'World of Dance' recap: Seven more acts advance, Charity & Andres make history with first perfect score!

World of Dance judges advanced seven acts from "The Duels," including one duo who received the competition's first-ever perfect score of 100 points, during Wednesday night's two-hour broadcast of the NBC reality competition series.


Wednesday night's episode continued "The Duels" round in which two dance acts from the same division compete head to head on the stage for only one open spot in the next "The Cut Round."

Judges Jennifer Lopez, Grammy Award-winning singer Ne-Yo, and six-time Dancing with the Stars champion Derek Hough determined the following winning acts: The Lab, Alisa & Joseph, Desi Hoppers, Sean & Kaycee, Lock N LOL Crew, Marinspired, and Charity & Andres.

Seven dance acts were therefore eliminated from Season 2: Lil Killaz Crew, Elektro Botz, Opus Dance Collective, 3 Xtreme, Royal Flux, Dragon House, and Vivian Ruiz.

Just like in the previous "The Qualifiers" round, after a dance act takes the stage, Jennifer, Ne-Yo and Derek each choose a score from 1-20 points in each of the following five categories: Performance, technique, choreography, creativity, and presentation. The highest score a dance act can receive is 100 points from the judging panel.


However, during each duel, the dance act to earn the highest score wins and moves onto the next round, sending the opposing contestant, duo, trio or group home.

Based on the scores given in The Qualifiers, the dance acts with the highest scores in each division are allowed to pick their opponents.

Junior (1-4 people) and Junior Team (5 or more people) competitors are under the age of 17, while Upper (1-4 people) and Upper Team (5 or more people) dancers are age 18 or older.

The Lab was up first on Wednesday night. The group had ranked third out of all the acts who made it to The Duels in the entire Junior Team division, so the pair chose to compete against Lil Killaz Crew, who had placed eleventh in The Qualifiers.

Jennifer admitted The Lab delivered the best group routine she had ever seen on the show, whether it be from adults or juniors. They blew the judges away.


Jennifer, however, called Lil Killaz Crew "ferocious" and they did the best they could do.

The Lab received a total average score of 95 points after all three judges agreed they had deserved 95 points, while Lil Killaz Crew earned a total score of 85.7 points from the judges.

Alisa & Joseph, who placed fifth in the Upper Division, then chose to dance against Elektro Botz, who finished in seventh place on the leaderboard.

Derek complimented Alisa & Joseph's storytelling and Ne-Yo thought they were technically smooth and in sync. As for Elektro Botz, they had great visuals and a solid routine. However, the judges agreed both acts played it a little safe and could have increased the level of difficulty of their choreography for this round.

Alisa & Joseph received a total of 87.7 points from the judges, while Elektro Botz earned a total of 87 points.


Desi Hoppers, who placed first in the Upper Team division, chose to battle Opus Dance Collective, who had placed fifteenth in The Qualifiers round.

Derek said Opus Dance Collective didn't take his breath away as he had hoped but it was a good routine, and Jennifer told Desi Hoppers they bring a lot of personality and culture to the dance floor.

Desi Hoppers received a total of 90.3 points from the panel, while Opus Dance Collective racked in a total of 83.3 points.

The next duel was between Sean & Kaycee, who had placed first on the leaderboard for the Junior division, and 3 Xtreme, who were the eleventh-place team.

3 Xtreme came to fight and had an amazing routine, although it wasn't as clean as Jennifer wanted it to be. And Sean & Kaycee, who choreographed their own routine, showed "poetry in motion." Ne-Yo was missing an emotional connection from Sean & Kaycee, but Derek called it "a musicality clinic."


In the end, 3 Xtreme received a total of 87 points, compared to Sean & Kaycee's total of 93.3 points.

The next duel was between Royal Flux, who finished eighth on the leaderboard in the Upper Team division, and Lock N LOL Crew, who placed fourteenth.

The judges agreed Royal Flux performed a beautiful and synchronized dance with a lot of tricks and lifts, while Lock N LOL Crew "killed it" and it was "super clean and precise." Derek gave Lock N LOL Crew a standing ovation and said it was refreshing and exciting.

Royal Flux earned a total score of 88.3 points from the judges, while Lock N LOL Crew received a total score of 89.3 points.

Marinspired then challenged Dragon House on behalf of the Upper division. Marinspired had finished in fourth place on the leaderboard, while Dragon House had placed last.


Marinspired gave a compelling narrative but their tricks lacked a climactic ending, according to Derek, and Ne-Yo had trouble judging the performance and its choreography given it's so abstract. Ne-Yo and Jennifer disagreed on whether the "pedestrian" aspect to the performance was a pro or a con.

Despite having great musicality, the panel thought Dragon House was holding back and they're better than what they showed that day.

Marinspired won the duel by the skin of their teeth, as the pair received a total score of 86.7 points from the judges -- and Dragon House racked in an average total of 86.3 points.

The last duel of the night belonged to Charity & Andres in second against Vivian Ruiz in twelfth place on the leaderboard for the Junior division.

The judges kept repeating "wow" to Vivian's execution, and Jennifer just fell in love with her because she's so passionate about dance. Vivian was a tough act to follow, but Charity & Andres did the deed.

All three judges gave Charity & Andres a standing ovation. Jennifer said the performance felt brand new and "disruptive," and one of their moves was something out of The Matrix.


Ne-Yo was amazed by what they were able to do with their bodies, and Derek said they choreographed a routine that transcended dance and surpassed their strengths.

Vivian received a total score of 95.7 points from the judges. But Charity & Andres earned a total average score of 100 points, as every single judged scored them 100 points.

Charity & Andres walked away with the first perfect score of the entire competition.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski