NBC’s World of Dance, Season 1, Week EIGHT – LIVE Blog

We’re seeing some of my ultimate favorites tonight!! Ian Eastwood, Keone and Mari, The Kinjaz…I can’t wait!! Very excited. I have one wish…that Les Twins don’t go through. Bound to not get my wish. I want Kinjaz and K&M. Doubt I get what I want.

I’m scared for tonight. Not afraid to admit it.

First up tonight – The Kinjaz. Damn. I hope that’s not a bad sign.

FYI – I can name several sexy Asian Americans. Just sayin’. 🙂 Read more..

July 25, 2017 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, By the Numbers – Week 7

Before we get started on the Cuts, let me point out to the still whining Jabbawockeez fans that the ratings didn’t crater in the least as you were predicting. They’re holding pretty steady and are, in fact, damn good ratings for a summer show. Guess you all don’t have the impact that you thought. I should point out that many of you whining on twitter whined about it so far after the fact that it was clear you didn’t watch the show as it aired or even within the following 24-48 hours. Why does this matter? Well, it means YOU DON’T COUNT in the ratings, dearies. If you can’t be bothered to watch the show for your favorite as it airs or shortly thereafter, you are not a significant part of the audience because you don’t impact the ratings. Sorry. 🙂

Anyway, welcome to the Cuts. The first week that the judges actually got it wrong at least once. It was bound to happen. We lost my beloved Lab and we have TWO contemporary dancers at the top of the junior division. This is a crime, IMO. Eva is great
so is Diana
but man. Come on. Eva at least changed up her routine. But young girls doing contemporary doesn’t move me. It doesn’t excite me. And RARELY is it compelling anymore – they all tend toward the same ticks and moves.

Diana is the first out of the gate of the Junior Division and does a perfectly nice dance, but it feels like I’ve seen it before – and her score (92) is ridiculously high and is the kiss of death.  I think it was Courtney (and others) who said that maybe the other divisions are too heavy in Hip Hop and I say that’s probably what they were trying to avoid
.but I say so what if it is heavy in hip hop?? The Lab are amazing. Part of me wonders if the judges are just too susceptible to the youngsters being all heart wrenching. Read more..

July 24, 2017 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. :-)

NBC’s World of Dance, Season 1, Week SEVEN – LIVE Blog

Hopefully, all of our site issues are fixed and we won’t have the problems we had last week. Fingers crossed!!

And here we go!!

We’re at the Cut.  Two spots in each division. How will they do it??  Well, the judges are mentoring. And Misty Copeland is here – love her.

Two weeks of cuts. Starting now.

Love Jenna’s dress.

Each division gets a leaderboard of judges scores. Top two acts go through. Jennifer mentoring the junior division.

Diana Pombo is up first.  And Jennifer is going to be a mess by the time this show is over. 🙂

Derek looks stunning in that suit. Got a bit distracted. 😉

Anyway, I love Diana but this is so standard contemporary. Angsty and flaily. She did it very well, but…

Great critique from Misty about the feet. The judges as a whole didn’t really seem to rave.

Diana gets a 92 from the judges. Very high, IMO. Not sure I agree with that, considering who is yet to come.

Immabeast gets an 84.2 – not long for the show since that is the first we’ve really seen of them and they were heavily edited. Loved the costumes, loved the attitude.

Now the M Sisters – hopefully they get away from the angsty failing contemporary that I’m so tired of. Love their dresses.

Okay, that was happy flailing. 🙂 It was good. But I have yet to be amazed. Or moved.

Okay, now someone will be eliminated depending on how they score…

And the M Sisters make it to the top 2 thanks in large part to Derek.  They would have made it if he had only scored an 84.

And now for one of my very favorites – The Lab.

Don’t meddle with my Lab, Jennifer. Wonder who their choreographer is.

I love these kids. And that dance was INCREDIBLE!! Those faces. Go Derek! Go Derek!

Their energy is just amazing. If they aren’t in the final it might be a crime.

They better be number 1…

Okay, that’s a damn crime. An 86? Are they setting it up so that Eva and Diana both go through? That’s just wrong.

If Eva bumps The Lab, I will be Jabbawockeez Fan Level pissed….although I won’t hold on to it forever like they are. 🙂

Eva is not quite as flailing – and I like her edge. Derek emotional is not a good sign for my Lab.  I might be mad at him for a few minutes.

I feel like the Lab (and other non-contemporary) are hindered by the non-tear jerking nature of their routines.

I’m officially pissed.  Seriously?? Two contemporary dancers at the top of the division?? Over The Lab.  SUCKS. They should be in the running to win the whole thing.

Now for the Teams being mentored by Ne-Yo.

Swing Latino is up first. And their first discussion is costumes? Okay.

