PureDWTS DWTS Juniors, Season 1 – Week 1 Live(ish) Blog!!!
Ok, so technically, since the show is pre-taped, this isn’t a live blog in the same sense that Heidi’s are for regular DWTS – but I am blogging it as I’m watching it…and we’re all watching it for the first time…so it’s sorta-kinda live 😉
To bring anyone up to speed that’s just joining in and knows nothing about the show: DWTS Juniors was actually pre-taped starting back in July (the episode we’re watching tonight was taped back on July 28), and wrapped on August 25. Yes, the winner has already been crowned; no, I’m not going to tell you who it is 😉 However, we do have a “what to look forward to” spoiler thread where you can find info about what the themes nights are, who the high scorers are for each episode, and other fun tidbits. WARNING: you might run the risk of being able to deduce outcomes based on info in that post, so if you want to be completely surprised – steer clear. If you just want a refresher on the cast (junior celebs, junior pros, mentors, judges, hosts, etc.), go here. If you want to know how the show is going to work (particularly with regards to the voting, since there is no phone voting), go here.
Thoughts headed into the show? I just hope these kids have fun and the tears are minimal 🙂 I’ve heard Jordan & Frankie are actually fantastic hosts, and all of the junior pros are adorable AND super-talented – nearly all of them are cross-trained, and the ones that aren’t seem to pick up new styles quickly. I might be a tad partial to Rylee & Artyon 😉
Here we go!!!
I got the impression that the judges they picked for Juniors weren’t necessarily their first choices. Oh well – they’re what we’ve got. Let’s see how it works out.
Had never heard of Jason prior to Juniors. He’s sassy…I dig it 😉
That was a cute cha-cha. Impressed with how well Jason kept up. Elliana seems to dance Latin like a contemporary dancer, but it was still nice.
Val appears to be eating up sitting in that head judge spot. Says he has to “pick on the technique” and tells Jason it was good but to work on the footwork. Adam says the song made him feel like he “had bills he had to pay”. Jason: “Don’t we all???” This kid…I think he’s gonna be a hoot!
Jason & Elliana get 6, 6, 6 (in order from Mandy, Val, & Adam). Seems about right.
Kinda funny seeing all the kids being kids in the background while Jason & Elliana get their scores. Everybody seems really excited to be there 🙂 Except Tripp – I think he’s turning the energy up when the camera’s on him, but he seems like a bit of a fish out of water.
Pan to Bristol & Sara in the audience…
I get the impression that Tripp was coerced into doing Juniors by mom & grandma. He doesn’t seem particularly enthused to be there.
“Marmoset, there’ll be days like this, there’ll be days like this, my Marmoset…”
I had heard that Tripp had a tough time, but that dance was actually a very respectable foxtrot – especially for a kid with zero experience doing any sort of performing in front of a crowd. Judges are being really gentle – Mandy praising the acting. I have a feeling less generous scores are on the way…
Tripp says his mom told him to smile and “show your ooh’s and aah’s”.
Tripp & Hailey get 5, 6, 6 – Tripp just seems happy it’s over. Cue that damned floss dance…
BANANA BREAD BREAK!!!
Junior troupe grooving to 24K Magic…
Ok, tea: kinda surprised that Lev got Keo as his mentor, considering Lev’s actually a student at Gleb’s studio. *sips tea* Hmmm, choices…
Addison comparing doing cha-cha to meringue: “it took me 27 times to get it right”.
It’s a cooking themed cha-cha to “Burnin’ Up”. Another very respectable effort – I just think Addison isn’t a natural showman.
Adam making an analogy between “secret ingredients” and not counting out loud to the music. Mandy commends Addison’s technique and showmanship, but encourages Addison & Lev to work on chemistry. Val says to work on the technique but doesn’t really offer specifics.
They get a 5, 5, 5 – probably about right, as they didn’t have as much interaction as Tripp & Hailey.
*clears throat* Not that it means anything, but over a year ago, I said I wanted Miles on DWTS Juniors and I wanted his partner to be Rylee. Coincidence? You be the judge 😉
It’s a salsa to “Who Let the Dogs Out?”. You can tell that Miles has some dance experience and is comfortable performing for a crowd – basically the complete opposite of Tripp.
