World of Dance advanced six dance acts to the next round during Tuesday night's broadcast of the new NBC reality competition series executive produced and judged by Jennifer Lopez.
ADVERTISEMENT
The show kicked off with Lopez and her fellow judges Grammy Award-winning singer Ne-Yo and six-time Dancing with the Stars champion Derek Hough sending six dance acts from "The Qualifiers" round to "The Duels" during the second episode of the season.
The judges decided to advance The Lab, a hip-hop act from Los Angeles, CA; Fik-shun, a hip-hop dancer and former So You Think You Can Dance winner from Las Vegas, NV; Miami All Stars, a ballroom act and former America's Got Talent finalists from Miami, FL; Luka and Jenalyn Cabaret, a ballroom duo from Toronto, Canada; Quick Style, a hip-hop dancer from Oslo, Norway; and Nick Daniels, a contemporary dancer from Miami, FL.
Acts are divided into three divisions: Junior (any size act ages 17 and under), Upper (groups from 1-4 people ages 18 and older) and Team (groups of 5 or more dancers ages 18 and older).
The Lab is in the Junior division. Luka and Jenalyn are in the Upper division, as well as Fik-shun, Quick Style and Nick Daniels. Miami All Stars is in the Team division.
ADVERTISEMENT
The competition will consist of five rounds -- The Qualifiers, The Duels, The Cut, The Divisional Final and The World Final. The World Final will feature the three division winners going head to head for the $1 million grand prize.
After a dance act takes the stage, Ne-Yo, Jennifer and Derek each determine a score from 1-20 points in each of the following five categories: Performance, technique, choreography, creativity, and presentation.
In The Qualifiers round, the highest score a dance act can receive is 100 points from the judging panel; however, a total score of 80 points or higher is required for a dance act to move on to the next round.
The Lab received a total average score of 91.3 points from the judges. Ne-Yo scored the group 90 points, while both Jennifer and Derek gave them 92 points. Jennifer said the performance was exciting, innovative and in sync from beginning to end.
Fik-shun earned a total average score of 91 points after receiving 90 points from Ne-Yo, 92 points from Jennifer, and 91 points from Derek. Ne-Yo told the dancer that his routine was like watching water and the way it flows, adding that such movement can't be taught.
ADVERTISEMENT
Luka and Jenalyn received a total score of 86.7 points. Ne-Yo scored the duo 83 points, Jennifer gave her 89 points, and Derek thought she deserved 88 points.
Miami All Stars walked away with a total score of 81 points after earning 79 points from Ne-Yo, 82 points from Jennifer, and 82 points from Derek.
Quick Style received a total of 86.7 points. Ne-Yo gave them 85 points, Jennifer scored the crew 88 points, and Derek tallied 87 points. Derek said musicality, creativity and choreography was all there, and their risky song choice of "Jolene" paid off. It was also dubbed one of the cleanest routines the judges had seen yet.
Nick Daniels earned a total of 87 points from the judging panel after receiving 85 points from Ne-Yo, 89 points from Jennifer and 87 points from Derek. Jennifer noted that it was overwhelming to watch his technique because it was perfect. The judges also loved the intensity of his emotion.
Three acts were shown not making the cut although they were still fantastic: Kaeli and Brandon, a ballet duo from Ashburn, VA, received only 77.7 points from the judges; Fuze, a ballroom fusion act from Los Angeles, CA, was scored 77.3 points; and JJ & Joey, a hip-hop duo from Johnson, RI, were given 78 points.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski