Coming on Week 9 of World of Dance Season 3 – The CUT Continues…

This ought to be good!!

Come on, Unity LA!!

April 19, 2019 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

World of Dance Season 3, Week 8 (The Cut) – Who Got Robbed?? (New Poll)

Okay, so we’ve discussed the winners of the Junior Team Division and the Upper Division, and voted who we think the real winner is, but who got eliminated last Sunday that just…shouldn’t have been eliminated?? To refresh your memory, these are the teams that didn’t make The Cut:

Upper Division
All Ready
D’Angelo Brothers
Jonathan y Jorge

I loved all three teams that were eliminated from the Upper Division, but honestly, All Ready were most intriguing to me. Love their latin vibe combined with some hip hop.

The problem is, I also really love tap. :::sigh:::

Dang. The thing that bugs me, even though I loved the three teams that won, is that there is serious training and skill that goes into ballroom and Tap. I kinda feel like, sometimes, these styles don’t get the credit they deserve. I get that contemporary and popping are also difficult, to a degree, but they seem to get preferential treatment on this show – even from Derek, at times, because as an award winning latin dancer, he’s got a tendency to be tougher on the latin dancers. And he’s a tapper too. For that matter, he does killer contemporary…so why does he seem to favor it? Because it gives him all the feels like it does JLo?? πŸ™‚ Anyway, Jonathan y Jorge are up next.

Everything I said, above? Holds true here as well. Ah well. I think I’m voting for All Ready as “robbed” from the Upper Division – I think I could replace anyone from the top three except Derion and Madison. How about you?

Junior Team Division
Elektro Crew
Get Down District
JDC

Hmm…at first glance, I don’t think any of these three were robbed. Let’s rewatch their dances. Elektro Crew – I really like them, but I can’t point to any of the three winners (Dancetown Divas, Crazy 8s, VPeepz) and say that Elektro Crew should be there instead. That is, after all, the definition of being robbed, in this case.

Get Down District – note here that WoD lists this as a “full performance” when it’s clearly not.

They were fun, but I think they need more seasoning. Next up, JDC…

Again, not a full routine although it is labeled as such. WoD is doing much better this year, in this respect, but they’re never going to get Emmy Awards if they keep chopping dances up. Anyway, what we see of this routine appears to be at a lower level than the three winners. They should all try again next year after they find better choreography and practice like crazy.

So, was anyone from the Junior Team Division robbed?? I don’t think so, but what do you think??

April 18, 2019 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

World of Dance Season 3, Week 8 – Who is the Winner of the Junior Team Division?? (VOTE!!)

Ah, the Junior Teams Division. Really good to see Jenna Dewan back in a mentoring role – she generally does an excellent job, second only to Derek, IMO. I’m sure it’s not coincidence that the two serious dancers in this cast are the two best mentors. A little plug…the reason that Jenna was NOT in a hosting role this season on WoD is because she had a guest starring (recurring) role on The Resident (Fox). This is an EXCELLENT medical drama – I can’t recommend it highly enough. I love it, and Jenna did a good job in her role.

ANYWAY, this is another division that didn’t quite work out the way I anticipated. Writing this before I rewatch the three top dances, my sense is that Crazy 8s have to up their game, and that Dancetown Divas and VPeepz currently have the edge. Let’s rewatch the dances together, in order of score, from low to high. The scores were:

The Crazy 8s – 92.3
Dancetown Divas – 93.3
VPeepz – 98.7

First up, The Crazy 8s.

There is no doubt that these little munchkins are cute as hell, talented as hell…and just fantastic. But the Divas and the VPeepz have a few years on them and those few years make a difference in the cleanliness of routines and the nice transitions. Really, just an experience thing. But these kids are amazing, no doubt. And Derek was right on the transitions. πŸ™‚

Next up are the Dancetown Divas. Full disclosure, I root for these ladies because they are ballroom/latin at their roots. That makes them DIFFERENT than most acts that go far on this show.

Okay, I originally agreed with Ne-Yo about the white gloves, but on re-watching I think it’s not so much the gloves but their floor placement early in the routine. It’s not as clean as it should be…a few of them are just visually in the wrong spot. But damn, this was a cool routine. Love the Latin moves, love the later formations, love the vogueing.

Next up….VPeepz.

This is my routine of the night, I think. You hear Derek say early in the routine “another level” – absolutely true. These kids are on another level. Just brilliant. The red shirt was soooo effective. The routine was so clean. And, seriously, the fact that many of these kids were just sobbing when the routine ended….that is legit emotion, they seriously felt it. That’s when you know a routine was verging on perfect. Just amazing.

Okay, I just told you who my routine of the night was…what about the winner of the division so far? That ones a bit tougher. I can’t decide who to vote for, honestly. πŸ™‚ How about you?

And…

I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

World of Dance Season 3, Week 8 – Who is the Winner of the Upper Division?? (VOTE!!)