I don’t know that there was a whole lot of salsa in that, but I think it was wise of Lindsay to show off Miles’ hip-hop skills. Rylee is tearing up and feeling emotional and so is Lindsay…awww…
Val shades Lindsay a bit about salsa content, and then makes a vague suggestion to Miles to really “embody” the dance style he’s doing. Ok, so far not impressed with his judging, if he’s not going to articulate what exactly he wants from these kids – they can’t read between the lines, bro. SPELL IT OUT.
They get 8, 7, 7 – so far, I think Mandy’s been the most effective judge. She’s giving really clear, helpful critiques that are congruous with the scores she’s giving. Val’s being vague, and Adam seems to be showboating a bit.
I’m loving Ariana & Artyon’s bright yellow costumes. Take note, Nancy & Val – that’s how you rock yellow. 😎
Sophia looks SO MUCH LIKE HER DAD.
Oof…jive is a tough week 1 dance. Good thing they’ve got a cute song: “Do You Love Me?” by the Contours.
Sophia actually handles the dance really well – doesn’t miss any steps and moves big. But she looks so nervous and doesn’t smile at all.
Pan to Kim K. and her kids in the audience (she’s friends with Larsa, Sophia’s mom).
Mandy, I love you right now. You’re being the judge these kids really need.
They get 7, 7, 7 – maybe a skosh low, but Sophia’s stage presence does need work. Poor girl just seems SO SHY.
Mama Spence: “Applebees is like the Nickelback of restaurants.” I about choked on my La Croix.
Not really tea, but some “behind the scenes” info: Hudson’s original junior pro was supposed to be Makeila Lawrence (one of the troupe members), but Makeila was wayyyy too tall for him…enter Kami.
It’s a cha-cha to Shawn Mendes. Hudson is selling it well – I saw one slight goof, but overall, another fun dance 🙂
Mandy gives a FANTASTIC tip: if you’re getting ahead of the music, make your moves BIGGER. Val basically just echoes Mandy and says “good job”. Mandy is holding down the judges’ table, y’all.
They get 7, 7, 8 – I’d say maybe a bit high, as I thought both Sophia and Myles were better. Or maybe Sophia and Myles deserved higher. My barometer is a bit iffy, since we’re judging kids 😛
Nikki Bella in the audience…
Ariana and Artyon are both so precocious. I ADORE THEM.
I heard tremendous praise for Brandon’s skills as a mentor & choreographer on Juniors. It very well may have earned him his spot as a pro on season 27.
It’s a cha-cha to “Cut to the Feeling” and they both are SELLING THE HELL OUT OF IT. Ariana is sassy, and Artyon is actually handling the ballroom pretty well for not being cross-trained in it. Ones to watch, for sure.
Val disagrees with Mandy’s assessment about the technique, and urges them to “work on chemistry”. Do kids understand “chemistry”? Adam insists that Ariana pointed right at him (and not Val) during the dance. Mandy is still holding down the judges’ table.
Artyon looking like a miniature black Evel Knievel in that suit. I dig it.
They get well-deserved 8, 8, 8. Enjoy it, kids 🙂
And Kenzie & Sage are next. Lord help my eyes not to get stuck when I inevitably roll my eyes at Gleb…being Gleb…
*sipping tea* So Kenzie was apparently the last junior celeb cast…and Sage was brought in specifically to partner her (they apparently knew each other prior). And I’ve had it implied to me that Gleb was not originally their mentor…*grabs teapot to refill*…
Are we really trying to pretend Kenzie ISN’T a dancer??? And they don’t even mention her sister being a dancer, opting instead to label her “a performer”. Kenzie says she’s nervous because she “hasn’t done ballroom before”. Notice the qualification there…
I see Gleb did maybe 5 bars of actual foxtrot before saying “whatever, we’re going to do Charleston instead”. Gleb, you’re glib if you think that’s gonna fly…
Val points out the lack of foxtrot and for once, I agree. Adam’s trying to make another analogy and it’s only kind of working. Mandy, please save us…
…Mandy is the first to acknowledge that Kenzie does, in fact, have jazz and contemporary training, and points out how different it is from ballroom. She also urges Kenzie to use some of the same technique.
