World of Dance Season 3, the Finale – Live Blog!!

It’s time!!!! Tonight we find out who wins the third season!! Who do you think it’s going to be??

Apparently, each finalist is going to dance twice – dancer(s) with the highest average wins. Our contestants are:

The Kings
Ellie & Ava
Briar Nolet
VPeepz

and, according to E!, the Wild Card Winner is Unity LA. We find out in just a minute. 🙂

I wonder if WoD realizes that Unity LA winning wasn’t shown last week.

This opening number is really fun, I think. shows all the teams kinda working together. And it went from really fun to really cool at the end.

I met Derek (for the third or forth time) the other night and he’s just as he was shown on the show. Goofball.

Charity is also on tour with Derek, currently. She’s brilliant. Looks like we’re getting Derek, Charity, Andres and Michael’s dance first. Nice package. I think i posted the dance the other day – it’s brilliant.

Love the Ne-Yo million dollars bit, but really love the choreography bit.

So we’re going to get Ne-Yo now? Why are they front loading the show with the guests??

Eeeee!! Ian Eastwood!! I LOVE HIM. This number doesn’t compare to Derek’s number, but I guess that’s no surprise as he’s mainly a singer and he has a broken foot. Ahem, we’re going to talk to the guys but not the girl??

I guess they don’t want to interrupt the competition because now we have the LAB. And this is a super cool number. Really tight. They were my favorites from the last two years and that’s why.

Wow…Jennifer, that dress is HOT. Wow. Didn’t realize it until she stood up.

Okay, Scott just said ONE performance stands between the contestants and the prize. Hmmm…I read two, but okay.

Are Ellie & Ava going first or are we doing bits on everyone? Okay, they’re doing a bit on everyone, now talking about The Kings. I’m hoping they throw a bit of actually bollywood into their number. I love that. Now Unity LA…love me some Zack and Ashley. And you all know I’m a sucker for talented kids and those are the VPeeps…man, tough call tonight. I would be happy with anyone who wins, including Briar Nolet (and you know I’m not a contemporary fan unless it’s really different and special.

The four of them mentoring together? This should be interesting. Hope Derek gets a word in edgewise. Love the Boot(s).

Briar up first. The answer is no, Derek doesn’t really get to talk much. 🙂 But they give good advice to Briar. She can’t be all tricks, she needs to feel it.

Started out great, but I don’t know if this has the impact that her last dance did. Yeah, not really feeling that dance too much. It was great, but not really finale worthy. You’ll note none of the judges stood up.

Ne-Yo calls her a superhero and says she’s so strong and has so much power. Ne-Yo talks about her journey and says she’s now on fire. Jennifer says there’s a level of danger to her routines. Derek liked the scream and said it jolted him in a good way. He says she’s defied the odds and she should be proud. Jennifer said her intention got muddier toward the end, and I agree with that. Derek says she’s an incredible athlete and he wanted the raw emotion and he felt it.

VPeepz up next. They already look sharp during mentoring! Hmmm…if this were DWTS, I’d guess the VPeepz would win because they asked that question about The Kings. And it makes me wonder if The Kings are going to win or not. And Derek didn’t talk again.

Love the colorful outfits, love the music, love the energy. Great tricks in the middle. It almost feels like it slows down a bit in the middle though, and not in the usual great way. Seems like it was shorter than others too.

Derek says it was so dope, the synchronicity, the energy was great. He clearly loved it. Jennifer says they should be proud. Jennifer talks about the mentoring and how it was dying a bit in the middle, she loves their precision but doesn’t say that they solved that and I’m not sure they did. Jennifer says it could have used more transitions near the end. Ne-Yo says it might have been too much of a good thing and Derek looks at him like he’s on crack. And Ne-Yo admits that he’s being ridiculously nit-picky. And says they should be proud.

I gotta say, I love these judges. They are so funny and so fun together.

Unity LA up next. Derek points out that they had the second highest score of the night. Once again Ne-Yo and Jennifer do ALL the talking during the mentoring…and we’re seeing them more during the judging. Come on, Derek is the only judge that has competed at several levels. Give him his due people.

I’ve not been blown away by anyone yet, let’s see if they can change that. Beautiful start. Love the music. Loved the opening picture. Love how they’re featuring multiple dancers. That was very beautiful. Very beautiful.

Derek says it was a work of art – agreed. He calls it a Monet, it was so artistic. Jennifer says it was fully conceived and a gorgeous, artful piece. Derek says it’s sensational. Ne-Yo says they’re the total package, they are the icing on the cake. Jennifer says she enjoyed them from the beginning, but she was missing joy before, but tonight they came alive, there was beauty in their passion, she felt their joy.

Of the three acts we’ve seen so far, I’m leaning Unity LA. Ya’ll??