I would be shocked if they make it through, just based on who else is in the Division.

When they’re not all in unison there is too much going on. But when they are it’s quite amazing. Although there were a few glitches I think.

LOL Derek.  I think they’ve made a name for themselves, regardless.

Swing Latino gets a massive 92.5. Wow….that’s shocking but it makes me happy.  Who are they trying to knock out?

SuperCr3w is up next.  And they’re going “risky” for a B-boy.

That was very different. I was mesmerized the whole time. Maybe they saw that they have to beat the little contemporary girls.

Misty and Ne-Yo competing to see who can be the toughest. And they get an 88.5 thanks in large part to Derek. The key to Derek is his heart. Something his fans have known forever, but it’s really clear here.

So, it’s over already?? The sign of a good show is that it is over before you blink.

What did you all think?? I’m still miffed about the Lab but I’ll get over it. I doubt very much that’s the last we’ll see of them where as contemporary is kind of a dime a dozen.

July 18, 2017 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, By the Numbers – Week 6

Can I just say that I am SO sick and tired of the whining from the Jabbawockeez fans?? Look, I was a fan. I am a fan. But to claim they were cheated out of a win, or it was a “mistake” or that the show is “over” because they lost?? Get real. GROW UP! They are not the only great dancers in the competition. And they just weren’t bringing it – not for me, not for lots of people.  And, as you will see from the numbers below, they were NOT on track to win the show. Not even close. Neither is Ian Eastwood, who I much preferred. But I skip ahead


Below is a table showing all of the dancers/teams who made it past the qualifiers and their qualifying scores. To recap, the highest scoring dancers from each category pick first who to duel against. Then the next highest and so on. Read more..

July 17, 2017 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. :-)

NBC’s World of Dance, Season 1, Week SIX – LIVE Blog

So has anyone else been paying attention to the promo on twitter for tonight’s show? I think/hope/pray we might be in for a surprise. 😉

And hey, I’ve only cried twice at AGT so far. I still have 10 minutes, I guess…

…and they hit me with the big one. Geez. A contestant was killed in a car accident and they’re airing his audition at the request of his family. So young. :::sob::: Unbelievably talented. He made it to the next round. :::sob:::

First up on World of Dance is Stroll Groove versus The Kinjaz….we never saw Stroll Groove in the Qualifiers, so I think we have a good idea who’s going to win. They barely got through with an 80.3. Again, Goliath picks David to dance against. I have to say I have little respect for that.

Kinjaz up first. Love the screens. The visuals are amazing. I can hear Derek yelling. 🙂

That was freaking amazing – like magic at the end. So clean, so perfect. And Derek reads my mind with the “masters of illusion”. 🙂 Agree – a million dollar routine.

Stroll Groove obviously edited down but great routine also. I liked the way this crew entered the stage – rewind if you missed it.

Ne-Yo points out that their stepping after the routine was more dynamic. I don’t know about that – it was DIFFERENT.

Kinjaz win it with 91.3 over 81.3. Ten whole points. Yeah, agreed. But I have to ask again – the great dancers aren’t afraid to take on the best. I’ll have to go look and see what pick they had.

Next up is Luka and Jenalyn versus DNA…hmmm, tough call on this one. I think I prefer DNA, but at least this one is a fair fight.

Luka and Jenalyn don’t really appeal to me for some reason but I can see how extraordinarily difficult that routine is – quite amazing actually.

Derek loved it, as did Ne-Yo and Jennifer. I do think they stepped it up from their last routine. I really appreciate Jennifer’s point that they aren’t acrobats but dancers and they shouldn’t forget that. I agree.

DNA blows a relatively simple move. Bad news. After their qualifier they are unlikely to make it. Now they feel too rushed. Much better when they slowed it down.

Luka pumping the audience – good sport. They went to the Derek school of not admitting a mistake. Derek very kind because he knows the absurd difficulty of that routine.

Winner is Luka and Jenalyn with 88.7 versus 80.3.

We then proceed to blow through several routines.

Immabeast and

Kings Unite versus Pasion – Pasion wins

Rhythmatic versus Chapkis Dance Family and the Chapkis wins it.

Oh boy
The M sisters versus D’Angelo and Amanda.

This is what sucks about DWTS – Ballroom versus Contemporary.

D’Angelo and Amanda – with a boo boo in the spins.

The M Sisters seemed pretty good, but their routine was also very chopped up. I sure hope that they get two hours next season because both routines were severely shortened. Anyway, Jennifer finally says what I always say about contemporary – the same thing over and over if you’re not careful.

The M Sisters win it by a hair.

Now the big one: Rouge versus Jabbawockeez versus Ian Eastwood. We already know who isn’t winning – the ones who didn’t get seen during the Qualifiers.