They get 7, 7, 8 – probably low if you’re going off execution, but given that they really didn’t do the assigned dance, probably about right.
Alanna (I refuse to refer to her as “Honey Boo Boo” because she has a name) is up next…
It’s a salsa to “Conga”. And I’m actually living for it 🙂
Alanna sells the sh*t out of it, and then dips (and intentionally drops) Tristan at the end. I LOVED IT. She’s a showman.
Mandy earns even more points where she says she’s going to call her Alanna and not “Honey Boo Boo” because she’s beautiful young lady with a name. Val gives the token “work on your technique and partnering” critique again. Zzzzzz.
Artem says he feels like a proud parent but he’s “very nauseous” because he’s nervous for them. Awww.
They get 6, 6, 7 – I agree. What it lacked in technique, it more than made up for in entertainment value.
Next up is Mandla & Brightyn. I had no idea he was into fashion.
Brightyn was born the year Cheryl was first a pro on DWTS. Oof.
Mandla is actually really killing this jive. Just wish he didn’t have his mouth open the whole dance 😛
You can definitely tell they’ve slowed the tempo of the jive for the kids. I think this dance was the 3rd or 4th one that included a Fortnite dance step…I guess kids are just obsessed with those dances 😛
Val says “it was the performance of the night”. Adam agrees. Are they just gonna pretend that Ariana & Artyon didn’t also kill their dance???
They get 8, 8, 8 – probably about right, but just a tad irksome that they called it the “performance of the night” and then gave it the same score as another dance.
Next up is Akash & Kamri – and I’m told they’re absolutely the most adorable couple, if it’s even possible 😛
It’s a foxtrot to “L-O-V-E”. And it’s it’s giving me a toothache cause these kids are beyond precious.
Akash gets a few “deer in the headlights” moments but overall, it’s another really impressive effort. None of these kids are terrible, and they all gave it 110%. Props 😉
Adam “just can’t” with Akash, cause he’s so adorbs. Both Val & Adam admit they got emotional watching it. Mandy tells him his foxtrot was “awesome” and Akash’s face lights up 😛 He momentarily forgets how old he is, but he’s floored to be getting good feedback. Gahhhh…these kids 😛
Goddammit Akash is making me tear up. He gets 7, 7, 7 – maybe a tad high, but I think the adorableness probably helped 😛
Sky & JT are next – and Sky’s accent is precious. And she’s a badass skateboarder. This world needs more little girls like Sky. 🙂
It’s a salsa to “Light it Up”. Sky has surprisingly great musicality for a non-dancer. But you can tell she’s an athlete, based on the ease with which she’s turning, splitting, and shaking her hips. Another great dance, and a contender!
Mandy zeroes in on the hip isolations and says she loved it. Val says “Sky’s the limit”. Hurr hurr hurr.
They get 7, 8, 7 – I probably would have given it a point or two more, just based on the ease they handled it with.
In-studio audience casting their votes…
It’s Addison & Lev and Tripp & Hailey headed home. Tripp doesn’t look terribly disappointed (and perhaps a tad relieved), but Addison, Lev, and Hailey are all in tears. Gahhh…I hate this part 🙁
Worth noting: Tripp & Addison danced in what we usually refer to the “running order positions of doom” – 2nd & 3rd (and sometimes 4th and 5th, depending on how many couples dance). Perhaps the running order also affects perceptions of the in-studio audience, and they just weren’t the ones the in-studio audience remembered at the end of the night.
I might do a quick post-mortem to go up sometime tomorrow, but we’ll see you all tomorrow night for Heidi’s live blog of “most memorable year” night on the regular show!
What a cute kid that Jason is! I think Emma was smart in the way she choreographed that Cha Cha for them-it seemed to have elements of hip hop, it was fun-yeah the kid can work on his footwork a bit more but he tried his best:)
Yeah, Tripp seems quite awkward. Not just his dancing, but his overall personality here.
I’m wondering how Kate Gosselin didn’t manage to shoe-horn one of her kids on here.