The Kings are up next and they are super raw. So, Derek is doing all the BTS video and none of the talking during the mentoring. Why? Because JLo ie executive producer, would be my guess. OOOOHHH, Derek speaks one sentence during mentoring!!

Were the Kings taking too much for granted or not realizing they were the front runner?? I suspect all this drama about them not being ready might mean they win. But then, Ellie and Ava are going last…

Anyway, time for the Kings to dance. Okay this is super cool so far. I love the dialogue in the song. This is very Game of Thrones. Along with the special effects. That was. Amazing. Super cool.

Judges raving and screaming. Derek says in the mentoring session they wanted it to feel cinematic – and that was it. Derek says they altered reality – and they kinda did. Derek says they had more dancing and he loved the culture. The tricks are amazing. Ne-Yo says their heads touched the lights. He’s without words. Jennifer says they surprised her and she didn’t think they could do that. She says it wasn’t the tricks it was the narrative. Jlo loses her wig and that pretty much sums it up.

They might have just won the show, unless Ellie and Ava do something incredible.

Here we go with Ellie and Ava. Derek speaks his second sentence during all mentoring. I hope these girls kill it.

The staging is gorgeous. The costumes are beautiful. Wow. These two are so in cynic’s it’s beautiful to watch. I loved how they seemed to silhouette each other. Gorgeous.

I still think the Kings might have this in the bag. How can a beautiful contemporary routine compete with the power of The Kings? Will contemporary ever win??

Jennifer says they are one of the most beautiful duets they’ve ever seen on the stage. She says together they are even better, it’s magical. Ne-Yo says they should be proud. Derek says that dancing with a family member is so special and they should soak it in. Money can’t buy it. Jennifer says she’s not surprised they are there. They were breath taking. Derek says he could talk about the technical, but he’s been moved all season. I forgot they are only 13 and 15 until Derek said it. If they’re that good now…

Well, I’ll be surprised if anyone other than the Kings win it. I’m not mad about it – they earned it tonight. But I do wonder if a group like Unity LA or dancers like Ellie & Ava ever have a shot to win against a high energy group like The Kings. I mean, season 1 was won by Les Twins who were cool hip hop. Season 2 was won by The Lab who I adored, but who were also young hip hoppers. The show seems designed to reward that higher energy. And I confess to not normally preferring contemporary – but when it’s done well I love it. But can it win on this show. It’d be funny if Unity LA won after all this commentary. We’ll see in a minute.

Okay, here we go!!

Scores:

Ellie & Ava: 94, 95, 96 for an average of 95

Briar Nolet: 92, 92, 94 for an average of 92.7 and she’s out with not enough points to beat Ellie & Ava. She’s very gracious in defeat.

VPeepz: 94, 91, 96 for an average of 93.7 which is not enough to beat Ellie & Ava (although Derek scored them high). And Derek gives them a great pep talk.

Now we’re down to three…the judges say nice things about the three remaining teams.

Unity LA: 95, 94, 98 for an average of 95.7 which puts them in first place. This is probably how I would have placed the first four.

The Kings are going to score big, I think.

The Kings: 100, 100, 100 and that’s that. Well deserved. I love seeing how happy they are.

Well, that was a damn good season, IMO. What say you??

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May 5, 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. :-)

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Who Do You Think Will Win World of Dance Season 3?? (Vote)

It about that time!!  Tomorrow we find out who wins season three!!

Although Unity LA is my favorite, I think The Kings are going to win it. Actually, this is always better done in two questions: Who SHOULD win (or who do you want to win)…and Who WILL Win?? Tell us what you think now, before it happens. 🙂

Finally, a little treat…Derek Hough answering JLo’s challenge. 🙂

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May 4, 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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Derek Hough  Jennifer Lopez  Ne-Yo  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
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World of Dance Season 3, Week 10 – Who Won that Pesky Wild Card?? (SPOILER, plus Vote)

Well, this is a tough one. Twelve acts performed on Sunday night and only four made it through…along with one mystery act who they very cruelly left until next week. The Wild Card. Well, I had a suspicion of who it was (not that anyone reading this blog will believe this) and I was right!! If you want to know, you’ll have to scroll to the end after all of my blather. 😉

There are a couple things to look at and points to make, as I make my case for who got it.

  • None of the junior division dancers got it because the dances seemed very edited.
  • Only two teams scored 100s in their final dance and one is already in the finale…the other isn’t.
  • The composition of the finale – they already have a contemporary duo, a bolly hop team, a hip hop team and a contemporary single.
  • Last season a Junior Hip Hop Team won (The Lab) and in season 1 a hip hop duo won (Les Twins – thanks JLo, bad call IMO).

