Parade Magazine Introduces World of Dance Season 3 Contestants!!

This is a nice article which introduces 15 of the 54 acts that will be competing on the upcoming season. I’ve put a short excerpt below, but click the link to read the whole article in Parade. Most of us will recognize this first group – every season they’ve had people competing on the show.

Dancetown Divas

Hometown: Miami, FL
Members: 15
Ages: 12-15
Style: Ballroom
Division: Junior Team
Bio: The Dancetown Divas, put together by choreographer Manny Castro, originate from the same Miami dance studio as World of Dance alumni Miami All-Stars and D’Angelo & Amanda from Season 1 and Jonas & Ruby and The Untouchables from Season 2. Individually, these girls have accomplished a lot, and they’re looking to prove that they belong on the big stage.

Derion & Madison

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Members: 2
Ages: 23-28
Style: Contemporary
Division: Upper
Bio: This duo of extremely athletic dancers are known for doing the unexpected in their self-choreographed dance routines. They met while touring with Diavolo and instantly became fast friends, describing themselves as “twins separated at birth.” Their unique style, technique and ability to pull off the impossible, all while making it look easy, makes them a force to be reckoned with.

January 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. :-)

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. :-)

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. :-)

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 Contestant Profile: Miami All-Stars

Division: Team
Genre: Ballroom
From: Miami, FL

I feel like the Miami All-Stars were in a relatively unique situation on WOD this season – from what I can gather from one of the team members’ Instagram posts, they actually hadn’t been performing together for awhile when WOD was announced, and it seems they may only have reunited in order to try out for WOD. Reunited, you say? Well, back in 2011, they auditioned for America’s Got Talent (SYTYCD and Derek Hough fans, keep your eyes peeled towards the right side of the screen at the :35 mark to catch a glimpse of a pre-SYTYCD Rudy Abreu, who was a member at the time):

If the guy talking looks familiar, that’s Manny Castro – father of D’Angelo from D’Angelo & Amanda. Not sure if he is still choreographing/coaching the group or not (he wasn’t mentioned with regards to MAS when they did their qualifier performance), but the MAS are from his studio.  The judges loved them on AGT, and they advanced straight to the live shows without having to qualify in Vegas.  They made it through the top 48…those pink costumes look familiar?

And then also advanced through the semifinals (those outfits look kind of familiar, too)…

And ended up finishing that season in the top 10…

Court’s thoughts: I had really high hopes for them, given how much I loved them on AGT – but after seeing their qualifier performance, I’m wondering if WOD was really the right stage for them, both literally and figuratively-speaking. I’m thinking part of their appeal on AGT was their ability to fill up a HUGE stage with an action-packed routine – something that they kinda had to reign in for WOD, and I’d say with mixed results. Their duel performance was a huge improvement, and had they not been up against Swing Latino, I think they could have eked out another round on WOD. I’m not sure we’ll see them back next season – the members seem to be pretty tied up with other projects – but I am curious to see if Manny brings one of his studio’s other groups, The Untouchables or Dancetown Chaos, to try out…

Social media:

Miami All-Stars Facebook
Miami All-Stars Twitter
DancetownUSA Instagram (their home studio)

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, By the Numbers – Week 4

I have to say, I really like the duels concept. I also appreciate that the high scoring duelers get to pick their competition in their category. And that means that for this upcoming week, Les Twins – the high scorers in the upper division – picked Kyle Van Newkirk who is the LOW scorer. That seems….unsporting, to say the least.

Of course, this is a reality show. Do we really believe that, A) Les Twins are actual competitors and not ringers brought in to bring eyes to the show (like the Jabbawockeez), and B) that the contestants REALLY picked their competition with no outside influence?? Ordinarily, I would give it more of a chance – for one thing, it needs to get as much attention as possible in order to continue to exist. And for another thing this show BENEFITS anyone who appears on it, regardless of how far they go. For that reason, I appreciate it. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that it IS a reality show. So I can’t give Les Twins too hard of a time. Yet. 🙂 Also…the matchup of Les Twins with Kyle seems tailor made to get a ton of PR, which is exactly how they’re promoting it. It seems so…set up. Contrived. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how it goes down. And if Kyle REALLY wins. Despite these questions, I still LOVE the show…the dancing is first rate.

