World Of Dance - General Discussion

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Videos of tonight's performances:

Diana Pombo

 

Boys of Temecula

 

Kyle Newkirk

 

The Posse

Royal Flux

Les Twins

The Lab

 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Super Cr3w posted a video of themselves rehearsing for WoD:

[GaT]

I find this show much better to watch when I ff through everything but the actual dances & the score reading. Plus, I found Jenna Dewan's hair continuously changing length distracting. 

[LadyMustang65]

We were not happy with this duel stuff:

Nick v. Fik-shun - we really liked both of these dancers.  Nick did himself a bit of a disservice by trying to add too much to his routine for the duel, so it came off as a bit frantic, but otherwise, we thought he was a fabulous dancer and hate to lose him.  We're not big fans of contemporary to begin with, and we thought he was one of the best ones we saw.  So boo.  Fik-shun is always wonderful as well.

Swing Latino v. Miami All Stars - We hated SL the first time we saw them, and we hated them again here.  Costumes are over-the-top gaudy and actually make it hard at times to see the dancers when the lights hit the bazillion rhinestones.  Their dancing always seems frenetic and disjointed and the lifts are not always done well.  Honestly, watching them gives me a headache.  On the other hand, we loved Miami All Stars both times.  We agreed with the comment that it seemed like Broadway.  They were so much fun to watch.  Really really sorry to see them go.  Have zero interest in watching Swing Latino ever again.  Another boo.

Kyntay vs Eva - Like SL, we hated Eva the first time and hated her again here.  Loved Kyntay both times and are very sorry we're losing her to yet another generic contemporary dancer.  Boo again.

Keone & Mari vs QuickStyle - Like Fik-shun v. Nick, we loved both of these groups and hate that we had to lose either of them in this round.  And yet another boo. 

< sigh >

[atlantaloves]

Well, hell I still love this show, and was so glad the tap dancing guy at least got to DANCE...sorry he lost....but he had no chance. 

[ketchuplover]

Jenny you're not Derek's mother.

[romantic idiot]

I think I've figured out what the judges are looking for / will give more scores to: musicality (and with it, synchronisation) and difficulty of execution. Which works out for me. Cool. I also like the consistency. So far the winners also scored better in the qualifiers. 

[saber5055]

Gollum came to mind as I watched Diana Pombo. If Andy Serkis can't do the next Lords film, Diane could easily take his place. Meanwhile, I love Super Cr3w. And it's nice the show let us see the tap dancer before he got sent home, since he wasn't important enough (read: going to win) to show his audition. Les Twins I know are famous, but something about them doesn't jive for me. Not that my opinion counts in any way on this show. I'm finding the judges to be as irritating now as judges on DWTS and SYTYCD, so I'm back to flipping between routines.

[Lunula]

Loved Super Cr3w, but damn! Felt like I was going to have a seizure watching them - just too many lights and weird flashing going on in the background and I found it difficult to even see exactly what they were doing. 

Also love Les Twins.

Has any underdog won a duel yet?

Still feel like it's too much. Too many lights. Too many things flashing. Too many cuts and weird editing. And I feel like the show wants to fight me. Just too aggressive...

[nx74defiant]

The music was too loud during the tapper performance. With tap I want to hear the tapping, not just see it.

[mamabugj]

Kinda don't respect Les Twins for picking the most obvious softball in the deck.  They still brought a good routine, though - unlike some groups *cough* Jabberwockeez *cough* who felt like they were coasting through the qualifiers.

Overall, didn't disagree with who won.  I liked Royal Flux better than SuperCr3w but in the end it came down to a matter of personal taste so can see why the latter won (with two more urban-dance-style judges on the panel which is kind of nice for a change since I'm used to judges who are all about the ballet).  As for the Posse vs. Diana - honestly didn't care who won that.  Currently my vote for Junior champ is The Lab - especially the little sweetheart who looks like she will knife you if you get in her way.

[Refresh]

I do not quite believe entirely that Le Twins picked Kyle for the reasons they said. But Kyle brought it, and so did they. Never underestimate.