Let’s recap the possible contenders for the Wild Card slot. From the Junior Division we have:

Julian & Charlize (95.7)
Kayla Mak (95.3)

You can re-watch their dances in a previous post…both beautiful routines. But…I don’t think they’re the Wild Card because we already have two hip hop teams in there and we already have a contemporary single. Also, their scores aren’t as high as I would like for a finalist.

From the Junior Team Division, we have:

Dancetown Divas (95.7)
The Crazy 8’s (93)

You can watch their routines in a previous post as well. The little nuggets (Crazy 8s) won’t be the wild card mainly because their limitations are starting to show. Only natural since they are so young. Amazing, but no. Dancetown Divas?? For whatever reason, latin/ballroom don’t seem to get a fair shake on this show – even from Derek half the time. I don’t think they’re going to make it, although they should.

Next, the Upper Division:

Poppin’ John (95)
Derion & Madison (92)

Check out their routines at the link. So why not Poppin’ John?? Well, I think he’s shown us all he has and is not dynamic enough for the finale. As for Derion and Madison? Low Score plus lots of hip hop already.

And finally, the Upper Team Division – which I’m pretty sure contains the Wild Card winner. 🙂

Unity LA (98.7)
The Heima (93.3)

Now, it’s not going to be the Heima because there are already two hip hop teams in the finale, not to mention that they seemed to run out of gas a bit in their last routine. Their scores are trending downward. Unity LA on the other hand got 100s from Derek and Ne-Yo and they keep getting better every week. They had the highest score of ANYONE not already going to the finale, plus a higher score than EVERYONE in the finale except the Kings. Plus a contemporary group is rather unusual – lots of contemporary singles and duos, but a group of this size?? That’s usually reserved for hip hop. So, that’s why I thought they would be the Wild Card.

If E! is to be believed, they did get the wild card. Funny, I posted the video of Derek dancing yesterday and didn’t notice that they spoiled who won the wild card. 🙂

Five acts remain in the competition heading into the world final this weekend: Briar Nolet (Upper division), The Kings (Upper Team), Ellie and Ava (Junior division), VPeepz (Junior Team), and Unity LA (Wildcard).

Those acts will each dance twice, and whoever comes out with the higher average score will be named the season three world champion.

So, is Unity LA a good choice for you? Or do you want someone else to win the Wild Card?? Vote below!

—–

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May 3, 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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Derek Hough  Jennifer Lopez  Ne-Yo  Videos  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
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World of Dance Season 3, Week 10 – Did the Right Dancers Win the Junior Division?? (Vote)

Yeah, I don’t think this Division turned out how I expected, but I think I was surprisingly okay with that. 🙂 Perhaps because Jennifer tried really hard to get her way, but I think that Derek and Ne-Yo prevailed for a change. I’m down with that.

Nothing at all against Kayla – very beautiful dancer. I just like the unusual and I think that Ellie and Ava are that in spades. But I get ahead of myself. Here’s how is stacked up at the end of the night:

Ellie and Ava – 96
Julian and Charlize – 95.7
Kayla Mak – 95.3

Dang, it was close wasn’t it?? Let’s take another look at the dances. First, Kayla Mak.

Beautiful. Next, Julian and Charlize.

It’s all coming back to me now. I had the feeling at the time (last Sunday) that this whole division was edited down for time and it did them a huge disservice. I think it’s really noticeable in this routine. Very good routine, loved the styling and colors and the dancing was first rate…but it seemed short. That bugs me. I feel like they got short changed, these two in particular.

This routine from Ellie and Ava doesn’t appear edited and it is gorgeous. It’s my opinion that the right dancers won this particular division – at least on this night. 🙂 What do you think??

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May 1, 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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Videos  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
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World of Dance Season 3, WEEK 10 – The Division Finals!! LIVE BLOG

Well, who’s going to win each Division and go head to head at the finals?? We find out starting soon!!

Here we go – who you rooting for??

Wait, what?? A Twist?? I can’t take this kind of stress. 🙂

JUDGES SAVE!!!! OMG. Can only be used once. Any Division could get it (I fully expect both the Heima and the Kings to make it through.

Derion and Madison are going first – I hope we do each division at a time and don’t skip around.

Ohhh, marching onto the stage. Hard core. Starting out extremely cool. Love the slow mo, love the black and white transition to color. Oh damn, they blew the final move. Shit, that totally sucks. The routine was amazing right until the very end.

Ne-Yo being very comforting. Derek says they did so much that was so good. Jennifer loved the concept, thought it was great. Ne-yo commenting on all the things that I loved about the routine. So bummed out.

Oh I forgot that we don’t get to see the scores until the end.

Poppin’ John being a real class act, meeting them as they come off stage. Damn. I’m bummed out. That routine was excellent.

And Poppin’ John is up next. Ne-Yo telling him he can’t keep bringing the same thing – agreed.

