World Of Dance - General Discussion

[hula-la]

I would have loved to see the entirety of the tap and flamenco performances. But, WOD felt that time would be better spent having Ne-Yo explain the importance of contestants in the duel bringing their best (like they would have brought their second-best).

[egnever]

I like the Kinjaz, but I've felt like they're almost nauseatingly high concept. They're as much a brand as they are a dance troupe. The movements are clean and the synchronization is on point, but nothing they do is particularly difficult or impressive, and they rely hugely on the illusion of their theme. Put them out there in tee shirts, take away their "ninja" motifs, and what do you have, bigger Quick Style?

[Racj82]

Bullshit. The cannon spot alone in the final duel was hotter than anything else from both other teams and there is no way those guys can give you much better than this. 

If they brought jabba in for viewership only that's actually stupid because now they are about to lose a huge chunk of it.

But I guess they have a built in redemption story next season right!

Edited July 12, 2017 by Racj82
More info

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Performances from this week:

Spoiler

Kinjaz

 

Ian Eastwood and the Young Lions

 

ImmaBEAST

 

Mihacevich sisters

 

Jabbawockeez

 

Luka & Jenalyn

 

Chapkis Dance Family

 

Pasión

 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The Cut round kicks off with ballerina Misty Copeland serving as a guest judge. Here, the acts face the deepest and most intense cut of the season.

[imabeast]

Picking that wack azz routine over the Jabbawockeez was strait up wrong. They were dope. Young lions shoulda been 3rd. Jojo Gomez's Choreo is dope and should have been 2nd to the Jabbas. Think i'm done watching

[realdancemom]

I DVRd the show and only caught the last round live.  I thought the Jabbawockeez should have won.  The only critique that I have is that their masks hide facial expressions.  I think they would have more impact if we saw their faces.  But since that is their gimmick, they really can't take them off.

[haloangelgirl]

I call BS. Jabbawockeez totally should've won that. And now I've lost my chance at a Kinjaz vs. Jabba showdown. 

That being said, I loved the Kinjaz routine, and I disagree that nothing they do is particularly impressive or difficult. I think they are definitely great at telling at story, and their themes contribute to that, but I'm always in awe of their routines (one of my favorites by them is their recent "Fear None" routine, and as an added bonus, it features Keone in his first Kinjaz performance!

[rollacoaster]

3 hours ago, haloangelgirl said:

I'm always in awe of their routines (one of my favorites by them is their recent "Fear None" routine, and as an added bonus, it features Keone in his first Kinjaz performance!

I just went to youtube to check out "Fear None". I'm at work, so I watched with the sound off, and this performance gave me CHILLS. I can't wait to watch it with the sound on when I get home for the full effect.  

[chabelisaywow]

Quote

I call BS. Jabbawockeez totally should've won that. And now I've lost my chance at a Kinjaz vs. Jabba showdown. 

I knew this was fake when SuperCrew outscored Jabba in the first round. Jabba was brought in to boost interest only 

I don't think of the Kinjaz being a competitor of Jabba - since Ben Chung is  in Kinjaz, I think of them  more as an extension or spin off.

Even though my DD has danced with  and was taught by a Kinja - I still prefer Jabba - they are more well rounded. 

I see a Keone & Mari vs Kinjaz final. 

[jhlipton]

21 hours ago, healthnut said:

I haven't seen the episode yet but Twitterverse is PISSED about the Jabbawockeez getting eliminated. I am super bummed I won't get to see Kinjaz vs. Jabbawockeez ?

That would have been interesting.

18 hours ago, egnever said:

I like the Kinjaz, but I've felt like they're almost nauseatingly high concept. They're as much a brand as they are a dance troupe. The movements are clean and the synchronization is on point, but nothing they do is particularly difficult or impressive, and they rely hugely on the illusion of their theme. Put them out there in tee shirts, take away their "ninja" motifs, and what do you have, bigger Quick Style?

Take away Jabba's feet and what do you have?  LOL

18 hours ago, Racj82 said:

Bullshit. The cannon spot alone in the final duel was hotter than anything else from both other teams and there is no way those guys can give you much better than this.

I though Young Lions just out-danced Jabba tonight (Rouge didn't stand a chance and they knew it from the get-go). 

But Kinjaz won the night.  Their routine was on point.

 

BTW -- I watched the in-dance cut-aways and Derek got about twice as many as JLo or Ne-yo, who were about even.

Edited July 13, 2017 by jhlipton
Cuts

[luvthepros]

On 7/11/2017 at 6:37 PM, SnarkyTart said:

Thanks for that!  Woooo---DNA kicked some serious ass!