 

I know this shows my age but when Le Twins do coordinated steps I get Milli Vanilli flashbacks. But when they do more storytelling it's really interesting. 

 

The labs feminist message was great. I really needed that. Was it obvious? Yes. But I'm not a dance scholar so I'm ok with that. 

[TVbitch]

Is it locked in? Let's lock it in. Okay well it's locked in, so let's just see what happens! (Like they don't fucking know.)

This show. Jesus God. And are we really supposed to believe the dancers get to pick who they dance against, and if so, how is that fair? Why is Jenna giving talking heads about the match ups like she is an expert analyst, please make it stop.  

PS. I have seen J-Lo's patented "arms flail out to the sides while looking astonished" reaction shot enough times now show, you don't need to cut to it every Goddamn dance.   

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The duels round continues with acts competing in head-to-head elimination duels.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Move of the week: Les Twins

[Shades of Red]

On 6/28/2017 at 3:58 AM, GaT said:

I find this show much better to watch when I ff through everything but the actual dances & the score reading. Plus, I found Jenna Dewan's hair continuously changing length distracting. 

I'll be honest and say I didn't notice Jenna's hair, but that may be because I'm ff'ing through so much that I miss it.  I only watch the actual dances for the night, not the previous parts, and the scores at the end.  I think this takes less than a half hour to do.  Still too much filler and useless stuff shown.  All the gimmicks with the stage are very distracting.  One of the groups who were wearing red jackets (I have no idea who they were) almost faded into the stage and were difficult to follow because of all the lights etc under them on the stage.

[realdancemom]

On 6/28/2017 at 9:41 AM, LadyMustang65 said:

We were not happy with this duel stuff:

Nick v. Fik-shun - we really liked both of these dancers.  Nick did himself a bit of a disservice by trying to add too much to his routine for the duel, so it came off as a bit frantic, but otherwise, we thought he was a fabulous dancer and hate to lose him.  We're not big fans of contemporary to begin with, and we thought he was one of the best ones we saw.  So boo.  Fik-shun is always wonderful as well.

Swing Latino v. Miami All Stars - We hated SL the first time we saw them, and we hated them again here.  Costumes are over-the-top gaudy and actually make it hard at times to see the dancers when the lights hit the bazillion rhinestones.  Their dancing always seems frenetic and disjointed and the lifts are not always done well.  Honestly, watching them gives me a headache.  On the other hand, we loved Miami All Stars both times.  We agreed with the comment that it seemed like Broadway.  They were so much fun to watch.  Really really sorry to see them go.  Have zero interest in watching Swing Latino ever again.  Another boo.

Kyntay vs Eva - Like SL, we hated Eva the first time and hated her again here.  Loved Kyntay both times and are very sorry we're losing her to yet another generic contemporary dancer.  Boo again.

Keone & Mari vs QuickStyle - Like Fik-shun v. Nick, we loved both of these groups and hate that we had to lose either of them in this round.  And yet another boo. 

< sigh >

I picked Fik-shun because I do think he has a wide variety of solo styles.  However, I only know that because of his solos in SYTYCD which so far I like better than the ones that he has shown on this show.  I do think that he beat Nick and it is because Nick felt the need to just add lots of tricks.

Although, I did previously posted that I thought Swing Latino should have won, I hated their over bling costumes.  I had to concentrate really hard to see their dance steps.  I agree that their lifts weren't as clean as they should have been.   

[realdancemom]

I do think that the high scorers pick who they want to challenge.  I also think Les Twins picked Kyle because they thought it was an easy win.  Glad Kyle brought it and his audition was shown.  Think Les Twins took it easy during their auditions and preferred their duel dance more.  I bet they thought they could cruise again.

Liked both Super Cr3w and Royal Flux.  But production needs to stop with too much lighting and flashing background changes.  It was really tough to see what Super Cr3w was doing sometimes.

I still love The Lab and their bring it attitudes.  I feel bad when kids lose like the one from Boys From Temecula.  I know it's part of life but it's still sad to see.