Doin’ some magic! What he does is really cool, but he needs to step it up a bit. That was really really good, but he didn’t take the risks that Derion and Madison did. It was a great routine but…

Derek says it was his best routine, that it was great. Jennifer says he takes her back to her childhood, and he does it at a high level. Ne-Yo talks about how he told him you can’t be a one trick pony and he did add stuff (??). I dunno about that – I really like John but I don’t know that I saw something different.

This division is very varied, Derion and Madison, Poppin’ John and now Briar Nolet. Very interesting. Ne-yo mentions that she’s from a gymnastics background and it shows. Hope she doesn’t take that too far.

Cool start, very visual and appealing. The leap off the box was killer. Love the outfit. Okay, this is…rad. That’s the word that springs to mind. The ending was just KILLER. Damn that was good. It wasn’t cliche contemporary. Just amazing

Ne-yo says she’s grown. Jennifer says she thrives in this environment (true). Ne-Yo says he’s impressed as hell. Jennifer is raving. Derek says the wow factor is high. Seamless and effortless. Jennifer comments on the gymnastics. Derek says way to lay it on the floor.

IMO, Briar won the Division. By a lot.

Scores:

Derion and Madison – 92, 91, 93 for an average of 92

Poppin’ John – 95, 94, 96 (Ne-Yo, Derek, Jennifer) for an average of 95 – and Derion and Madison are out. 🙁

Briar – 96, 93, 97 for an average of 95.3 and Briar moves on to the final!! Well deserved.

Jennifer tells Poppin’ John he has a good shot for the wild card (but not really).

Junior Team Division are up next and the Crazy 8s are going first. Derek says that this is a hard division and he’s right!!

OMG…this little girl wishes that Naya would speak to her. And the dance is about that. Naya has spoken to everyone else. I think they might rely on this too much but they are such little girls that they need to be about something and this is something tangible they can be about. I get it.

These little munchkins are like amazingly good. Can they compete against adults, I’m not sure. But damn they are amazing when they are so small!!

Derek says…oh I just got misty. Little girls. Derek’s going to cry. Jennifer says they executed beautifully. Ne-Yo says they are little powerhouses. Jennifer says she got tears in her eyes. Derek says they make him excited for the future of dance.

I love these BTS things, and the out takes.

VPeepz are up next. They don’t get as much of a package as others which is disturbing.

Sharp, clean, cool. I love when they have the bridge and someone is sitting on with and they go into slow motion. Good use of the guy in the different outfit. Why do I feel this dance was too short?? And we’re only ten minutes into the second half hour. What the heck.

Judges are raving like crazy though, so I don’t know what’s going on. Yeah, the leg breaking thing was cool. Derek is also very impressed.

I dunno, I feel like they got short shrift.

Next up: Dancetown Divas – love them. 🙂 “We don’t need boys to do ballroom” – amen, sister!!

These outfits are perfect for girl power. Come on, girls!!!

Strong start. Grat Sync, great cha cha moves. Very powerful. Tiny bit messy in the middle. Great routine but I don’t know if it had enough wow moments in it. Very powerful, pretty clean.

Derek says it’s amazing to see what they’ve done. Ne-yo says they epitomize girl power. Jennifer says she’s so proud of young girls. Nice to see them growing empowered, and understanding their worth. Aaaand now everyone is crying. Me included. Now Derek is being very heartfelt towards JLo. All very sweet.

Scores:

Crazy 8s – 94, 92, 93 (Ne-Yo, Derek, Jennifer) for an average of 93

VPeepz – 96, 95, 97…for an average of 96, and that eliminates the Crazy 8s. I love them but that’s fair.

Dancetown Divas – 96, 96, 95 for an average of 95.7, which means that the VPeepz are going to the final.

Love the shots of the judges backstage consoling the kids that didn’t make it through.

Okay, so far our final consists of VPeepz and Briar Nolet. Of the two, based just on tonight’s performance, I’m liking Briar Nolet.

Next up, the Junior Division. Jennifer bustin’ on Derek about having babies. 🙂

Ellie and Ava up first. There’s a bit of panting over Derek – I’ve met him, I understand. Much better looking in person and very sweet. What he’s telling the girls right now is a technique he’s used with his partners on DWTS to great success. Kellie Pickler is one that it really helped.

This is gorgeous. So powerful. So clean. That was beautiful. I felt that one and that’s saying something.

Jennifer raves about it. She says it’s perfect and she couldn’t believe how perfect it was. Derek says every move was finished, he’s raving, he’s in shock. Ne-Yo says they were graceful and flawless. Jennifer says it was a beautiful thing to watch.

Julian and Charlize up next. Derek tells them to bring it down a tiny bit, if they hit every beat it won’t be special.

Awesome start. That seemed VERY short, which is very upsetting. What the hell?

Jennifer says it’s great, the choreography is top notch. Ne-Yo loves the back bend and it makes his back hurt. Derek says there are hard hits and then slower parts, so good.