Wait-that was a foxtrot?🤔 It was a really cute routine and I get that he “can’t dance” but I’ve seen 5 yr olds dance basic foxtrot IN HOLD so, in my opinion, Jenna could’ve choreographed that dance with them a bit more in frame. Just my opinion.
Jason was too cute – he seems like he has a big personality. The dance was cute – Emma seems like she is having so much fun.
Tripp – He definitely looks petrified. He seems to relax a bit and does ok. I agree that Mom and Grandma pushed him into doing the show.
I thought pairing Lev with Keo was weird, too, considering they paired Jenna/Hailey and Lindsay/Rylee together. Granted, I know they are family, so that makes more sense, but still kind of weird.
I really loved Emma’s team-Elliana definitely seems like a mini-Emma to begin with, and Emma really just puts her heart and soul into anything she does. Her future kids are going to be lucky to have her and Sasha as parents.
Yeah I noticed that about Val’s comments too-keeps saying improve your technique but doesn’t offer any advice on HOW to these kids?🤔 I thought Mandy’s comments to Addison were pretty helpful actually….
Jeez Val you’re sounding like Len😒 I knew I’d love this pairing as soon as I saw them dance together! Miles and Rylee are definitely one of the teams to beat in this competition and I LOVE Lindsay’s enthusiasm!!
Glad to see I’m not the only one that’s not really all that impressed with Val’s judging – at the very least, Len tries to articulate what exactly he didn’t like about a dance; Val just seems to be making vague, cryptic suggestions wrapped in “but it was good, though.” These are kids, not adults – they can’t infer or deduce what it is he’s implying. Hell…I’m not even 100% sure I know what he’s implying…
Sasha looks so tiny next to Scottie.
I think I love the costuming and music the most, everything is very age appropriate. This is so sweet and fun!
Sophia doesn’t look all that thrilled to be there, either.
@Kara
I’ve heard that Gleb allegdly threw a bit of a fuss because he wasn’t satisfied with his initial celeb – not ringer-y enough – that was supposed to be with him and Lev so they switch some things up and he hened up having Kenzie and Sage.
Ok I know I’m just watching from my television screen but Sophia looked very reserved, to me, in that dance. She is a STUNNING girl for just 9 yrs old? Maybe it’s the young age and having to dance with a boy? But she models so she should be used to being in front of a camera if not an audience….
How old is Sophia Pippen? I tried googling it and it said she was 9, if true, that maybe has to do with her shyness? Although some of the other kids have a lot more energy/personality, I wonder if the age difference between her 14 year old partner may have to do with it too! Shes still did great tho, shes my 2nd favorite so far after Miles and Rylee
@Philomene, wouldn’t surprise me if that was true. Funny thing is, he probably got the most backlash for his celeb due to her having dance experience (and many were annoyed/found it comical her Dance Mom’s background was being ignored).
I really hope Gleb isn’t brought back as a pro next season for the regular DWTS. I’m sure that’ll give him something else to complain about!
Go Adam! I agree with your comments about Hudson and Kameron-great little partnership they have! He actually led her pretty well in that dance-very impressed. And I have to give kudos to Hayley-this was another smart way to choreograph a fun Cha Cha for kids-balance it with a little hip hop👌
Is it just me or were elliana/jason judged harsher? I feel like their dance was on par with at least or even better than some after it…
All of this is just too adorable!
OMG I want to Ariana and Artyon home with me!!! They were SPLENDID!!! They shined!!!!
Somebody must’ve whispered in Val’s ear to give constructive criticism🙄 Not necessary with this little couple LOL
Val’s criticism to them literally made no sense. He must have just seen an easy pay check with his gig.
Ariana and Artyon are so good and their crushing on each other is adorable.
ARRRGGGHHH!!! I hate these stupid weather people in my area. There is a tornado warning probably about 100 miles away, and they are interrupting DWTS JR to talk about it. It’s a man and a woman, and the man will say something, then they will cut to the woman who more or less repeats what the guy says, then switch back to the guy who repeats, and repeats his words. And the girl weather person talks so slow. I feel they are just dragging this out. And they are still on now, 20 minutes later. WTF!!!!! They sure like to hear themselves talk.
