10 Things We Learned From “All the Right Moves” Episode 3
—Nick Lazzarini, Voice of Reason, “All the Right Moves”
Last night’s episode of “All the Right Moves” was mostly hilarious (Nick compares riding a bike with “Toddlers & Tiaras”) with a tiny touch of boy drama (don’t kiss your best friend’s girl, people) and, naturally, an explosive blow from Taja, who threatened to leave the company. There wasn’t enough dancing for my liking, but there was still plenty of action, so let’s talk about that, OK?
The 10 Lessons We Learned From “All the Right Moves” Episode 3:
1. The backpacks on this show continue to be amazing.
I realize that during the first scene I was supposed to be focused on the blowout between Travis and Taja and the whole “this needs to squash” drama. But really, all I could think was that last week, Travis rocked a black sequined backpack (which appeared again this week before he did his solo), and this week Taja made her exit wearing a yellow fur backpack thing. I would like to pitch a spin-off to Oxygen called “Backpack Shopping with Shaping Sound.” I will gladly let Travis and Taja hook me up.
Oh yeah, and Taja quits the company. She says her work ethic is “misunderstood,” and this makes Travis sad because he feels like he and Taja have such a long-standing relationship and she would never do this to him. Luckily the other female dancers in the company are pretty much awesome, so I think everyone will be OK.
2. At some point, you have to make a decision: Are we best friends or are we professionals?
Obviously leading a company of your peers is going to be challenging, and this came to a head in last night’s episode with the Taja/Travis stuff. I think Travis could have come down on Taja a bit harder, honestly, which I know is tough. But by saying, “Enough is enough, shape up or you’re out,” he would have maintained the upper hand instead of letting her be the one to leave.
Travis made a great point later when he was talking with Jaimie, and it’s a point I wish he had made directly to Taja: “You would have never done that with Brian Friedman. You would have never done that on ‘X Factor.’ ” It’s so true. Look, I like Taja, I really do, and I get where she’s coming from sometimes. But she does act differently around Travis than she does around Nicole Scherzinger, I’m sure, and that’s not fair.
Also, Taja’s hair bouf gets bigger every week.
3. Jaimie and I have the same bunny onesie.
I got it for Christmas. It’s really snuggly and wonderful. It’s no sequined backpack, but it’s still pretty cool.
4. Travis doesn’t want to be a dancer.
“It may be hard for people to believe, but I don’t like dancing as much as I like choreographing,” he said last night. I like that he’s evolved, and that he’s done it consciously and at his own will. It wasn’t like he stopped growing as a dancer or got injured or dried up. Travis was always a really good performer. But he realized it wasn’t what he wanted to do, and so he took action to transition into choreography, and ultimately he wants to be a director. I give him a lot of credit there.
“My life as a dancer, to me, means nothing,” Travis said. It’s kind of a bummer because he’s really talented and he can do something like 4,200 pirouettes, but hey, if he’s not digging all that spinning, why do it? Power to you, Trav, for doing what you want and not just doing what you’re already good at.
5. Kyle and Noelle together should be illegal.
It’s just too much good-looking-ness happening.
6.
Chantel Aguirre is my favorite female dancer right now. She doesn’t even have to dance. I just think she’s so stunning.
7. The whole “Teddy kissed Kyle’s girlfriend” thing from the episode previews was just slightly blown out of proportion, don’t you think?
First of all, it didn’t really seem clear to me that Noelle and Kyle were actually dating. Were they? Did I miss that? I don’t know. So yeah it’s a bit shady that Teddy and Noelle kissed (where were the Oxygen camera crews for that one?), and Teddy says it was all “intense,” but the bro code didn’t seem quite as broken as the previews indicated.
What have we learned from all this, dancers? Don’t drink tequila. It’s evil and it ruins lives and friendships.
Also, in the “morning after everyone got drunk and kissed the wrong people” scene, Teddy’s Gatorade matches his bright-green shirt. I realize this has little relevancy, but it’s something I noticed and appreciated.
8. Nick taking hip hop is the best ever.
He walks into Bryan Tanaka’s class with a sideways hat and a greeting of “What up, gangsters?” Nick claims he’s terrible at hip hop. “I’m stressed out about this!” he exclaims. He says he doesn’t like doing hip hop because he’s not good at it. I get that—but I thought he looked pretty good! Granted, he was dancing next to Teddy, who crushed the choreography effortlessly, but Nick held his own. Still, Nick doesn’t want Shaping Sound to do hip hop in its show, and then he drops a “You go, Glen Coco.” Just…yes. Yes, Nick.
Then, Nick and Travis have a heart-to-heart back at the house, which is great. Nick recounts his day of hip hopping, dropping great lines like “Not to mention, Teddy was like DJ Swagaroo.” He tells Travis that when he’s not good at something, it stresses him out. And that brings us to knee pads…
9. Travis teaches Nick how to ride a bike, but it’s about so much more than that.
This was, hands down, the most excellent part of the episode. To summarize: Nick agrees to learn to ride a bike (which he refers to as “a machine”) if, in turn, Travis will overcome his fear of performing a solo. Travis is practically giddy about getting Nick into knee pads, elbow pads and a helmet and it’s so ridiculous to watch.
Nick in a helmet is cute enough, but Travis wanting to teach him to help him “overcome his control issues” is even more precious. Then Nick slams his head into the ground to make sure his helmet works. Now, we all realize this scene wasn’t just about learning to ride a bike, right? There’s deeper contextual meaning here as Nick “takes one for the team, bites the bullet and tries not to break his face” on the bike. This was about Nick pedaling around (“pushing like a mom from ‘Toddlers & Tiaras’ “) and overcoming his own fears so Travis could take that energy onstage with him to perform a solo. That’s friendship, man. Bromance—brodance—at its best.
10. Kyle is angry.
Luckily, anger looks good on him. Everything looks good on him. Teddy confesses that he and Noelle kissed, and Kyle seems a little “kicked while I’m down.” He tells Teddy he’s “been lost the past couple weeks” and ultimately snaps that he’s “over L.A. and over Shaping Sound.” But considering he’s in the previews for next week’s episode, I don’t think he’s going too far. And I predict he forgives Teddy, because they are besties.
Next week: tWitch is back! Plus, the boys plan to go to NUVO to perform a Shaping Sound piece, but then everyone bails and it is scandalous.
Until then, tell us what you thought of this week’s episode!