Kayla Mak up next and I suspect she won’t be edited. And no, she’s getting a very long package.

Beautiful outfit. Opening picture is beautiful. Girl has double jointed arms. Seeing more contemporary and less ballet util the middle which is effective. She’s ver dramatic, but I don’t know if I saw anything special in that. It was great, but….

Derek says every move is stunning. Ne-Yo and Jennifer both rave. Derek says magical. Why are they giving this division the shaft??

Scores:

Julian and Charlize – 96, 95, 96 (Derek, Ne-Yo, Jennifer) for an average of 95.7

Ellie and Ava – 94, 99, 95 (Ne-yo, Derek, Jennifer) for an average of 96 and that means that Julian and Charlize are out.

Kayla: 97, 94, 95 (Jennifer, Ne-Yo, Derek) for an average of 95.3 and Kayla is out. Jennifer tried really hard to get Kayla in there with her 97, but she failed. I think maybe Derek and Ne-Yo are wise to her. 🙂

I felt like the Juniors got the shaft, but maybe that’s my imagination. I just feel like they were over too fast.

Upper Teams are next with mentoring by Twitch. Heima up first. Twitch is a good choice in mentors. Their stories are heart wrenching. They’re all crying which makes me cry. Heima = Home.

Now these outfits are cool – yellow masks, mesh shirts. Wow, the shirt off move was cool, more tricky that I’ve seen them in the past. Very cool, love the swaying at the end.

Derek says they are world class and beyond athletic. Jennifer says most of their amazing things are upside down. Derek says stopping on a dime is amazing. Ne-Yo says their pictures – there weren’t as many in this performance. Derek doesn’t know if it was their best. I would agree. But it was still great.

Unity LA is up ext….saving all the Kings drama for the end. Twitch says he has nothing for them choregraphically, except they need a deeper emotional connection.

Unity LA was hosed last week, hope they make up for it. Some odd camera work. The illusion of the door is very cool. Like where are they all coming from?

Damn, that was perfect. Awesome. Stellar. Beautiful. Derek is in tears. Jennifer seems to be as well. Derek says he is grateful to be a part of this show because it creates moments like that. It was pure art. He’s very into it…says it was very real. Jennifer says all the white coats were perfectly in sync and beautifully in sync. Props use was stellar – their best piece yet. Ne-Yo says he’s gotten his first goosies. And that earns a hug from Derek. Ne-Yo says it was perfect. Agreed. Their best work. And the funniest thing?? Zack was a tapper on SYTYCD.

The Kings are next/last. Love these guys. Twitch is nervous about the tricks and is worried they are spending too much time on the tricks and not the transitions. And they have an injury during practice. They’re all emotional about the injury, they can’t afford to go back home.

Great start, very powerful, very aggressive. Great trick at the beginning. Pretty amazing stuff. Overall a crazy routine. Very athletic.

Jennifer says that was out of this world. Savage. They pushed the tricks to another level. Mind-blowing. Derek says there were amazing moments and the visuals were amazing. Ne-Yo says they have such an identity, they won’t ever be forgotten. Jennifer says they are the full package. One of their guys is in a wheelchair, but Great dance! Slight sarcasm there – feel bad for them, for sure.

Scores:

Heima: 92, 93, 95 for an average of 93.3

Unity LA: 96, 100, 100 (Jennifer, Ne-Yo, Derek) for an average of 98.7 Which means Heima are out.

The Kings: 99, 100, 100 (Jennifer, Ne-Yo, Derek) for an average of 99.7…man that sucks. Unity LA is out with the most amazing dance. The Kings are also amazing.

Now, who’s going to win the wild card??

Here we go. Who will the judges pick?? They should pick Unity LA.

AND THAT’S IT??? THEY’RE GOING TO THE FINAL WITHOUT TELLING US WHO IT IS?? Bastards. 🙂

Well, we’ll discuss this tomorrow, I can assure you. 🙂

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April 28, 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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Derek Hough  Jennifer Lopez  Ne-Yo  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
Tags:                                                    

World of Dance Season 3, WEEK 9 – Who Got ROBBED?? (Vote)

Well, I see it on Twitter – someone ALWAYS yellin’ at Derek or Jennifer or Ne-Yo for their votes on such and such dancer, saying it’s their fault they didn’t make it to the next round. This week I saw LOTS of yelling at Derek for his scoring of…I think it was Funkanometry. Well, now’s your chance to make your voices heard. 🙂

As you may recall, the Junior Division Duel Winners competing in the Cut were:

Moving 4ward (90.3)
Funkanometry (91.3)
Lauren Yakima (91.7)
Julian & Charlize (93)
Kayla Mak (93.7)
Ellie & Ava (95.3)

The top three scorers will be advancing to the Junior Division Finals (you can vote for your favorite at this link), but the bottom three were eliminated. Let’s take another look at the eliminee’s dances.

