"World of Dance" Week 13 Recap: Lucky Numbers

August 29, 2018

Last night, “World of Dance” went through the second week of merciless cuts, leaving us with the top 12 acts who will advance to the divisional finals. As befits the thirteenth (!) week of competition, many super-impressive talented acts saw their “WOD” luck run out, while six were fortunate enough to net spots on top of their individual divisions. Without further ado, let’s dive into how it all went down.

Upper Teams

1st Place: The Ruggeds

Derek perhaps summed this performance up best: “Holy mother of angels, bro!” While one dancer’s physics-defying hollowback handstand nearly stole the show, the plentiful acro stunts were well-supported by athleticism, creativity, and musicality from the entire team. This all-male group’s reward? A score of 92.7.

2nd Place: S-Rank

The studio audience basically never stopped screaming this entire piece, and it’s not hard to see why. Taking a Frankenstein concept and running with it to Kendrick Lamar’s “D.N.A.,” S-Rank proved their mettle with absurdly sharp hits and can’t-tear-your-eyes-away stage presence. The judges agreed, awarding the troupe a 92.3.

Juniors

1st Place: Charity & Andres

Talk about a tough act to follow! The contemporary-conquering pair got a perfect score last week, and admitted in their post-performance interview last night that the pressure has since made them question whether they deserved such a rare accolade. Well, doubt no longer: The teens turned out another performance that reminds us why contemporary is so powerfully beautiful when done right. The judges agreed, handing these two a 92.7.

2nd Place: Sean & Kaycee

Sean Lew
must’ve been extra-nervous before last night’s performance, as the budding dancemaker was not only dancing alongside longtime friend Kaycee Rice, but also choreographing the number. Sometimes nerves work in your favor, though, and that was definitely the case with this routine, which earned the DS faves a 92.0—not to mention some high praise from Derek, who said, “You guys are masters of the action/reaction…it’s so subtle but so effective and that’s a sign of a truly talented choreographer.”

Also advancing to the finals are Jaxon Willard in the Juniors division, with a 90.7, and Poreotics in the Upper Team Division, having netted a 91.7. Meet us back here next week for another recap as “WOD” gets ever-closer to the $1 million prize!