don’t get it.  I’ve gotten to like them as people a bit better having seen some of the backstage stuff – they do have a sort of charm.  But best on this show? Nope. Yet, they get much drooling from the judges and score a 93.5. But when you take Misty out of the equation, their score isn’t markedly higher than the other top acts on the show. In fact, if not for Misty’s ridiculous score, our final act of the night would be in a solid first place.

And that is Keone and Mari. I think these two might be my absolute favorite in the competition. I think seeing them in the early promo for this show got me excited enough that I would have watched even if Derek wasn’t a judge. 🙂 By the way, Mari wrote a beautiful blog this past week about their struggles – which is what their dance is based on. I kinda feel like Derek – they seem perfect. 🙂 Anyway, by the time this dance is over I’m standing and clapping like Derek was. 🙂  Keone and Mari end with a 93.2, which is 0.3 points lower than Les Twins. Derek and Ne-Yo scored them higher than Les Twins, while Jennifer and Misty were lower, only two points in Jennifer’s case and a mind-boggling 4 points in Misty’s case.

Here’s where we ended the night and the Cuts. The acts shaded in blue are heading to the Division finals:

Looking at the table above, do you suppose it’s a coincidence that the person/team I’m expecting to win each division currently have the high score of their division??  Hard to say. I’ll do some more in depth look at the scoring once the season is over.  But who’s on the rise and who’s kinda flattening out in terms of average?

Take note – Les Twins started out very, very high and haven’t been able to match that height since their first dance. While they increased their score a bit from their last dance, they are still well below their first week.  Keone and Mari also lost a few tenths of a point between their first dance and their second, but it was so negligible that I call them on the rise.

On the other hand, everyone else has been consistently getting a better score.  Will this end up meaning anything or is the obvious team going to win the whole thing?  If this show took all these factors into consideration, Les Twins might actually be in trouble. But I suspect this won’t be an issue.

What do you all think?