[crowceilidh]

It would be interesting to hear some behind the scenes stuff which we never will because of the way this contest works.  I don't believe they pick their duels -- in fact, if you see my comments about the (poorly) scriptwritten feel of the show, you'll see that I believe nothing is "real" as presented by the show.  I see no evidence that the judges actually score these contestants on their rubric even.

[TVbitch]

OMG! You mean it's not really LOCKED IN!!!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

15 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I have seen J-Lo's patented "arms flail out to the sides while looking astonished" reaction shot enough times now show, you don't need to cut to it every Goddamn dance.   

Add to the list of thigs I don't need to see a million more times: Ne-Yo squinting at the dancers and then making his surprised face. 

Edited June 29, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[WhineandCheez]

Les Twins dance was incredibly beautiful (so are they haha)  Who can beat them??  I enjoy the Lab but, at the risk of sounding old, I wish their tracksuits were less baggy, could have seen their moves more.  I hate the set with the fire ofa million burning suns.  That floor is so highly polished that you just cannot track anyone moving across it rapidly.  And the mirror screens behind them.  Its awful.

[crowceilidh]

derekhoughYEP!!!! SEASON 2 BABY!!!! It's happening!!
So incredibly thankful and happy to see the amazing art form that is Dance succeed! @jlo @neyo @jennadewan #nbc@nbcworldofdance

[Guest]

On 6/28/2017 at 0:58 AM, GaT said:

I find this show much better to watch when I ff through everything but the actual dances & the score reading. Plus, I found Jenna Dewan's hair continuously changing length distracting. 

So it's not just me noticing her ever-changing hair length.  

On 6/28/2017 at 3:51 PM, nx74defiant said:

The music was too loud during the tapper performance. With tap I want to hear the tapping, not just see it.

I have a feeling that without a real floor used by tappers there is no tapping sound in that room.  Maybe they dub it in for the tv show.  Didn't SYTCYD at one time bring in a special floor for tapper's auditions?  

22 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Is it locked in? Let's lock it in. Okay well it's locked in, so let's just see what happens! (Like they don't fucking know.)

This show. Jesus God. And are we really supposed to believe the dancers get to pick who they dance against, and if so, how is that fair? Why is Jenna giving talking heads about the match ups like she is an expert analyst, please make it stop.  

PS. I have seen J-Lo's patented "arms flail out to the sides while looking astonished" reaction shot enough times now show, you don't need to cut to it every Goddamn dance.   

I know, it's so totally phony.  I don't know if Jenna has no personality or just one I don't like or is just overacting at being someone who cares about this crap.  

And I like Derek but between the horrible JLo reactions shots and the ones of him whooping, even he's difficult to watch.  

8 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

It would be interesting to hear some behind the scenes stuff which we never will because of the way this contest works.  I don't believe they pick their duels -- in fact, if you see my comments about the (poorly) scriptwritten feel of the show, you'll see that I believe nothing is "real" as presented by the show.  I see no evidence that the judges actually score these contestants on their rubric even.

I kind of think that the shots of JLo's hand on the sliders has been the same every week... same blackish nail polish and too-many rings?  Why would they have cameras hovering over each of their hands, pointing down for close-ups of not seeing the score they pick, just a random sliding motion?  Those are probably not even their hands, just hand models, shot long before the rest.   I'm reading a fiction book about a movie being made and they use a body double for every shot where the star's face isn't shown, including her just walking into a place or those over-the-shoulder shots of a dialog between two people.  

I don't think Les Twins are as good as they think they are.  

[lyric]

I'm with everyone else on frustrations with the editing / camera work, lighting and cuts to judges - especially the judges.  Here's what I love about this show, though - when they announce Fikshun, Les Twins or the Jabbas, I know I'm going to see some variation of hip hop - instead of "Fikshun does the Viennese Waltz!"   Likewise, when it's a hip hop number, I'm going to watch some of the best in the HH field - not a ballet dancer doing their first ever HH, who's trying to remember not to point their toes the whole routine.  I know some folks like to see that growth on SYTYCD, but I find it to be tedious and a missed opportunity - I just want to see people do amazing work in the field they do best - so I love this format.

