"World of Dance" Season 2 Premiere Recap: More Than Qualified

You know what we love about “World of Dance”? (Aside from the fact that it features fabulous dancers from all over the world, a million-dollar prize, and color commentary from, you know, J.Lo?)

This show DOES NOT MESS AROUND.

Last night’s Season 2 premiere wasted no time getting down to business, diving headfirst into the first round of qualifying performances. And the seven competing acts also cut right to the chase, bringing out routines that met—and, in a couple of cases, surpassed—the super-high standard set by last season’s competitors.

So, what were the highlights of a show that was essentially all highlights? Here are our three favorite performances, including a showstopping number by one act that—we’re calling it now—is destined to go all the way to the finals.

First, let’s talk about our friends Sean Lew and Kaycee Rice. We love these incredible kids, whom we’ve known since they were tiny wee ones. Did they live up to our sky-high expectations? Oh, absolutely—thanks to a lyrical hip-hop routine that made surprisingly poignant use of blindfolds. (Poignant enough to move La Lopez to actual tears.)

We’ve never seen anything quite like the Desi Hoppers, a hip-hop crew from Mumbai, India. Their infectiously joyful routine to Ed Sheeran’s (still-earwormy) “Shape of You” got a huge jolt of energy from a Bollywood-style remix. Bollywood-hop? Yes. Yes PLEASE.

But it was the last performance of the night that had us up and off the sofa. Karen y Ricardo are a Chilean ballroom couple (onstage and in real life, aww) with the kind of sizzling-hot chemistry that can’t be faked. Their jaw-droppingly gymnastic and spintastic salsa got the judges SCREAMING—Derek Hough literally jumped over the judges’ table—and earned them the highest score ever in the history of the competition. So, uh, see you in the finals, guys!