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 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. :-)

World of Dance Season 3, WEEK 7 – The Duels LIVE BLOG

The final night of the duels is upon us. Tonight it’s the Upper Team Division!! I’m about five minutes behind show time so it will be a few before I catch up. Nice weather = me drinking wine outside. πŸ™‚

First, Judges looking fiiinnnneee. πŸ™‚

Next, Fuego Dance Crew chooses Siudy Flamenco – hard to say who all they had to choose from since they were the number for team and presumable, three other teams chose before them.

Rooting for Flamenco. I don’t like extreme arrogance.

Fuego going first. First move is excellent. But their sync isn’t as impressive as some of the junior teams. Not a particularly difficult routine, kinda simple, IMO. But well danced. Read more..

April 7, 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 6 Recap and VOTE – Who Should Win the Junior Division?? (Poll)

I think there is a fairly clear winner of this Division so far. Let’s refresh our memories and we’ll see if I hold to my same opinion as we rewatch the dancers who made it through to the Cut. First, here our the duel winners for this division:

Juniors – Advancing to the Cut
Ellie & Ava 91.7
Funkenometry 91.7
Moving Forward 90.3
Julian and Charlize 95.3
Lauren Yakima 96
Kayla Mak Redemption

Kayla Mak was our redemption winner. Very good dancer, but too close to Lauren Yakima (who got a 96!!) to likely survive much longer. But I think she was the rightful redemption winner as much as I love me some tap.

Yeah, there’s no way that Kayla wasn’t going to win this particular match up. I did love House of Tap’s first number of the night, though. After Kayla, Moving Forward is the low scorer of those moving forward to the next round.

I really loved these guys. What they’re going to have to do is clean up their sync some. That’s the advantage that Kayla and Lauren have – they don’t have to worry about being in sync with anyone else. But this is also what makes a group like Moving Forward so visually appealing. Loved it.

Next up is a tie between Ellie & Ava and Funkenometry with 91.7 – not that this score matters any longer. First, Ellie & Eva:

They are obviously excellent dancers. But I find them falling into the same stuff that other contemporary dancers do – the emotion seems forced or put on to me. I appreciate much more a group like Moving 4ward who don’t try to force it and let the dancing speak. I’ve seen too many dancers actually crying when a routine is over to buy the faux emotion in your average contemporary routine.

I can’t actually find Funkenometry’s duel! What’s up with that?? So we’ll move on to Julian and Charlize…

I actually thought these two needed to tighten up when they first got started. Charlize seemed to be lagging a bit behind Julian. But by 1/3 of the way in, they were on fire. I think the burns gave them life – and those were some pretty funny burns, I must say. πŸ™‚

And that brings us to Lauren Yakima. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I’m not a big contemporary fan. It has to be REALLY well done. Like Travis Wall (or Derek Hough) or Allison Holker well done. Or Lauren Yakima well done. πŸ™‚

Why do I like Lauren?? Well, she doesn’t seem to default to weepy emotion. She’s strong, confident and tough…or at least, that’s how she dances. She just kills this routine…and she may just kill the whole competition. πŸ™‚ I keep thinking Game of Thrones when I watch her dance. πŸ™‚ P.S. JLo is full of CRAP. She is one of the reasons that contemporary seems fake weepy 90% of the time. There is NO reason why Lauren’s way can’t be THE way.

So, Lauren is my winner…who is yours??

April 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. :-)

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..

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. :-)

World of Dance Season 3, WEEK 6 – The Duels

This week, the Junior Division battles it out in the duels…can we say no to a ton of contemporary and nothing else?? Please. First, look at these attractive judges…

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvo4B7YgUlG/?hl=en

Five minutes….

And here we go….definitely the prettiest judges on TV. πŸ™‚
Read more..

March 31, 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 5 Recap and VOTE – Who Should Win the Junior Team Division?? (Poll)

So, now we know the standings for the Junior Team Division – and I’m not sure it’s as strong as some in the past. It includes:

Here’s a reminder of who the competitors are. First, it was JDC – as I said yesterday, I preferred Dancetown Divas in this round and I got lucky because they won the redemption round. And their duel score would have put them in second place behind JDC so I’m giving them second place here. πŸ™‚ Seriously, the school yard pick way of doing it makes the show interesting, but on what planet should a team like Dancetown Divas get shut out while a team who scores a full 7 points below them gets to move on. Annoying. Which is why I’m grateful for the redemption round. πŸ™‚ Actually, the only duel video available is one that shows both teams, so here they are…

In re-watching JDC, I really did love this dance. I just get annoyed when contemporary is given so much more weight by people like Jennifer who respond to that emotion, real or not. It seemed more real here than it has from other contemporary dancers on this show, so good job.

Next up are the Crazy 8’s – I admit, I love these kids. But I liked their first routine better than this one. They picked wisely, but they need to make sure they don’t repeat themselves in the Cut.

VPeepz are next – looking at the total youtube views from last week is interesting. You have to keep in mind that the qualifiers took place over three weeks, so some videos have been up longer than others, but they have 2.4 million views which seems to be pretty darn good. Them, the Kings, the Crazy 8’s and Poppin’ John seem to be killing it with the repeat viewers. And in rewatching this performance, I can see why they have so many views. Great dance, even with the slight fumbles. Clean it up for next time, kids!!

Took WoD a bit to get Electro Crew up on their youtube channel other wise I would have posted this yesterday!! I liked this routine – not too much Thriller, pretty unique, creepy ending. Watching it a second time I liked it even better than I did on Sunday night.

Get Down District are the group that reminded me of cheerleaders…

And here is the redemption round, where the Dancetown Divas were victorious over MKAM – good call, in my opinion.

So, who are your top 3 acts from the Junior Division?? You can pick three below. If you want to tell me who got robbed from this division, you can head over to my previous post by clicking the link. πŸ™‚ If you’re still fuming from the Upper Division eliminations, you can vote on that too. πŸ˜‰

March 25, 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. :-)