World of Dance, Season 4 – Week TEN Semi Finals Live Blog

So, I was reflecting on the season thus far and I’ve kinda decided that I liked it better before all the changes. At first it didn’t seem they made any changes beyond going to the warehouse. But as we went a long I realized they very subtly changed EVERYTHING. It’s now a simple yes or no vote instead of the scoring system which actually set the apart from the very subjective DWTS or SYTYCD. There doesn’t appear to be a difference between Upper and Upper Groups or Junior and Junior Groups…the uppers are all mashed together as are all the juniors. Don’t think I care for that. So how much of the old stuff will come back tonight, now that they’re on the “big stage”. The scoring in particular seemed important to me.

Am I alone in this?? Any other subtle change that I missed?

T-minus ten minutes…

And there are only 12 acts left and only four go to the finals?? They did truncate this season I think. Oooo…Derek, you handsome devil. And they did lump Upper and Junior into just two divisions. Tonight appears to be Upper. Nope, sorry, the Juniors.

First up, The Young Cast. They are pretty awesome – hope they kill it tonight.

Nice outfits. White piping in spots that should make their movements stand out. Love the start! Ooooo…Queen. Love it. Interesting choices…it’s really working very well. Very musical. There are so many changes in the music and they are working all of them very well!!

Derek: Fantastic performance. JLo agrees. Comments on song selection. Derek says they are the example of perseverance. Lots of energy, great pictures.

Jennifer: So many things going on she didn’t know where to look. Like she short circuited. I think she’s full of it if that is a negative.

Ne-Yo: lack of musicality in some places. Again, he’s full of it. He’s not a choreographer. Everything else is flawless, he says.

It appears they’re back to the old scoring system.

Scores:
Ney-Yo: 89
Jennifer: 90
Derek: 93

For a total of 90.7…I agree with Derek.

Next up is Tiny Dancer, Savannah Manzel. I love a cute kid, but contemporary. It all looks the same after a while. We’ll see if she makes it though just cuz she’s a cute kid.

She starts on a ring which is different. She’s kinda far from the judges though. The start was great, but the rest of it I’ve seen many times before. Jennifer’s in love though, so the kid will likely win. Zero critique, I bet.

Jennifer: She’s putting a new spin.

Derek: Most technically sound dancer, asks how long she’s been doing arial. (One week)

Ne-Yo is excited for new generation because of her.

Spare me. Again, cute kid but will be tremendously over scored because of it

Ne-Yo: 89
Derek: 91
Jennifer: 91

For an average of 90.3 – okay, I can live with that.

Next Up is Jefferson and Andrianita. Baby Derek is just as cute as grown Derek. The cuteness. And Adrianita is even more beautiful without all the make up.

Kill it!! Interesting start. Crap that fall. they are so fast, so sharp. Such a difficult dance. I love her faces. The lifts were HARD. Tons of content. Great picture at the end. Excellent dance. Excellent.

Jennifer: talks about the kisses.

Ne-Yo: Says that his eye still goes to Adrianita, but that’s his only critique

Derek: That’s the sign of the great partner. The men are supposed to frame the women. He loves that there are tricks that he hasn’t seen before.

Jennifer: Footwork was top notch.

Ne-Yo talks Baby Derek and this is the cutest thing ever.

Scores:
Ne-Yo:92
Derek: 95
Jennifer: 96

For an average of 94.3!! Yaaaaayyyyy!! First place for now. Savannah has been knocked out. She’ll go far, she’s only 9.

Derek’s dad lookin’ HANDSOME!!

GRVMNT is up next!! Love these guys too and I think they might out dance Young Cast. And I love that young dude right front and center. Such a cutie.

Yep, off to a serious rocking’ start. Not sure their sync is as good as Young Cast. I see a few tiny issues. And they just got seriously edited.

Derek: loves it, but they stayed in the V formation too long.

Jennifer: lacks a bit of originality.

Ne-Yo agrees with Derek and Jennifer. They out.

Scores:
Ne-Yo: 89
Derek: 91
Jennifer: 89

For an average of 89.7 which puts them in fourth place.

Kurtis Sprung is up next. Cutie. This dance is about him and his father and their conflict. Dude has a rocking’ body.

Shirtless. Thank you. And commercial. I really hope this isn’t standard, run of the mill contemporary.

Great technique. Hand over mouth – seen it before. He’s a great dancer, no question, but the style is just…over done. Yeah, I’m not that impressed by JLo is probably dying.

Ne-Yo wants to hear about what that was about. Kurtis explains. Derek relates.

Derek: was trying to figure it out. That hit Derek. The athleticism and the technique and the recklessness – that piece called for it.

Ne-Yo was waiting for one picture, it kept moving too much.

Jennifer: disagrees with Ne-Yo, and it was impactful. Doesn’t have to be big dance moment. She thought it was interpretive.

Scores:
Ne-Yo: 89
Derek: 90
Jennifer: 92

For an average of 90.3 which is not enough. I agree with that. And Jefferson and Adrianita are guaranteed a spot in the finals!!! Derek just offered him a job!! That would have been for his Vegas show…which is unfortunately postponed until 2021 at this point.

Geometrie Variable is up next. And I keep misspelling that. My fear is the same as Ne-Yo’s, that they don’t have a lot of places to go.

The judges like the swag. As do I. Great move with the umbrella appearing. Great musicality. And they are branching out a tiny bit. I like it. Now they’re back in their lane. Jennifer wondering how they made it sexy. That was quite excellent and it appears appealing to Jennifer worked

Derek says he couldn’t walk out and be that cool, ever. (Yes he can I’ve seen it)

Jennifer says they made it all sexy. She says the question always is what can they do that is new? They did it again, the little innovations are exciting. She really enjoyed it.

Ne-Yo says it was a great performance, you dance with one brain.

Derek says it was surgical, loved the tie-ograpy. They check all the boxes on the score pad. They went chill, swag and flawless.

Scores: Imma be bummed either way…
Ne-Yo: 95
Derek: 93
Jennifer: 95

For an average of 94 which is very nearly first place, but they end in second place. Heartbroken for The Young Cast.The judges give them a standing ovation.

So…I don’t understand…is everyone just competing against everyone in the semi-finals? Was everyone tonight actually a junior?? And is Kida actually in the Upper category. I’m so confused. I’ve been too busy to really dig into what they’re doing this season? Has anyone else figured this out??