I'm kind of obsessed with Les Twins, but I don't think they've shown their best work here, not by a long shot.

[healthnut]

On 6/28/2017 at 5:33 PM, Lunula said:

Has any underdog won a duel yet?

I don't think so. The only rankings I can't remember are Keone & Mari and Quickstyle. All he other ones were definitely the higher ranking team winning. If the underdog never wins then the duels render themselves pointless. Just take the top five. I actually preferred Royal Flux over Super Cr3w. The dancing has been great but so far no real suspense. I'd rather see Eva duel Diana, Super Cr3w battle the Jabbawockeez or Kinjas, etc. I think they miss a real opportunity by not having like vs like in the duels, JMO.

[jhlipton]

On 6/27/2017 at 10:20 PM, rollacoaster said:

That solo dancing girl is some sort of sorceress. I'm generally not a fan of contemporary, and I figured she'd be technically proficient, yet emotionless and boring.  I was pulling for the group, they had emotion, and a meaningful dance storyline and props, but, I'll be damned if that girl with her creepy, bendy body and crazy intensity didn't ensnare me. 

My version: she'd was technically proficient, yet emotionless and boring.  That girl with her creepy, bendy body and crazy intensity didn't ensnare me. 

On 6/28/2017 at 3:58 AM, GaT said:

I find this show much better to watch when I ff through everything but the actual dances & the score reading.

Same

On 6/28/2017 at 9:24 PM, mamabugj said:

Kinda don't respect Les Twins for picking the most obvious softball in the deck.

I'm with those who say Production picks the duels.

Enough jibber-jabber -- let's get to the scores!
The Posse totally dominated Diana.  Same "tricks" we see in every Contemporary dance.  Plus, she never did a trick with her right leg -- it was always the left.  Boo.

SuperCr3w was sharp, clean and fun.  Royal Flux was close, but The Slide gave the edge to SC

The Lab was so good!!!!  Loved their routine.  The Boys were fun but just out-classed.  A good and close fight.

Kyle need to watch some Bill "Bojangles" Robinson to see how to make tap more visually interesting.  He can't do the tricks the other dancers cn, so he needs to amp his tap way up.

I agreed with the judges 3 out of 4 times, but the only time it wasn't close at all, they got it wrong!

[SnarkyTart]

22 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

And I like Derek but between the horrible JLo reactions shots and the ones of him whooping, even he's difficult to watch.  

Yes!  I respect Derek's dance and choreography skills, and hoped he would add an element of professionalism to the critique process.  Unfortunately, he's relegated to making stupid faces and babbling nonsense no-critiques.  I realize this is JLo's show, as the executive producer.  But, honestly, do people believe JLo has dance skills, any more than she had singing skills for her stint on American Idol?  Ne-Yo has some (very) basic dance ability, maybe a bit moreso than JLo, but the show's missing out by not letting the only professional dancer (Derek) give meaningful critiques.  imo. 

[jhlipton]

1 hour ago, SnarkyTart said:

Yes!  I respect Derek's dance and choreography skills, and hoped he would add an element of professionalism to the critique process.  Unfortunately, he's relegated to making stupid faces and babbling nonsense no-critiques.

A few times, he talked about, and even showed, how to a proper techniques, but he was probably making JLo and Ne-Yo look bad in comparison so they made him stop.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

 do people believe JLo has dance skills,

People cite her Fly Girl gig, but that looked about as demanding as a high school cheer squad to me.  

[rollacoaster]

12 hours ago, jhlipton said:

My version: she'd was technically proficient, yet emotionless and boring.  That girl with her creepy, bendy body and crazy intensity didn't ensnare me. 

Lol! My daughter totally agrees with you! In fact, she confused Diana with the young female contemporary dancer from the previous week.  She totally thought they were the same person. 

[jhlipton]

2 hours ago, rollacoaster said:

Lol! My daughter totally agrees with you! In fact, she confused Diana with the young female contemporary dancer from the previous week.  She totally thought they were the same person. 