Totally bummed about these guys – loved them. This dance just wasn’t strong enough, plus they had that slip on the table.

Next, Funkanometry…I love these guys too. Cute and funny dudes. I think they have some growing to do before they make it farther in the competition though.

Finally, Lauren Yakima…

I think Lauren is an exceptional dancer. Is she better than Moving 4ward or Kayla or Ellie & Ava?? Maybe. But the problem for me is that this dance was so cliched contemporary. It had all the stuff it was supposed to have. There was nothing new or different or exciting about it. And I think it’s because the emotion doesn’t feel authentic, in addition to the moves being quite standard.

ALL that being said, I am very surprised that she didn’t get a shot at the final. At the end of the day, she was out danced by Kayla Mak, not to mention Ellie & Ava, the other contemporary dancers in the division. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a very good dancer. I’m not sure she was robbed. I don’t think any of them were at the end of the day. What do you say??

As for the Upper Team Division…I need a reminder of who all was dancing in the Cut.

Fuego Dance Crew (89.3)
Exiles (90.3)
Radiance (92.7)
Unity LA (93.3)
The Heima (97.3)
The Kings (97.7)

The Top 3 Teams from the Upper Team Division will be dancing tomorrow night in the Division Final (click the link to vote for your favorite and rewatch their dances), but the bottom three were eliminated. Re-watching their dances…first, Fuego Dance Crew:

They overestimate their own sex appeal. I seem to recall in the earlier rounds them chatting up all the ladies. Perhaps some focus is in order. Sad to say, I didn’t remember who these guys were until I saw them dancing and remembered the (foolish?) advice they got to sex it up a bit. As if.

The Exiles:

I said it during the live blog, and I’ll say it again. The one guy wearing a white hat?? Why?? Why? For one little trick?? The trick was good, but it wasn’t enough for that distracting hat!! The guy wasn’t even the main focal point for half the dance. I love these guys though…love them. They are entertaining, but they need more polish.

Why do I like contemporary so much better when it’s done in a large group?? Love Radiance… they did have a few tiny mistakes though.

So, what do you all think?? As much as I love Radiance, I don’t think anyone was robbed. Remember, if someone was robbed, you have to deprive another team of their spot – and who is that going to be?? Noooobody, IMO.

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April 27, 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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Derek Hough  Jenna Dewan Tatum  Jennifer Lopez  Ne-Yo  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
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World of Dance Season 3, Week 9 – Who is the Winner of the Junior Division?? (VOTE!!)

Well, if case you were wondering, and even if you weren’t, I got spring fever this week and was outside too much to blog. 🙂 I’m going to have to refresh my memory on the Junior Division Cut Survivors so I can pick my favorites. We’ll discuss who got robbed later. The standings going into the Divisional Finals are:

Ellie & Ava with 95.3
Kayla Mak with 93.7
Julian & Charlize with 93

I don’t think this Division is as clear cut as some of the others may be. Ellie & Ava have been pretty strong all along.

This dance was really, really good – hard core. But what got me most was the shots of granddad in the audience afterward. Does that count? 🙂

Kayla Mak up next…

Absolutely Kayla’s best dance so far, and you know why?? Because I actually saw the ballet this time. Previously, I thought she was just another contemporary dancer wearing ballet shoes. Not this time. And I LIKE that. It’s different.

And that brings us to Julian and Charlize…

This is also my favorite dance of theirs!! Dang, that was really good, and I think Jennifer gave them good advice. I have no clue who to vote for. I think the Juniors are over all a weaker division than some of the others, but they’re still fantastic. Hmmm….

I have to go with Julian & Charlize, with a close second of Kayla Mak, and an equally close third of Ellie & Ava

This one is tougher. While I think Julian and Charlize won the week, I’m not so sure they should win the division based on their body of work. I think it could go to any of the three…who do you pick??

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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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Derek Hough  Jennifer Lopez  Ne-Yo  Videos  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
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World of Dance Season 3, WEEK 9 – The CUT Not-so-Live BLOG

Hi all! Sorry I didn’t blog yesterday – it was Easter and I was in a sugar coma. 🙂 But I am going to watch the show now and blog as I go. Hope you all enjoyed it last night. It was all about the Upper Teams division and the Junior Division. Here we go…And I haven’t been spoiled.

Derek looks fineeee in a turtleneck. Love Derek singing to Ne-yo through the wall. Love Jennifer’s very strange outfit.

Juniors going first, mentored by Jennifer. Haha…Funkenometry going first…little spacemen. They are all 12 year old boys in front of Jennifer. And she’s wearing some amazing shoes.

