This week on NBC’s World of Dance, the ten acts that the judges gave a second chance in the Callbacks round performed for one of four spots in the lineup of acts competing in The Duels. “This is your opportunity to show us you deserve this,” Ne-Yo said before this week’s episode got underway, and the acts did their best to prove that they did.
The Rise
First up in this round was The Rise. This group received a callback because the judges weren’t sure that they were bringing enough to move forward in the competition. In their callback performance, the judges thought they were better, but they still needed to work on being organized as a team and keeping the energy front and center during their performances.
Project 21
While some acts continued to showcase the same skills on a new level in the Callbacks round, Project 21 wanted to show off even more of what they can do. They added chair props to their routine. The judges thought their prop work was well-balanced with their dancing, but they still need to work on timing.
Avant Garde Collective
You might have noticed that pairing hip hop with classical music has been trending on social media over the last couple of weeks. Avante Garde brought those two genres together for their Callback performance, breaking and hip-hopping to a Vivaldi piece. JLo said she was more impressed with their second performance, but Ne-Yo thought it was less impressive than their Qualifiers audition.
CBAction
CBAction was still down a member when they came the Callbacks, but this time, their routine was choreographed for four people instead of five, so they could show their strengths. The judges still wanted to see more of an impact from their performances, but Ne-Yo thought it was definitely better than their first performance.
The Difference
“You guys got heart,” JLo said to this junior group after their performance. Their performance was full of strong emotion and showed The Difference’s ability to tell a story with heir movement which impressed Derek and Ne-Yo as well.
GRVMNT
The judges were proud of the effort this group put in to come to the Callbacks round stronger than before. JLo said their performance was “much better,” and Derek thought they were moving in the right direction with their transitions.
Pumpfidence
Pumfidence came to the callbacks with lower heels and even more confidence in their dance abilities. While the judges were still on the fence about this group’s competition readiness, JLo saw an obvious difference in their skills with the lower heels.
Show Stopper
Another group that the judges were unsure of even after their Callbacks performance, Show Stopper came to the warehouse in neon, ready to do their best. Overall, the judges wanted to see more surprises from this group.
305
This junior group has proven that they have a lot of fire and energy for competition. All of the judges were excited by their enthusiasm, but Derek was still on the fence.
The Young Cast
Derek thought this group really raised their game, and Ne-Yo was glad that they were given a callback because they showed improvement and a willingness to listen to the judges’ feedback. The drawback to their performance was that the judges didn’t want to see them setting up their tricks during a performance.
The Results
After all ten acts performed their Callbacks routines, the judges called them into the warehouse audition space in groups to let them know who would be moving forward to The Duels and who would be going home. First up were Show Stopper, The Young Cast, and The Difference. JLo informed these three acts that The Young Cast would move forward while the other two were sent home. They were followed by Pumpfidence and Avant Garde Collective who were both sent home. The Rise and 305 were both surprised to find that they were headed to The Duels while the final group which included CBAction, Project 21, and GRVMNT was a little more emotional as GRVMNT moved forward and the other two acts were sent home.
Next week, The Duels start, and the incredible acts we’ve seen make it through will have to push even harder to win their dance battles.