Heh, so they are going to gloss over her dance experience.
Didn’t dig this at all. This is probably the closest Gleb will get to ever getting a ringer.
Wow, Val is actually giving criticism!
Not watching the show yet since I live in France but 1)I couldn’t wait to get your first impressions guys and 2) I can also confirm that Sage and Kenzie knew eachother prior to the show but Sage is more of a hip hop/contemp dancer I think (he’s from Immabeast I think and so is Artyon).
Well, at least Mandy acknowledged her dance experience. Sort of.
These kids are amazing. I haven’t seen one dance I didn’t love. Only weak spot for me oddly enough is Adam who is annoying me
@vin – Adam seems like he’s doing what everyone is expecting him to do: be flamboyant and sassy. Except he’s not really being constructive at the same time. Mandy is singlehandedly saving this judging panel tonight.
I feel like Bruno is way more constructive then he is lol. Mandy is my fav judge easily. Alana has the first dance that made me go “that was very unexpected.” She killed it
Now having watched this girl, in Dance Moms, for years, I am sooooo not surprised at how she danced. Mackenzie is a TRAINED dancer in ALL genres, even some ballroom, despite how she lied😏
Again putting my 2 cents : The Zieglers don’t mention there time on Dance Moms or Abby Lee Miller at all because of some legal issues I think and the mom really want to just erase her from their life. That being said, presenting Kenzie as a singer only is kinda stupid because she is mainly knows as a dancer.
I gotta give Honey Boo Boo credit!! Loved her shimmies!! I do agree with Val(rolling my eyes) that I would’ve liked to see more salsa steps but she had fun out there and so did Tristan it looked like:) And I gotta give credit to Artem too-I love him comments at the end😂
OK Val we get it TECHNIQUE. So either describe the technique or demonstrate
WTH you’re talking about.
Woohoo!! Mandla Morris can dance!! He and Brightyn have got to be another team to beat in this competition! And Cheryl needs to be commended for her choreography skills-it definitely shows why she’s a mirror ball mirror winner!
Mandla is here to win but Akash just is too precious for words. Just the nicest kid and so unedpectadly camera ready…this kid is a STAR. Can we have a show where he goes to schools and teaches kids to spell or something. They can work on the premise lol. Just the cutest pairing all night in my opinion.
I loved Akash/Kamri! They were so adorable.
I never thought I’d miss Carrie Ann, but these judges are making me look forward to her docking for lifts tomorrow.
It’s hard to pick a favorite. These kids are all so good and just too adorable for words! I’m glad this didn’t air live, because I think nerves would have been made worse for some, and been a problem for others that weren’t affected by that. But probably my favorite part of all this is seeing how close the pros and their kids got. There’s just something very genuine about the bonds they formed, and I love seeing the kids so excited.
Probably my biggest surprise was Alana. I’ve actually thought about her being on the regular DWTS (not realize she was still so young as it was), so when the Juniors idea was thrown around I wasn’t surprised when she popped up here. That girl definitely knows how to work a stage! I’m happy Artem is having fun.
Really loving tonight’s show lots of fun dances by all of the kids! Loved Akash and Ariana, looking forward to Sky. A little bit off topic but seeing Witney made me remember, is there any intel on Milo for tomorrow’s show, he’s posted about an injury on his social media.
OMG this is another little couple I want to take home!!!😍😍😍 Not that you want to compare kids, But Akash and Kamri did what Tripp and Hailey DID NOT for me-both in technique and showmanship. And I gotta give a BIG shout out to Witney for choreographing a dance that was simple enough for Akash to do but still held the integrity of the dance. And I think Witney must be teaching Kamri NOT to outdance her partner b/c they both looked like a nice match:)
@R2M, not sure but I figure they will not let anything intentionally leak out if they can for suspense purposes. I do hope Milo is okay to go on. He has a jive tomorrow so not the greatest dance for a leg injury. I’ll be crushed if he has to withdraw.
