World of Dance Season 2! WEEK 9 Live Blog!! THE DUELS

Looking forward to what tonight’s duels will bring. They sure are bragging on it on the internets. 🙂

Looking forward to seeing these guys!!

And…

Here we go, folks!!

OMG, the judges are wearing the same outfits as last week!!! LOL…just kidding.

First up, The Lab picks Lil Killaz Crew – I think they did this last year. Picked someone way down the leader board – ten points down.

You may remember from last season that The Lab is one of my very favorite groups…one of my favorite contestants, period.

Good outfits on the Lab – intimidating. They’re up first.

Amazing start. the height. The sync. The detail. Musicality. They have it all. They will be incredibly hard to beat. EXCELLENT!!

JLo says it’s probably the best group routine she’s seen, adult or Junior – I agree. Derek loves the spins, halos – he jumped out of his seat. Ne-Yo wants to learn how to pause in mid-air. All three rave and Ne-yo notes how effective the costumes are.

Lil Killaz Crew up next, all in shades of blue (LOL). they start with a head spin. Very cute kids but they don’t look as goos after The Lab. Not as clean or basin sync. Still excellent though. I think there’s too much going on here.

The Lab is hard core – no clapping, no smiling, no nothin’. JLo making a fuss over the kid spinning on his wrist. She says they did the best they could do. Derek says he’s afraid to see them in a few years – not a good sign. But he’s very complimentary. Ne-Yo says they are good but a little chaotic, and they need to clean up the pictures a bit.

Scores for The Lab: 95, 95, 95 for an average of 95.

Scores for Lil Killaz Crew: 84, 87, 86 for an average of 85.7. The lab rightfully moves on to the next round.

Next up Alisa and Joseph take on Electrobotz. I think Alisa and Joseph were a bit of a Keone and Mari rip off – way too similar. Agree with Ne-Yo and Derek on the need to step it up. Loved the Electrobotz – very emotional, as Derek and Ne-Yo say.

First up, Alisa and Joseph. Again I wonder if Keone and Mari do their choreo. Not in a bad way. 🙂 Hmmm…not much more to say about that – it was very good, I enjoyed it. I just don’t know if it’s competitive.

Derek loved the storytelling, was lost in the performance. Not super high energy. Ne-Yo talks again about how competitive it may or may not be. Says he loved it though. Jennifer also wonders if it will hold up against Electro Boyz.

Now for Electrobotz…Derek says they came to duel. And Commercial. Okay, Think they are more interesting and inventive, but they really needed to do more cleaning on that. That said, neither routine is going to go all the way.

Jennifer says they were evenly matched, both could have pushed the chore better. Derek agrees, says nothing really stood out as “that’s the winner”. Ne-Yo loved the creativity but said they weren’t as clean as they could be. I agree with all the judges.

Scores for Alisa and Joseph: 88, 87, 88 for an average of 87.7

Scores for Elektrobotz: 85, 85, 91 for an average of 87….JUST missing out on moving forward. What’s up with Derek going high there? I do think they were better, but not that much better.

Judges talking about them needing more complex choreo.

Great camaraderie back stage. Up next is Desi Hoppers against Opus Dance Collective. Jlo says Desi were one of her standouts from the qualifiers….for me too. I automatically go with Desi Hoppers since I’m not big on standard contemporary.

Jenna points out this is studio versus street. I vote street in this case. 🙂

First up, Opus Dance Collective. they lost some sync there, and I’m not sure it was tough enough.

Jennifer liked it, liked how they moved around the stage. Derek says that their big moments kinda stopped before getting all the way to the big moment. Ne-Yo questions what he was supposed to feel. I agree.

Next, Desi Hoppers. These guys are starting off in an interesting position, and we go to commercial. :::rolls eyes::: Okay….And in two seconds they are my favorite. Just so amazing. Keeps the Indian influence, great sync, complicated choreo. Just excellent. Excellent.

Jennifer loved from the beginning that they have their own personality in keeping with their culture. And how they run the gamut of emotions. the butt scratch. Derek loves the personality, the transition, the traditional Indian. Great combination. Ne-Yo says they are unique, their moves are their own.

Scores for Opus Dance Collective: 80, 85, 85 for an average of 83.3

Scores for Desi Hoppers: 90, 90, 91 for an average of 90.3 so they will be moving on. And rightly so. I actually think the judges were a bit on the low side.

Next up? Sean and Kaycee versus 3 Xtreme. Jlo calls Sean and Kaycee prodigies. Don’t know if I agree, but they are fantastic. Ne-Yo reminds them that this is the Olympics of dance. Got to be competitive.

Yet again, Jenna giving both teams good advice!

First up, 3 Xtreme. This routine is pretty tight, I must say. Lots of interesting elements. Lots of duel behavior there at the end. Judges love it.

Jennifer says Xtreme wasn’t as clean as it could be. Ne-Yo enjoyed it, but said there were one or two parts where they got a little messy. Derek says they’re mean. 🙂 Great entertainment value, so fun. Agrees with the messy parts.