This past week, you may recall, we saw all the remaining Upper Division Dancers and all the remaining Junior Team Division dancers. Let’s talk about the Upper Division. In a bit of a shocking (to me, anyway) development, Poppin’ John makes it through the Cut and All Ready don’t. Bums me out as I loved All Ready, but I have to give Poppin’ John credit – he got really creative with his routine and it was very well done. Then there is Briar Nolet – she was only in the Cut due to winning in the redemption round – but she’s on a streak. She’s killing it. She was also the winner of our poll that asked who are the top three from the Upper Division (post-duels). I’ll be curious to see if she wins once again. But first, let’s take a look back and the three remaining Upper Division contestants. Here’s how they scored:

Derion and Madison – 94.7
Poppin’ John – 95
Briar Nolet – 95.3

We’ll go from low score to high, which means our first dance is from Derion and Madison – after that dance it’s a bit hard to believe they ended in third place.

I’ll say it again, that opening move was brilliant. Next up, Poppin’ John doing all kinds of amazing things with a heart balloon.

Wow. Re-watching that one again makes me think he could be a contender!!

Finally, Briar Nolet, the high scorer of the Division…

Hmmm…I find myself looking at these dances differently upon rewatching them. Before rewatching them I would have said that Briar was rightfully on top but now I’m not so sure. I have to look at this two different ways – who one the NIGHT, and who’s got the best WoD body of work so far. Of course, WoD doesn’t take into account body of work (or they say they don’t), but I can’t (for example) give the whole shebang to Poppin’ John just because he had one dance that I think was brilliant. So…you get to vote in two polls. Who won the night and Who do you think should win the division based on their body of work.

I’m surprised by my own vote on this next one. πŸ˜‰

April 17, 2019 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

World of Dance Season 3, WEEK 8 – The CUT LIVE BLOG

Tonight we’re going into the Cut with the Upper and Junior Team Divisions. As I recall, all the competitors dance and the top three in each Division move to the next round. If you want to refresh your memory on who the readers of this blog voted for as the top three in each division, check out the post at the link.

Show starts in 15 minutes…you have just enough time to review the above linked blog and get yourself a glass of wine…or soda, if you’re not of age. πŸ™‚

Here we go!!

Derek’s pants are…FINE. Yummy. πŸ˜‰

Upper Division is going first, mentored by Derek. Jonathan Y Jorge are up first, and they love them some Derek. πŸ™‚

Great outfits. Death defying move to start with! Followed by many ore great moves. I love these guys. They’re exciting. Seems like a lot more dancing this time around. Read more..

April 14, 2019 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

Coming Tomorrow on World of Dance Season 3 – THE CUT (Includes Poll Results)

Looks like we’re going to see the Upper Division and the Junior Team Division. From @NBCWorldofDance:

So, twelve dances in two hours. At the time that these competitors were in the duels, I asked you who were the top three in each division. The results were, for the Junior Team Division:

1. The Crazy 8s

2. Vpeepz

3. JDC

The results for the Upper Division were….

1. Briar Nolet

2. Derion and Madison

3. All Ready

These were your votes…let’s see if the judges agree tomorrow night!!

April 13, 2019 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

WoD Season 3 Contestant Profiles – The Heima

The Heima are a stand out group in the Upper Team Division. Breaking fusion is their style and they’ve won international competitions. They are from Seoul, South Korea and range in age from 21 to 28 years old. Let’s look at some of their WoD performances. Here’s their performance from the Qualifiers.

What I love about these guys is they are so smooth and melodic – graceful. I really appreciate that flow that they have to their routine. All that and some great B-boy moves. And seriously…the ending of this routine is just killer. Love the masks too. Next is their duel…

This was another beautiful routine. And some of their tricks were just amazing. Who were the Heima before WoD?? Here’s a routine from 2017 at a competition…I can’t believe they only got third place!! Beautiful.

And this is just cool as hell. πŸ™‚

If you want to know more about The Heima, you can hit up their facebook page or any of their social media that I’ve listed below. You know, that’s one of the great things about World of Dance…it introduces many of us to groups and performers that we might never have seen otherwise.

The Heima Facebook
The Heima Instagram
The Heima YouTube Page

You can also hit up World of Dance Magazine to get the Instagram pages of individual dancers. Why not? They’re an attractive bunch. πŸ™‚

I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

WoD Week 7 Recap and VOTE – Who Should Win the Upper Team Division?? (Poll)

Whew!! Busy week. I haven’t had a chance to think about the winners of this past week. I thought about those who lost and if any of them got robbed. πŸ™‚ Since it’s been several days, let’s take a look at who won their duels:

Now, just looking at that table, I have to say my favorite are Unity LA…followed by The Kings. Personally, I think the only reason that Unity LA are lower than the Kings is because JLo had some weird beef with their song selection. That was just…weird. Anyway, let’s take another look at the dances. First up, the redemption winner,Β  Exiles – first their duel performance, followed by the redemption round.

Exiles come in at 0.56

Going from lowest score to highest, next we have Fuego Dance Crew. Love how this one started out with the very cool, gravity defying move.

Radiance…they’re the shared video of the week meaning that their video is paired with their competition, Main Guys. I loved this routine for its prowling, stalking feel. Excellent.

Up next, the Heima – B-boys who seem to have it going on, but they’re not actually in my top three for this group, I don’t think.