Come on, Ian!! 😉

First up, Rouge. Great start!! Okay, started great but started to look like a college dance team after that. Agree with Jennifer on the choreography. Also agree with Derek on the sloppiness.

Next
Jabbawockeez. It was great but
.the Kinjaz were better, IMO. The slo-mo part was good, but really nothing special there. Especially compared to Kinjaz.

First two routines were also obviously edited, which is disappointing.

Now, Ian Eastwood. Loved this routine – not as much as I loved his first one, but it was awesome. Very fresh.

And Ian squeaks out a win by one point – well deserved IMO. I’ve always loved the Jabbawockeez, but I’ve not been impressed by their routines on this show. Someone on twitter said, “Jabbawockeez have nothing to prove, they’ve set the bar.” Absolutely right. And no shame in getting beaten by a point by a new young crew. There was much argument when the show started if Jabbawockeez should even be on, considering their extensive professional career. Well, as long as it’s not Les Twins, someone newer has a shot. I’m betting on Keone/Mari or Kinjaz.

July 11, 2017 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, Week 5 – Screencaps

Here are some fun screencaps from last week’s show. 🙂

July 6, 2017 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, By the Numbers – Week 5

No World of Dance this week due to the Fourth of July – Happy Independence Day everyone!! Despite there not being a show this week I figured I would post this now and give people time to think about it.

Another incredible week last week on World of Dance. Still a great show. But I have to make a comment on some complaints I’ve seen on social media.

Complaint number 1: “Derek, shut up, confidence is all part of Les Twins style, it’s part of battling, yadda yadda yadda” combined with some version of “you don’t know what you’re talking about” or “you’re just racist”.

Heidi’s answer: Oh grow up. When the “confidence” is against an opponent of a similar style and who was as successful in the first round as you were (like, say FIK-SHUN – you scared, Les Twins??)
and it occurs ONLY during the dance, then you might have a point. But I don’t think there is any question that the self-proclaimed “best dancers in the world” chose a dude at the bottom of the leader board doing a style they have little respect for and absolutely nothing in common with INSTEAD of a guy who’s style is very similar to theirs and who was also close to the top of the leader board. Les Twins had first pick and they went to the bottom of the leader board and proceeded to be arrogant as hell which was a complete turn off.  Even Ne-Yo questioned their choice – it’s an obvious question to ask, especially combined with the “confidence” that Les Twins was showing (that WAS off putting).  How do “confident” men pick a tapper at the bottom of the leaderboard? What were they afraid of?? The confident “best dancers in the world” would have picked Fik-shun. But they didn’t, which begs the questions. Read more..

July 4, 2017 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. :-)

Pure World of Dance Season 1, Week 5 (Duels) – Power Rankings

So I really had to take some time to ruminate on Tuesday night’s episode, because it felt like the first time that I got suspicious of this show’s motives.  Don’t get me wrong – I still love the show, and I think the level of talent is unparalleled; and I am fully aware that this is a reality tv show, and a certain amount of manipulation is to be expected to create suspense and draw in viewers.  But some of the other night’s results made me feel a bit icky, because I felt like a few of the acts got a bit exploited in favor of propping up a judges’ favorite – I feel like Kyle kinda got the shortest end of the stick (pun intended, in light of his performance), with The Posse and Royal Flux also being treated a bit like redheaded stepchildren. Given that all three were given quite truncated spots in the qualifier rounds (with Royal Flux not even appearing on the show during those rounds), I think we already had an inkling that they weren’t long for this show – but it just felt like adding insult to injury sticking some of them in duels with powerhouses they didn’t have a hope and a prayer of beating, and then potentially editing out footage that might have helped them save a bit of face (won’t say any more, but if a routine seemed short to you – perhaps it’s because part of it was missing).

Which brings me to the picking of the duels – and let me state for the record that I still can’t say with certainty that the proverbial man behind the curtain might not be telling the acts who to pick. But c’mon – pitting the highest-scoring qualifier performance OF ALL against the second-lowest-scoring qualifier of all??? It just becomes glaringly obvious who was going to win the Les Twins vs. Kyle duel – if it was Les Twins that picked him, sorry, but that was a d*ck move on their part. If they’re so sure of themselves and such amazing dancers, then it would have made a lot more sense for them to pick someone like Fik-Shun, who is closer to both their particular style and skill level. You’re so big and bad? Take on someone that might actually be a challenge for you.  If it was the producers that opted to pit Les Twins against Kyle? Then I have to wonder just what kind of deals were made to get Les Twins on the show in the first place. Like Jabbawockeez (and to a lesser degree, Fik-Shun, Super Cr3w, D’Angelo & Amanda, and the Miami All-Stars), Les Twins were pretty well-known coming into the show – probably second only the Jabbawockeez in terms of how popular they were already. They were touring with BeyoncĂ©, for pete’s sake. And modeling for Jean Paul Gautier. Also worth noting: they’ve appeared on the World of Dance tour. Did they really even NEED to do this show? I’m gonna go with “likely not”, and wonder if they were asked to do the show in order to draw in viewers, much in the same way that Jabbawockeez and some of the other names I mentioned would. In which case, I could see how it might behoove a brand-new show looking to get renewed to keep a popular contestant around for awhile. Yes, I might have my suspicion-glasses on from so many years of blogging DWTS and the rampant manipulation on that show – but I’m trying to make sense of something that seems ridiculously unbalanced.