Sean and Kaycee…wow. Those are some fast feet. good mix of fast and slow, and some crazy flexibility. They’re also a bit messy in spots, some of their transitions could be a little better.

Ne-Yo loved it, Jennifer asked if Sean choreoed (he did), Ne-Yo misses the emotional connection to which Jennifer objects loudly. Derek says she’s “Jenny from the block”. Derek loved the backbend, says it was sick. Calls Sean a prodigy, says to frame the musicality with some other elements. Ne-Yo and Derek need to stand up to Jennifer.

Scores for 3 Xtreme are: 86, 87, 88 for an average of 87

Scores for Sean and Kaycee 95, 93, 92 for an average of 93.3 and they’re moving on to the next round.

Derek singing about duels. LOL. Next up, Royal Flux versus Lock N LOL….this one could be tough, but I root for Royal Flux. Wasn’t Lock and LOL one of our groups who didn’t get a package??

First up: Royal Flux. Nice geometric moves. Nice lifts. There’s a lot going on in the middle. but then they head into nice synchronized movement. I like the changes from slow to fast to slow. I really liked that routine. Very nice.

Jennifer loved that it feels like life. “You have not broke me”. Really well executed. Derek says they’re pure class and innovative and creative. Creativity as a unit. Beautifully well done. Ne-Yo not impressed at first but loved it when they started dancing in unison.

Next…Lock N LOL. Great song. Wow. Great formations, great sync. Lose it a bit with the fans, as Jenna predicted. This was just excellent. I think they’re going to take it.

Jennifer talks about great pictures, a great finish. She loved it. Derek gives them a standing ovation. What he loved about it is that he put a different intention on their locking – it was refreshing and exciting. Ne-Yo says this is a perfect example of elevated locking. He loved the head move, as did I.

Scores for Royal Flux: 86, 89, 90 for an average of 88.3.

Scores for Lock N LoL: 89, 89, 90 for an average of 89.3 – they win by one point. Wow. Very close. Sad for Royal Flux. Jennifer visibly sad.

Next up is Marinspired versus Dragon House. Oh boy. Another tough one. Ne-yo comments that Dragon House under delivered last time – I would agree. I’ve seen their members on SYTYCD. Marinspired is inspired when they say that if they don’t bring the emotion it’s two guys doing yoga moves. 🙂 They’re going to honor a dancer who was a shooting victim – very emotional.

First – Marinspired. Reading the paper…in shock. Graet leap. Wow. Great unison section. Nice hand stand, tumbling section. I loved it. Very nice.

Derek says they’re beautiful storytellers, very compelling. He thinks some of the lifts were anti-climatic, but over all they had a great routine, well done. Ne-Yo says it’s difficult because it’s so abstract. Says some of it is too pedestrian. Jennifer loves the pedestrian. Of course she does. She’s too easy on the contemporary. Marinspired tell the story of their dancer friend.

Next, Dragon House. Already I can tell they’ve been working. Crazy arm stuff. Even Marinspired is digging it. Very good animation. Very well done routine.

Ne-Yo says he thinks their holding back – I disagree with him this time. I think they did great. Derek says their musicality is incredible. He thought there should be more dynamic in the routine, loved the reverse. Jennifer loved the strength, says they need to come together as one.

Scores for Marinspired: 85, 87, 88 for an average of 86.7

Scores for Dragon House: 85, 84, 90 for an average of 86.3. Marinspired takes it by 0.4. I think I would have went the other way, honestly. But it was close.

Next up Charity and Andres versus Vivian Ruiz – a junior duel. Derek says that Charity and Andres set the bar. He says that vivian is fearless and gave a beautiful performance. Charity and Andres choreograph their own routines and it makes them nervous. As it should!

First…Vivian Ruiz. Typical contemporary, with a bit of attitude. A bit of isolation. Great routine, but I honestly don’t see why Derek and Jennifer are so excited.

Jennifer loves her so much, says that dancers have a certain type of heart…they dance because they love to dance. She’s moved to tears. Derek says her execution was perfection, she stuck every moment. It must be better live than on TV. Ne-Yo loving that move that every contemporary dancer does. Hm.

Next…Charity and Andres. This is more my speed. Interesting, different. Hard. the leap on to Andres shoulders was excellent. Great tricks, but plenty of dancing. Excellent. But neither routine was perfect but one of them is going to get it. Perfect should have gone to The Lab. As with all dance shows, it’s biased toward contemporary.

Jennifer is raving. Ne-yo says it was crystal clear. Derek asks who choreographed and is then amazed. You know your limits when you do your own choreography. Says they transcended dance.

Scores for Vivian Ruiz: 95, 96, 96 for an average of 95.7

Scores for Charity and Andres, 100, 100, 100 – as I predicted. They move on.

Ne-yo is right, she shouldn’t be sad – she got a 95.7 which is higher than MANY couples. Still not sure I agree with the perfect score. Close, but I enjoyed the Lab more. But these kids were great. I wouldn’t be sad if they won.