Here we go with their dance. This is actually pretty cute. Don’t know if cute will be enough, but it is cute. Fun little lean trick. Highly entertaining – not super difficult, but highly entertaining.

Ne-Yo wearing a helmet is hilarious. Jennifer says they added her suggestions, that it really came together and that it was fun and innovative. Ne-Yo says they’re becoming a favorite. It’s entertaining and they earned the funny and danced well. Derek says the concept and costumes were better than the routine, the choreography was elementary (agreed). Ne-Yo says he would still pay money to see it.

Scores: 93, 93, 88 for an average of 91.3. Wonder if there is discussion between the judges so that Jennifer doesn’t score her mentees low, and Derek goes low to offset her – because you know that is not going to end up being the best act in the division, yet 93 is a high score.

Sorry, this Derek-Ne-Yo thing is just hilarious.

Next is the probable winner of the Junior Division, Lauren Yakima.

Come on, Lauren, kill it. Dress is beautiful, lighting is beautiful, fairly standard contemporary choreography so far. It was very beautiful, but I don’t think it was as special as her last dance. It takes a lot to move me, and that didn’t really do it. Which disappoints me.

The judges loved it, saying the emotion was general, Derek points out the wobbly moments (I caught those – I guess they all did, based on the comments while they were scoring). It seems like they don’t have much else to say.

Scores: 91, 91, 93 for an average of 91.7 – a much lower score than I expected from her, actually.

Next up is Moving 4ward and they are edited straight out of the gate, you can tell by the way the dance gets started. And they had a slip on the table. Which is a shame because I actually prefer them to either Lauren or Kayla.

Derek says he lost excitement in the middle. Jennifer agrees. The whole thing is VERY truncated.

Scores; 90, 91, 90 for an average of 90.3 which is currently third place. The shortness of the routine means they don’t make it.

Julian and Charlize are up next. Jennifer likes the cat and mouse game, but says they have to go all the way there, but they don’t yet.

This is off to an excellent start. Really good, interesting, sharp moves. I LOVED that!! It told a whole story, it was lovely.

Derek starts off and he’s a bit on crack saying he saw the choreography more than he saw the dance. Well, I don’t agree with that. 🙂 Great musicality there. Their hits are effective thought. But then he says he really liked it. Jennifer says it was an amazing routine, narrative was great, dancing was great, it was beautiful. Ne-Yo says there was so much beat manipulation, but it was danced exquisitely.

Scores: 94, 91, 94 (Ne-Yo, Derek, Jennifer) for an average of 93…and the top of the leaderboard. Well deserved. And they are guaranteed a spot in the divisional final, I believe. Moving 4ward is out.

Kayla Mak is up next. Dig the outfit. Seeing a bit more ballerina this time. The walking and her lines. Derek is right, she is exquisite. In the end, I feel like that was better than Lauren’s routine but…

Derek says exquisite again and says ballet can compete on this show. Jennifer talks about their discussion and that she really tapped into it. Derek talks about her transitions – how great they are. Jennifer says she’s so delicate but strong and courageous. Ne-Yo says there’s a edge to her that sets her apart.

Scores: 93, 94, 94 for an average of 93.7 which puts her slightly ahead of Julian and Charlize – only 0.7 points. Funkenometry is out, but gets props from the judges.

Ellie and Ava are up next. Sounds like they might be taking a risk. Jennifer going hard core on them, saying she doesn’t get it. She actually gives them pretty good advice, but man, big changes are risky.

They do move very well together even when not in sync. Great flip at the end. All in all, very powerful routine. I think I liked it better than Lauren’s.

Ne-Yo says the power was real. Now everybody is crying including me. Ne-Yo says it was very powerful. Jennifer says it was sooo badass. The tone was perfect. Derek says they embodied it all. Jennifer says the change was worth it.

Scores: 95, 95, 96 for an average o f95.3 and the top spot on the leaderboard, knocking out Lauren Yakima. Just goes to show, you never know what’s going to happen and you have to bring it every time.

That means the top three acts for the Junior Division are:
Ellie and Ava
Kayla Mak
Julian and Charlize

Unexpected, but I love it!!

Now for the Upper Team Division. Exiles are up first. These are the dads doing hip hop thing…they’re fun though. Good enough to win redemption. Ne-Yo says they are in an unfinished place. He tries to pump them to get them to believe in themselves. Hope it works.

Like their outfits. Only one guy with a hat??Seems like it worked. The hat guy seems to be the focal point but he’s not except sometimes. This is a pretty strong routine, but I don’t know.

Ne-Yo says they were feeling uncertain but they found the confidence. Jennifer says they were trying to tell them something with the song. Jennifer felt it. She says they nailed it. Derek loved the windmill trick. Jennifer says some of the spacing was off. Derek says some of the dancing in between dropped the energy.

Scores: 90, 90, 91 for an average of 90.3. I tend to think that won’t last but we’ll see.