I could tell it was different dancers but their "tricks" were identical.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

22 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

People cite her Fly Girl gig, but that looked about as demanding as a high school cheer squad to me.  

Regardless of your opinion of the complexity of the choreography (which you can blame on Rosie Perez who was the choreographer for In Living Color and, well, the 90s for being the 90s), being a Fly Girl was a highly sought after job at the time. The New York auditions alone had 750 girls competing for ONE spot. Something related to keep in mind is that dancers only do what they're told to do and I've seen many dance situations where the dancers' skills are far beyond what they're allowed to do in their routines. If you've ever watched Making the Team: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, you know that many of the girls who make the squad have very technical dance skills (split leaps, fouettes, etc) which we only see during auditions because all of the sideline/halftime routines are the same tired booty shaking/hair flinging routines that require little to no technical dance skill. They are at the mercy of the choreographer (I've always thought it's such a shame that several pro cheer teams have talented dancers who rarely get to show any of those skills while in uniform). Jennifer Lopez was also a backup dancer for Janet Jackson in the 90s too which was a pretty tough job to get back then. I'm not saying that J Lo was necessarily a great dancer, but she has dance training and she was a professional dancer who was hired for her dance and performance skills, so I'm fine with her being a judge IN THEORY (she's certainly more qualified than Ne-Yo in my opinion). I just wish that all of her experience translated to more coherent comments and feedback.

[Guest]

I think the Fly Girls had so many auditioners because it was a spot on national TV, just like why NFL cheerleaders do that job basically for free.  It's a prestige thing and they get exposure.  I feel like Jennifer has gotten pretty far on her looks and her butt, with average singing, dancing and acting skill.  I don't think she's had much formal dance training outside of childhood lessons, has she?

Though I guess what difference does it make.  I'm still convinced the 'judges' on these shows don't even compose their own critiques most of the time.  Look at the time Paula Abdul launched into her critique of Jason Castro's second song before he even performed it.  

[Refresh]

On 6/29/2017 at 8:29 PM, WhineandCheez said:

That floor is so highly polished that you just cannot track anyone moving across it rapidly.  

This!

The shiny floor, the background graphics and the round stage with audience all around it that isn't dark enough makes it hard to see the dancers sometimes. The judges are getting a very different view than the TV audience. Super annoying. And I can just picture the conference room meeting where Jlo had her heart set on a round stage because then they could make it look like a Globe/World to tie in the name of the show or whatever. I'm sure someone said "it'll be hard to see the dancers if you have background graphics and that shiny stage" but it was ignored.

More complaining

• Jlo needs to stop talking about the show on the show. "World of dance is the best." Shut it. If we're watching you don't need to sell us. Thx.
• The cut aways! arrrgh.
• Ne-yo has an opinion too. I wouldn't mind them editing it in occasionally. Maybe trade in 5 seconds of "locking in it" for some balance on the panel.

I don't think production chooses the duels. In this sort of format I don't think the show can blatantly lie about the rules when $ is on the line but I do think production limits the choice. They could do that without anything they've said so far being a lie.

JLo's a pretty good dancer, a passable singer and an ok actress.  I am good at none of these. lol. So who is equally good at all three? Maybe Liza Minelli but it's rare. I generally like Jennifer Lopez, she has a charm and warmth, but this show is so oddly edited that's not coming through.

That said, I'm  really enjoying the dancing!

[jhlipton]

12 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

why NFL cheerleaders do that job basically for free.  It's a prestige thing and they get exposure. 

You can't eat exposure, and these days, you very rarely see a cheerleader on TV (only if one of the motormouths up in the booth runs out of things to say).  They're heavily exploited and have started to fight to be paid what they're worth.

10 hours ago, Refresh said:

JLo's a pretty good dancer, a passable singer and an ok actress.  I am good at none of these. lol. So who is equally good at all three? Maybe Liza Minelli but it's rare. I

The original quad-fecta, Rita Moreno!