Denys had that very obvious mishap in the very beginning but after that, they out danced their competition...... hands down. In fact, their competition didn't really dance. What they performed was more of an acrobatic routine. JLo told Luka and Jenalyn as much and I was so surprised DNA didn't make it through. I'm not happy with this outcome.

[Rahul]

I don't remember so many of these competitors even being shown. Can someone please tell me which episode of the qualifiers the Flameco troupe with three women and the man was shown? I'm super confused...either I missed an entire episode or many of these troupes were only shown in quick montages.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Rahul said:

I don't remember so many of these competitors even being shown. Can someone please tell me which episode of the qualifiers the Flameco troupe with three women and the man was shown? I'm super confused...either I missed an entire episode or many of these troupes were only shown in quick montages.

I was thinking that, too.

I guess the Jabbawockeez had to get back to Vegas because I thought they were easily twice as good as that Ian Eastwood group.  

At least Jenna's longer hair on the performance floor looked more like extensions tonight.

[Refresh]

Props to Kinjaz props.

They took that ridiculous shiny round stage and were able to use the screens to fix the hideous back lighting that makes it hard to see the dancers.  I could actually see them! And they played to the camera which they should because it's a TV SHOW.  No offense to people in that audience but I don't care about them and their view. Sorry not sorry. ;)

[BettyFiona]

Totally upset the Jabbawockeez lost. I felt their dance had must more to it than the winning crew. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Keone and Mari posted an uncut (ahem, no cuts to the judges reacting) version of the dance they did (all in one take). I love that you can tell it was shot in San Diego!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Since WOD is not the first competition for any of these dancers, they all have lots of great performances out there on the internet. Rather than clogging up the episode threads with those videos, feel free to post and discuss them here. You can also discuss past and future projects, news about the dancers, appearances on other shows (SYTYCD, ABDC, AGT, etc), collaborations, and anything non-WOD they have done. Please keep discussion of the episodes in the episode threads aka not here!

I'll start us off with some old and new stuff. First up is the Kinjas "Fear None" routine which has been their long form competition routine for 2017:

On the other end of the spectrum, the very first Jabbawockeez performance on ABDC way back in 2008(!):

[Swingdancefan]

Luka and Jenalyn had some mad tricks. BUT. where was the dance? Luka waved his arms a few times, but the only reason he was on that stage was to be Jenalyn's forklift. DNA, despite the mishap, danced. They had a beautiful melding of a variety of dance styles. They were cheated.

REAL cabaret, by recent national Dancesport champs, so you can see what it should look like. 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Swingdancefan
Autocorrect hates me.

[saber5055]

I like the Young Lions and was glad they won so I get to see them again. I haven't seen Jabbawockeez do anything outstanding, IMO they were coasting more on rep than actually "bringing it" to win this. I'm also not a big fan of Kinjaz. Their routine made me think DWTS, it was more performance for the camera than dance. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I did like DNA this time. I did not care for their audition, so was disappointed that a trick routine beat their super DANCE routine. As for those other acts that we had never seen before, we probably won't get to see them again until they get voted off after competing against the acts this show wants to win. I do appreciate Derek naming dance moves he sees. Who knew I would actually like him, but I do on this show.

[Mason]

Those recent national Dancesport champs make Luna & Jenalyn look like they're doing a Doriana disco :-)

[dcubed]

15 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Keone and Mari posted an uncut (ahem, no cuts to the judges reacting) version of the dance they did (all in one take). I love that you can tell it was shot in San Diego!

I love them.  Dance is so much more than how many tough movements one can make.  It is about expression and story telling.  It is why I like Kinja's so much too and think the props and their dance identity is so awesome.  It i why I don't care for the contemporary singles that show how flexible they are without any real expression of dance.  This type of dancing really speaks to me even if it isn't the most technically difficult or perfectly executed. 

[s-k-s]

I love watching good dance, and there's not enough of it on TV.  So I'll keep watching this show, no matter how contrived it gets.  But the level of filler is unbelievable.  I DVR and rewatch the performances - it takes less than 15 minutes.

Are there any public voting rounds, or is everything controlled by the judges?

DNA was robbed.  I like the contemporary sisters in the junior category - they aren't oversexualized or creepy-fake intense like the other contemporary girls we've seen.  

Edited July 14, 2017 by s-k-s

[WhineandCheez]

Quote

Those recent national Dancesport champs make Luna & Jenalyn look like they're doing a Doriana disco :-)

Ick.  There is no dance in their "dance."  No transitions.  And why does Lukas look like a twin of Ike Barinholtz???

Loooved Kinjaz. 

Something is wrong with Jenna, beside the hair that changes length each scene.  Its like her shoulders are up around her ears,or something like that. Or does she just have big shoulders?  I'm not sure what it is but she looks pretty ungraceful, which as a dancer is odd.