Anyway, let’s look back and the Qualifying scores in each Division:

So, if they go in order, Les Twins had the first pick in that Division and picked the low scorer, Kyle. By the same token, Eva Igo picked Kyntay…but if they really went in order, Eva had last pick and could only pick the last remaining dancer(s) in that Division – Kyntay. She would have had no choice. Swing Latino would have had second pick and they picked the last place team in their division (correction, second to last) – a somewhat logical choice in this instance, but still it seemed like David versus Goliath. It actually ended up being close.

Another duel was a heartbreaker – Keone and Mari versus Quick Style. Again, they likely had no choice. Neither team was in the top five, so they were likely the last two groups standing in that division. But in looking at the tables, I realize that the Upper and Team Divisions currently have odd numbers. It makes me wonder if some of the 45 dancers not shown so far are going to make an appearance in the duels as cannon fodder. Kinda hard to have duels with odd numbers. Based on what we know so far, Pasion has to pick either Luka/Jennalyn or DNA – and whoever is left doesn’t have a dueling partner. Hmmmm…..sure enough, watching the show again reveals that there are indeed people on the roster that we didn’t see in the qualifiers.

I also take back what I said earlier. Eva didn’t have last pick but second to last.

Anyway, let’s look at the Duel scores.

Fik-Shun was high scorer so he picked and went first. Swing Latino was higher than Miami All Stars and they also went first. Then they switched it up and had Kyntay and Keoni/Mari both go first in their duels despite being the lower scorers. Of course, we don’t know if that is the true order…it could have changed in editing.

Basically, I think the right picks were made and the right people went through. Love Quick Style and I’m bummed out that they went against Keone and Mari, who are one of my absolute favorites. That one was too close. Scores I disagree with while agreeing with the winner was Eva versus Kyntay – there was NOT that much of a difference score-wise between them, although I do think Eva won.

Some people improved on their qualifying scores and some didn’t – no idea yet if that is going to mean anything in the long run. I suspect not. Some of the difference between qualifiers and duels were very minor, like Fik-shun versus Nick Daniels. Others were quite massive – Miami All Stars gained 7 whole points while Swing Latino lost a couple points. Unfortunately for Miami All Stars it wasn’t quite enough. Kyntay also gained a few points while Eva lost one – not enough, once again. Keone and Mari gained 6 points also, while Quickstyle lost a couple.

I’m not seeing any patterns here, yet. You?

June 26, 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 4 (Duels) – Power Rankings

NOTE: Once again, apologize for the lateness – although I’m afraid this might become a regular thing for the time being.  With one team member at work on maternity leave, and the other more inclined to whittle fidget spinners out of wood (true story) than actually help me with the work load, my days at the office are…hectic.

So the first round of duels was both interesting and a bit refreshing. While I will reserve judgment on how much the contestants may have been influenced by the powers that be when picking their duel opponents, I felt like the pairings were fair for the most part, and I commend all of the competitors for being really good sports and having a lot of respect for their opponents. I also found myself agreeing with the outcome of each of these duels – I don’t think the judges got any of it wrong. Will that continue to be the pattern? Guess we’ll see.

The love affair with contemporary dancers continues, but the fact that they didn’t seem to have qualms letting Nick go (while gushing over Eva) makes me wonder if the judges might be realizing that “there can be only one” in the finals and it’s probably gonna be Eva. I actually really liked how Jenna got more heavily featured in the duel rounds – we actually got to see her in her element as a dancer, actually working with the contestants a bit, rather than just providing moral support (albeit very adorable emotional support 🙂 ) to their families backstage, like she did in the qualifier round.