The Kings are up next. Love these guys – hope they do well. Ne-yo seems to tell them to streamline it a bit, but I dunno.

Their outfits are really effective with a team that large. I’m at loss for words actually. That transformer move was super cool, and everything after that point was just amazing. Fantastic.

Jennifer is all like OMG. She says it was a very different routine. Ne-Yo said it had just enough comedy. Derek – at the beginning it was too much but when it got going it was fantastic. Derek and Jennifer both say insane. The judges are essentially raving.

Scores: 96, 98, 99 (Ne-yo, Derek, Jennifer) for an average of 97.7. Well deserved.

Up next, Unity LA – my favorites (with Kings a close second). Zack talking about how their careers have an expiration date.

Oh boy, they’re in trouble. They were edited to the point that the audience wouldn’t get the point of the dance, and it was still a bit messy and not as compelling as some of their earlier routines.

Derek says “interesting” which is not a good sign. Jennifer says it was super creative, but it can’t get too abstract so that they don’t get it. Yeah, even the judges comments are heavily edited. They’re not long for the show even with what will probably be decent scores

Scores: 93, 93, 94 for an average of 93.3. That puts them temporarily in second place.

Fuego Dance Crew is up next. Ne-Yo tells them to turn up the sexy.

Off to a pretty strong start. I’m not seeing the sexy but the moves in the middle are cool until they almost blew the roll. It was interesting, ,I don’ know if it was that great.

Derek says they improved their wave. Ne-yo says they brought the latin fire. Jennifer says they have improved and they are the most fun and would be great to hang out with. She thinks it’s a little elementary. Derek says it needed ore gasoline and it was a little elementary. Derek liked the pictures, but he doesn’t think it was strong enough for this stage of the competition. I would agree.

Scores: 90, 89, 89 for an average of 89.3, which puts them out of the competition.

This is going to be tight. Radiance up next. They were so fantastic last week, I hope they can hold it up. If they can bring the emotion they have back stage to the stage, they should be good.

I think they did it. I think it was beautiful. Derek asks what it was about. Derek got it I think. He says they did a great job with the narrative. From a competitive standpoint there were a few moments that weren’t together, Ne-Yo agrees. Jennifer loves when dancers convey what they’re feeling. She thinks the piece itself could have been stronger, she didn’t understand that it was about shootings.

Scores: 94, 92 92 for an average of 92.7 which moves them into third place, knocking out Exiles. This means that Unity LA and Kings are guaranteed a spot in the Divisional Final. So why did Unity get so edited??

The Heima are our last group of the night. No Mask tonight…This could help or hurt them, as they explain in their package. The Mask mask their insecurities.

I like their hands as masks. Off to a great start. Love that swing they created. The slow mo part was also awesome. Hell, the whole thing was awesome. Excellent.

Derek is up…and he hasn’t been for a while. Jennifer says they are explosive and exciting. They know who they are, all their athletic talent. Derek says they defy physics. Ne-Yo says they took amazing risks, he loves seeing their faces, loves the smiles, they brought personality on top of being technically sound. Quality work.

Scores: 98, 95, 100 for an average of 97.7 – which knocks out Radiance. Hooray for the Heima but boo for Radiance. I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow in my recap post.

End of the show leaves us with (for the Upper Team Division):
The Heima
The Kings
Unity LA

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April 22, 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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Derek Hough  Jenna Dewan Tatum  Jennifer Lopez  Ne-Yo  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
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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. 🙂

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. 🙂

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. 🙂 So, once again, I’m going with no one was robbed. How about you??

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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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Derek Hough  Jennifer Lopez  Ne-Yo  Videos  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
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WoD Week 6 Recap and VOTE – Who Got Robbed?? (Junior Division Poll)

I didn’t have too much trouble with the duels this week. I’m still seeing a lot of commentary about the behavior between the dancers, although I think there was improvement last night. I also saw a lot of love between the competitors. And on top of that I saw an article about the behavior that used Derek’s “stepping in” as proof that it’s going too far. Come on. I think anyone who knows Derek could see that his “stepping in” between groups throwing shade was all in fun. It’s not like any of these dancers were Ryan Locte protesters that Derek threatened to throw out of the DWTS ballroom. Let’s not get carried away.

Don’t get me wrong, there is certainly the possibility that some of these folks could go too far in their shade – but I haven’t seen that yet. And I see most of it as a way to hype themselves up to compete at the highest level.

So, did you agree with the judges or did someone get seriously robbed of their rightful spot in The Cut?? Here’s a reminder of the losers (and the Winners): Read more..

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April 1, 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. :-)

Filed Under: Current News  Derek Hough  Jennifer Lopez  Ne-Yo  Videos  World of Dance  World of Dance Season 3
Tags:                                      
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