Edited July 14, 2017 by WhineandCheez

[cali1981]

21 hours ago, Mason said:

Those recent national Dancesport champs make Luna & Jenalyn look like they're doing a Doriana disco :-)

Ah, the memories of Brandon and Jeanette doing the best disco routine in SYTYCD's history with killer choreography by Doriana Sanchez.  I watched it on YouTube last night and was still amazed by it.

On 7/13/2017 at 10:14 AM, saber5055 said:

I like the Young Lions and was glad they won so I get to see them again.

Air Traffic Controllers have seen pigs on their screens and hell has frozen over!  I was surprised that Jabbawockeez lost but, truthfully, from a pure dance standpoint, Young Lions were not outclassed and may have been a smidge more interesting and entertaining.  I am really enjoying World of Dance.  J-Lo and the show runners have done a nice job on this one.

Edited July 14, 2017 by cali1981

[kitcloudkicker]

I've been liking the Young Lions, they've got a nice, relaxed groove that sits back in the pocket of the beat, and it's refreshing in this context when the impulse could be to be really in your face, because it's a BATTLE. I felt like Dev from Master of None watching the Jabbawokeez, I don't quite get it. Besides that one cannon move I found them pretty boring. (But thanks for blessing the stage.)

[jhlipton]

On 7/13/2017 at 8:26 PM, s-k-s said:

Are there any public voting rounds, or is everything controlled by the judges?

I hope there are no public rounds -- as we've seen over and over on DWTS, the public has no knowledge of dance.

[kitcloudkicker]

1 hour ago, jhlipton said:

I hope there are no public rounds -- as we've seen over and over on DWTS, the public has no knowledge of dance.

Public rounds would be un-possible, they finished filming this whole thing months ago.

[Delwyn]

The couple who did Hip hip Chin chin without that section of the song was a self immolation  in my opinion. 

[Quickbeam]

Luka wasn't really dancing. He's a big strong guy who can lift. He has no real flow to his movement and certainly is not an accomplished ballroom dancer. It was interesting but not dance in my opinion. 

 

ETA: that dance sport clip upthread is astonishingly entertaining. Wow. 

Edited July 15, 2017 by Quickbeam

[waving feather]

I love the kids from The Lab. At their size and age, they really have the swag and confidence. And I have to applaud their choreography. Whoever is their choreographer is doing a great job. Both their qualifier and duel performances were age appropriate, yet mature enough to compete professionally. The tricks are also well thought out. 

Les Twins are super attractive and talented. I'm basically only watching for them and The Lab. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Promo:

[jayaudrie]

Ok, can I just bring up something? Does anyone else feel kinda bad that the other dancers in IE & YL group don't get any focus?
I get it, it's Ian Eastwood but it was pretty annoying how they kept focusing on him. I want to see the group, not just him!

On that note, I liked the IE & YL performance, but I just thought it wasn't competition level?
I think I've just been sitting in too many dance competitions this summer so I've always enjoyed something that has a little wow factor.
Not necessarily with tricks and all, but something with more energy.

BTW - Ian Eastwood uploaded the dance on youtube and the camera angles are so much better and you can actually see the dance. 

Hot in Herre - Ian Eastwood & The Young Lions (YouTube)

Edited July 17, 2017 by jayaudrie

[RomanKat]

FWIW, YouTube videos suggest that Luka & Jenalyn's cabaret routines usually have more transitions than the 90-second reality competition WOD renditions:

e.g. Luka & Jenalyn win 1st Place at Toronto Grand Prix (YouTube)

On a side note, DWTS fans might enjoy this clip:

Jenalyn & Tristan Macmanus (DWTS) at 2some Event (2013)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Eva Igo:

[marykat71702]

On 7/12/2017 at 8:23 PM, luvthepros said:

Denys had that very obvious mishap in the very beginning but after that, they out danced their competition

He actually looked off-balance a few times during the routine.

[AwesomO4000]

On 7/14/2017 at 8:38 PM, jhlipton said:

I hope there are no public rounds -- as we've seen over and over on DWTS, the public has no knowledge of dance.

That's probably true, because except for Kinjaz most of the ones that I liked weren't the acts chosen.

However I want to put it on record that I have never watched Dancing With the Stars. I like So You Think You Can Dance very much though.

[jewel21]

42 minutes ago, marykat71702 said:

He actually looked off-balance a few times during the routine.

I noticed that as well. He was shaky and their lifts weren't smooth and at times looked laboured. It wasn't their best performance.

[AwesomO4000]

I would have preferred that The Lab have made in the top two.

For me the two teen girls who made the cut are similar, and one is kind of creepy. I would rather have had a little variety. And I still didn't like Swing Latino - too frenetic for my taste - but since they scored so high, it looks like they'll be sticking around.