So what’s on the agenda next week? Looks like the featured “duel” is Kyle Van Newkirk vs. Les Twins – a pairing that I don’t necessarily think is fair on paper, but given that they seem to be touting some “big shock” and a “David & Goliath” storyline…my guess is that Kyle ends up beating them 🙂 I feel like I saw a promo that showed more of the duel pairings, but for the life of me I cannot recall where – but it looks like D’Angelo & Amanda, Super Cr3w, The Posse, Diana Pombo, & Pasion are on the roster. I’m rooting for D’Angelo & Amanda to make it through, but it looks like they’re either gonna have to beat Diana or The Posse – both contemporary darlings much adored by the judges. Then again, I don’t know that there’s really another decent ballroom act in the junior division, so I wonder if the judges might be inclined to keep them for variety’s sake… Read more..

June 21, 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 4 (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.

“Get Down Tonight” by KC & the Sunshine Band (opening intro)

“This Girl” by Kungs & Cookin’ On 3 Burners (judges intro)

“Unsteady” by X Ambassadors (Fik-Shun qualifier recap)

“Secrets” by OneRepublic (Nick Daniels qualifier recap)

“Human” by Rag ‘n’ Bone Man (Fikshun vs. Nick Daniels intro)

“Fragile” by Tech N9ne feat. Kendrick Lamar & ¡Mayday! & Kendall Morgan (Fik-Shun performance)

“Wicked Games” by RAIGN (Nick Daniels performance)

“The Days” by Avicii (Fik-Shun vs. Nick scoring and results)

“Bemba Colora” by Celia Cruz (Swing Latino qualifier recap)

“Dance Again” by Jennifer Lopez (Miami All-Stars qualifier recap)

“Light it Up (Remix)” by Major Lazer feat. Nyla & Fuse ODG (Swing Latino vs. Miami All-Stars intro)

“Lo Que Trajo El Barco 10 (Siempre Pa Lante/Hagan Silencio)” by D. En D, La Cali Salsa Big Band (Swing Latino performance)

“Jumpin’ Jack” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (Miami All-Stars performance)

“River” by Bishop Briggs (Eva Igo qualifier recap)

“Panda” by Desiigner (Kyntay qualifier recap)

“Just Like Fire” by P!nk (Eva Igo vs. Kyntay intro)

“Bang Bang” by Jessie J & Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj (Kyntay performance)

“It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World (The Voice Performance)” by Juliet Simms (Eva Igo performance)

“Alive” by Sia (Eva Igo vs. Kyntay scoring & results)

“Happy” by C2C feat. Derek Martin (Keone & Mari qualifier recap)

“Jolene” by Dolly Parton (Quickstyle qualifier recap)

“Paris” by The Chainsmokers (Quickstyle vs. Keone & Mari intro)

“Like Real People Do” by Hozier (Keone & Mari performance)

“Guidance” by Travis Scott (Quickstyle performance)

June 20, 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 Four – 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.

World of Dance, By the Numbers – Week 3

So…why are the Jabbawockeez allowed to be mellow and Ian Eastwood isn’t? Just asking. They didn’t get a significantly higher score than Ian did, but the commentary was very, very different. I think that even these judges are susceptible to star power – and make no mistake, the Jabbawockeez are already stars. Well established stars who had their own Vegas show, am I right?

So that begs the question that I’ve seen floating around the internet: is it fair to have well established dance stars compete against complete unknowns? It’s hardly the same as DWTS, where the public votes and therefore it gives the a leg up in terms of fanbase. And, unlike some other sites, I do draw a pretty hard line between Jabbawockeez and someone like Fik-shun. I don’t think Fik-shun is either well established nor a millionaire so I don’t have a problem with him competing at all. But having the Jabbawockeez compete is almost like having Derek himself compete – he’s famous and probably no longer needs the money, although it’s always nice. 🙂 So…is it “fair”? Read more..

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. :-)