[suebee12]

I really liked that Derek stood and applauded when the "losers" left the stage. Neither JLo or Ne-yo did. BTW, who the heck is he anyway? I am not into much of the new music and I have never heard of him...he isn't a dancer is he?

[Mason]

On 6/13/2017 at 11:54 PM, crowceilidh said:

I'm very disappointed in Denys with that wife.  I didn't like her when they tried out for SYTYCD either.  I also agree with the judges in regard to the look of effort.  Overall, I enjoyed it though.

 

I have been lukewarm re Antonina, until I came the following:

[jhlipton]

On 7/4/2017 at 2:30 AM, suebee12 said:

I really liked that Derek stood and applauded when the "losers" left the stage. Neither JLo or Ne-yo did. BTW, who the heck is he anyway? I am not into much of the new music and I have never heard of him...he isn't a dancer is he?

Wikipedia is your friend: Shaffer Chimere Smith, better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor.  He's a cut above the usual rappers whose every song is about how great they, how much money they have and how all the ladies "at the club" love them  (most modern rap stinks!) but he's no Jay-Z or Beyonce. He's not a rapper.

Edited July 11, 2017 by jhlipton
Had Ne-yo wrong.

[needschocolate]

I'm going to go with a hybrid version of picking your opponent - my guess is the producer give them a choice between a few of the other dancers, but don't let them pick from entire list.  This way they can still control the drama factor but they can also honestly say that the dancers pick.

 

On 6/28/2017 at 3:51 PM, nx74defiant said:

The music was too loud during the tapper performance. With tap I want to hear the tapping, not just see it.

 

On 6/28/2017 at 3:33 PM, Lunula said:

Loved Super Cr3w, but damn! Felt like I was going to have a seizure watching them - just too many lights and weird flashing going on in the background and I found it difficult to even see exactly what they were doing. 

I agree with both of these.  I had no idea how well he tapped because I couldn't hear any tapping.  I could fake tap dance as long as no one could hear me.  And I have found it difficult to see exactly what many of the acts are doing because of all the stuff in the background and/or costumes that blend in too much with the background.  

I liked the first round of this show, but find the duel episode to be too much talk and not enough dance.  And, while I am complaining, I like that there is no designated "mean judge" but I find it a bit annoying that they make it sound like every performance is amazingly awesome and something rarely ever seen but some of these incredible acts get a 94 and others get an 84.  

Now that the complaints are out of the way... I like this show much better than SYTYCD.

Edited July 5, 2017 by needschocolate

[romantic idiot]

On 7/1/2017 at 4:34 AM, healthnut said:

I don't think so. The only rankings I can't remember are Keone & Mari and Quickstyle. All he other ones were definitely the higher ranking team winning. If the underdog never wins then the duels render themselves pointless. Just take the top five. I actually preferred Royal Flux over Super Cr3w. The dancing has been great but so far no real suspense. I'd rather see Eva duel Diana, Super Cr3w battle the Jabbawockeez or Kinjas, etc. I think they miss a real opportunity by not having like vs like in the duels, JMO.

Keone & Mari were higher ranked than Quickstyle as well. Actually so far no underdog has won, but in my eyes the higher ranked guys have all been better. We'll see in the next set of Duels to come. 

[Guest]

Ne-yo's songs I've heard all seem very 'easy listening R&B' like to me.  This one below's a typical example, isn't it?  I remember his music used to be used on SYTYCD all the time, a few years ago.  It seemed like it was always very pretty and musical, and easy to choreograph contemporary dance to.  I didn't know he even was considered a rapper.  

[healthnut]

Three Way Duel with Jabbawockeez

[ElectricBoogaloo]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Slow dance confessions:

[jhlipton]

On 7/5/2017 at 11:53 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I didn't know he even was considered a rapper.  

 

You are correct and I've edited my comment.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Luka and Jenalyn vs. DNA

[SnarkyTart]

15 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Luka and Jenalyn vs. DNA

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

[mtlchick]

The Young Lions took down the Kings.  Barely, but they did.  

Luka/Jenalyn were INSANE with their tricks.  But there are so many tricks you can do before you tire of them. 

[healthnut]

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 ?