But as I admitted in a previous thread, I probably don't know enough about dance. I just know what I like... and generally the ones I like aren't the ones that the judges choose.

Edited July 19, 2017 by AwesomO4000

[pivot]

I was happy to see the two young girls make the cut. The rest of the younger groups didn't impress me.  I thought the Swing Latino group was good but frantic and I thought the next group was mediocre. Wish we would have heard more from Misty. Thought she had the best commentary overall.

[hula-la]

2 hours ago, AwesomO4000 said:

I would have preferred that The Lab have made in the top two.

For me the two teen girls who made the cut are similar, and one is kind of creepy. I would rather have had a little variety. And I still didn't like Swing Latino - too frenetic for my taste - but since they scored so high, it looks like they'll be sticking around.

But as I admitted in a previous thread, I probably don't know enough about dance. I just know what I like... and generally the ones I like aren't the ones that the judges choose.

While I agree with you ( both about the lab, and on not being a fan of the style of dance of the two girls), it does make sense from a tv point of view to have 2 dancers with such similar styles go against each other in the finals.

And you keep liking what you like. If we all liked the same thing, the world would be boring! There's a place out there somewhere for Swing Latino. Somewhere...

[GaT]

I'm tired of girls with over-dramatic routines who are very flexible & do lots of leg extensions. If I want to watch rhythmic gymnastics I'll watch the Olympics.

What's with the smoke machine? I could barely see the dancers during Super Cr3w's routine.

Edited July 19, 2017 by GaT

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The Cut round continues with ballerina Misty Copeland serving as a guest judge. Only the top two highest scoring acts from each division will move on to the Divisional Finals and be one step closer to winning a grand prize of $1 million.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Performances from this week:

Spoiler

Swing Latino:

Mihacevich sisters:

 

The Lab:

Super Cr3w:

 

Diana Pombo:

 

[crowceilidh]

What I don't like is that the second Kim (? first leggy girl) got such high scores, I knew they were preserving her for the other leggy girl.  And I was right.  I HATE it when I can figure out the show writers so far before it happens.  Swing Latino's scores are similarly high, so will it be the last crew to dance who is their competition?  Please don't do the same story again.

[AlleC17]

I agree that the two junior finalists are so similar.  I would have preferred Eva and The Lab to have been the top 2.  I really liked Misty Copeland being a judge...her commentary made sense.  She wasn't just fawning over the dancers like the others.

[Lyinfait]

This show. I hate the way it is scripted and predictable, the false suspense while judges lock in their scores is particularly irritating. I spent more time trying to decide how they could change the judging so I'd care than actually watching. If nothing else, at least wait til the end to reveal the rankings. Let the judges have "secret" votes and maybe there will be surprise in the scores when all are finally revealed? Probably not. (I want this person on top so I'll give them a higher score than I gave that other person.)

 Will the team that didn't get their mentoring time aired and had their performance and results edited have a chance? Why bother? The top two has long since been chosen and nothing about the way this is produced makes watching very worthwhile for the audience. I realize that all reality programming is the same. I just can't stand all the time spent on fake scores, the locking in and revealing and this week the added useless scoreboard. Just show them dancing. 

[gik910]

Production is still too much but I think I just have to get over that. I hate the Leaderboard and I really don't like how they are doing the cuts. 

Also, cut back on some of the filler and get through 2 whole groups in one episode. It is stupid they are splitting up the Team category over the 2 weeks.

Of Swing Latino's performances - that was my personal favorite and I'm glad the sequins were gone.  But I'm still not that crazy about them. They are just too frenetic - if they slowed things up by even a fraction a lot of the stuff they do together would look so much better.  Stuff that should be in synch is not right now - because they are going so fast. 

[realdancemom]

15 hours ago, jewel21 said:

I noticed that as well. He was shaky and their lifts weren't smooth and at times looked laboured. It wasn't their best performance.

I agree.  I think Denys had an off night.  I remember reading that his wife holds him back in their routines.  I thought she did great and he was the one off last week.  If he didn't have the first mishap, I think they would have won.  In terms of dance, they were better than the other couple.  In terms of lifts, the other couple was better because that's their thing.  I did think that DNA's lifts look labored.  I think the first mishap cost them because it's difficult to reward somebody with a win when they have a very obvious mistake especially with this level of competition.  A mistake can cost you on a much smaller level.

[jewel21]

How does his wife hold him back?

The other problem with the lifts is Denys and his wife are almost the same height. The other group has a giant and a tiny girl. Of course it's easy for him to fling her all over the place. Look at his build and his partner's build. Denys is a small guy so it'll be harder for him to do the lifts.