Okay, changed my mind. I think I actually like them better than the Kings. Kinda funny what happens when you rewatch the dances after the first time.

Next up…my favorites, Unity LA.

It’s funny, because they’re listed as contemporary, but they’re so much more interesting than your average contemporary dancer these days. So much, going on, so layered and complicated – I love it. And how much do I love Zack Everheart?? Very, very much. Have I mentioned he started out as a tapper on SYTYCD??? πŸ˜‰

And the dance of the night (for the judges anyway)….The Kings. I totally get the complaint that some had about it seeming like an elite cheerleading squat…but we call professional cheerleaders who show up on DWTS ringers for a reason. πŸ™‚ These guys are quite awesome.

So, you have a pretty good idea of my top three….who are your top three. Vote below.

I ended up going with Radiance, Unity LA and the Heima, with Kings nearly tied with them. Who did you vote for??

April 12, 2019 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

WoD Season 3 Contestant Profiles – Unity LA

Love, love, love Unity LA!! They made it to the Cut on Sunday night and two of their members have been my favorites since they toured with Derek and Julianne Hough a couple years ago. Zack and Ashley, that is – the two focal points for the group. This group is also choreographed by Tessandra Chavez who also does a lot of work for Derek, and won an Emmy with Derek and Julianne…two years ago?? Fairly recently.

Anyway, Zack started out as a tapper on So You Think You Can Dance back in 2015…

Then, as all good dancers do, the morphed into a man of many styles, including contemporary dancer…a really good one. He toured with Derek and Julianne Hough in 2017, along with Ashley

Zack and Ashley apparently teamed up after that to go after the WoD Crown. Zack and Ashley on last season of WoD:

WOD Magazine says that Unity LA has been a thing since 1994 and have been lead/choreographed by Tessandra Chavez dince it’s inception. Here is Tessandra’s Emmy award winning routine she did with Derek and Julianne Hough.

The most recent thing I can find for a Unity LA dance company that is not WoD related is dated 2010.

Social Media:
Unity LA Twitter
Unity LA InstagramUnity LA Website
Tessandra Chavez Twitter
Zack Everhart Twitter
Zack Everhart Instagram
Ashley Gonzalez Instagram
Ashley Gonzales Youtube

April 9, 2019 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

WoD Week 7 Recap and VOTE – Who Got Robbed?? (Uppper Team Division Poll)

The only team that didn’t make it that I wanted to make it was Suidy Flamenco…I want some ballroom-adjacent acts to go far!! As for the show as a whole, I see people on twitter complaining that they show behind the scenes stuff and then in the next tweet someone commenting that they love the behind the scenes stuff. Count me in group two. Not only is Derek routinely hilarious, but those behind the scenes bits humanize JLo to a huge degree. It makes me LIKE her, where if all I saw was her judging, I don’t know that I would. I love the guys relationship – just fun. And I would be very happy with Derek attempting a dance move at least once per episode. πŸ™‚

Anyway, let’s refresh ourselves on the winners and losers from Sunday night’s duels:

As I said, I prefer Suidy Flamenco in the first duel…Fuego Dance Crew is not a group I remember today, the day after seeing them perform. Suidy Flamendo, on the other hand…

While the non-Flamenco parts were a bit basic, the skilled required to do flamenco should count for something, IMO.

Next, we have Unity LA versus Style and Grace. Style and Grace just had the misforture of being picked by this powerhouse group, headed by Zack and Ashley from last season and choreographed by Emmy winner Tessandra Chavez. Who did Tessandra win one of her Emmys with? Derek and Julianne Hough. Zach and Ashley also traveled with Derek and Julianne on tour. And that is because they, and the rest of their team, are just first rate dancers. Style And Grace just couldn’t compete with that. They are very good, but they’re just outclassed. They had a few little moments that were a tiny bit sloppy.

Next up, the Exiles take on The Heima…this is another David versus goliath story, I think. I want to root for Exiles because they seem like ordinary dudes with families – much more appealing than a large, professional group, but what are you going to do. I thought this was a pretty damn good routine – competitive. And, luckily, they are made and won redemption. But I’ll show their video anyway. πŸ™‚

Radiance takes on Main Guys next, and win. This matchup only got a single video which shows both dances. Radiance is up first, Main Guys start at about 1:30. Main Guys were excellent, but they had a rough finish on one of their tricks, and I think Radiance being all dressed the same gives their Sync a bigger impact. They were just cleaner with more people.

Final duel of the night was Motiv Crew against, literally, The Kings. You had to know how this one was going to go even before it got started. Here’s Motiv Crew’s performance:

Another David versus Goliath moment that Motiv Crew had little chance of winning. They just seem too immature in their dance compared to The Kings. They may well have fared better against someone else.

When I started this post, I was inclined to say that Suidy Flamenco was robbed – but I no longer think that. I really wanted the Flamenco girls to go to the next round, but Main Guys were really good and probably should have moved on – but the problem is, everyone who made it through SHOULD HAVE made it through. So, can you say that anyone was really robbed when that happens, or just unlucky? I think unlucky. πŸ™‚ So, once again, I’m going with no one was robbed. How about you??

April 8, 2019 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)