Anywho – seems like they might be setting it up for a final three of Les Twins vs. Jabbawockeez or Kinjaz vs. Eva Igo or Diana Pombo. In which case, I’ll just be enjoying the rest of the acts leading up to that point, because it seems a bit anti-climactic.  Should be interesting to see how things go down next week, as there’s gonna be a lot of loose ends to tie up – from the looks of the preview, there’s gonna be a 3-way duel between some of the acts from the team division (Jabbawockeez, Ian Eastwood & the Young Lions, and a group of girls that doesn’t look familiar – I’ll give you one guess who probably ain’t winning that duel), and it looks like it’s gonna be Luka & Jenalyn vs. DNA, D’Angelo & Amanda vs. Mihacevich Sisters, Kinjaz vs. somebody, and who knows what else, given that there’s STILL other acts that were called out as contestants prior to the beginning of the season, but didn’t get shown during the qualifier round. Never a dull moment 🙂 Read more..

June 29, 2017 I Written By

Medical device sales by day, reality TV blogger by night. Makeup artist, baker, hair model, and wannabe DIY-er when time permits, and a potty-mouth 24/7. Read more of me at puredwts.com, and follow me on Twitter & Instagram: @putuincespence

Pure World of Dance Season 1, Week 5 (Duels) – Music from Tonight’s Show

Here it is – the music from tonight’s episode, in chronological order. I’ve included a description of when in the episode it played in parentheses. If you’re looking for music from previous episodes, all music lists can be found here.

“The Little Things” by The Big Gigantic feat. Angela McCluskey (opening montage)

“Scars to Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara (The Posse qualifier recap)

“Bird Set Free” by Sia (Diana Pombo qualifier recap)

“Wild Things” by Alessia Cara (Diana Pombo vs. The Posse intro)

“In The Name of Love” by Martin Garrix feat. Bebe Rexha (The Posse performance)

“Rise” by Katy Perry (Diana Pombo performance)

“Final Song” by MØ (Diana Pombo vs. The Posse scoring)

“Viva La Vida” by Coldplay (Super Cr3W qualifier recap)

“Holy War” by Alicia Keys (Royal Flux qualifier recap)

“Believer” by Imagine Dragons (Super Cr3w vs. Royal Flux intro)

“Pretty Young Thing To Working Day And Night, Part 2” by DJ K-More (Super Cr3w performance)

“Brother” by Matt Corby (Royal Flux performance)

“Beautiful Ones” by Hurts (Super Cr3w vs. Royal Flux scoring)

“Bad Boy For Life” by P. Diddy feat. Black Rob & Mark Curry (The Lab qualifier recap)

“Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai (Boys of Temecula qualifier recap)

“Boom Clap” by Charli XCX (The Lab vs. Boys of Temecula intro)

“All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled (The Lab performance)

“Shut Up and Dance” by WALK THE MOON (Boys of Temecula performance)

“Kids” by OneRepublic (The Lab vs. Boys of Temecula scoring)

“Free” by 6LACK (Les Twins qualifier recap)

“Don’t Wanna Know” by Maroon 5 (Kyle Van Newkirk qualifier recap)

“Good Feeling” by Spectral Sun (Les Twins vs. Kyle Van Newkirk intro)

“Classic Man” by Jidenna feat. Roman GianArthur (Kyle Van Newkirk performance)

“Deep In The Bottom (Of Africa)” by Monique Bingham (Les Twins performance)

“I” by Kendrick Lamarr (Les Twins vs. Kyle Van Newkirk scoring)

June 27, 2017 I Written By

Medical device sales by day, reality TV blogger by night. Makeup artist, baker, hair model, and wannabe DIY-er when time permits, and a potty-mouth 24/7. Read more of me at puredwts.com, and follow me on Twitter & Instagram: @putuincespence

‘World Of Dance’ Season 1, Week Five – The Performance Videos

Below are the performance videos for World Of Dance Week Four courtesy of @Idolxfactor1 and WOD Official You Tube! We’re posting them as soon as we can, so, keep checking back….

You tubes…. Read more..

I Written By

Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping all over in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.