From one skateboard kid to another (except I wasn’t nearly as good as her and can only do one trick), she is insanely good. Now the dance was insane and infectiously fun. This was easily my fav of the night. Something about her is screaming STAR and she can be the next Tony Hawk with her own mini empire
I would KILL to have the hip action that this little girl has!! I am sooo jealous!!😂 JT was my fav from SYTYCD and he’s one of my favs now and he’s perfect for Sky:) Two thumbs up for Alan as well for choreographing a fun salsa with a hip hop flair!
My baby JT!! Lord I love that kid. Loved him on SYTYCD, loved him here and he was great with this cute little girl.
Also love Ariana, Hayley’s kids and several others. Many great kids. Not feeling the Zeigler girl at all – why don’t we just have Hayley dance with Derek on DWTS and not mention that she’s a freakin’ professional.
I think the pros looked more nervous on here than they do regular dancing.
Okay, seeing these kids cry make me really happy they didn’t air this live. Not sure who here watched The X Factor and remembered Rachel Crow’s elimination, but that was painful. I don’t need a repeat.
Damn that was a FAST elimination! I guess it’s best to get it over with quick when your dealing with kids….no matter what tho, I noticed the tears which is natural poor things😥
I hate when kids cry. Hate hate hate. What I hate more is shell shocked reactions like Tripp had. In my gut, i feel like he didn’t want to be there but at the same time liked performing live and had fun. These eliminations this season are going to destroy me
I hate to see kids cry when it is something legit. Like this was. But I get extremely annoyed when kids go into a crying tantrum at the store because the parents won’t let them get a toy, or won’t let them run wild. Nothing annoys me more when standing in line at a grocery store and have a kid screaming in my ear behind me and/or yelling at the parent “I hate you” because the brat can’t get a toy or whatever. Glad that my kids never had a tantrum and yelled at me that they hated me, I couldn’t have handled that. Anyways, I guess I will have to wait for DWTS Jr to put the dances up on YouTube, because my darling weather people insisted on endless yapping for another 30 minutes past DWTS Jr end of show. End result minimum damage from tornado that hit a rural area, 2 1/2 hrs of endless weather talk.
To be fair, Bristol didn’t make him do the show. When Deena called her, she asked him if he wanted to do it and he said “ooo yeah im doing that.” Paperwork gets signed, he’s in. At some point she showed him some videos of kids dancing and he got a little intimidated she said and she admitted he THEN said “yeah i dont wanna do that.” She replied that they already signed a contract and to just have fun. And he did. He’s friends with several of the kids.
“Worth noting: Tripp & Addison danced in what we usually refer to the “running order positions of doom” – 2nd & 3rd (and sometimes 4th and 5th, depending on how many couples dance). Perhaps the running order also affects perceptions of the in-studio audience, and they just weren’t the ones the in-studio audience remembered at the end of the night.”
It’ll be interesting to see what happens. Given that this is a live audience that saw the whole thing, I would have thought the worst place to go would be right in the middle (6th or 7th).
What I’m wondering: how are they actually going to fit TEN dances into one hour next week?
I was actually there for the taping of this episode and I have to say the voting at the end was sort of a nightmare. They got it sorted out, but they had half the audience voting on both paper and the handheld devices just in case there was a technical issue – it took way longer than the episode made it seem. BUT the biggest thing was the audience felt SO BAD when the kids got sent home and started crying. There was this huge feeling of guilt because literally the 200 people in that room were completely to blame for them getting voted off. It was so sad!
The only reason the Ziegler girl was cast is her big fanbase. They’re trying to milk them for social media hits and views.
I would think that the kid from Blackish would have a far bigger fanbase than the Ziegler girl, since he’s on TV in primetime on a show that is likely watched by the same demo that watches DWTS. I doubt that demo has a clue who she is and I suspect that she was cast for the same reason that most ringers are cast – they don’t want to take a chance on NO ONE on the cast being able to deliver a good dance. It is called dancing with the stars, after all. I don’t know that they go out and look for actual dancers, but I would bet that is one of the criteria when they are interviewed.
And as for the results – each week the person sent home is based on the judges scores and 200 random people who happen to be in the studio audience. The fact that it’s only 200 people gives the judges much more power than they’ve ever had. They can pick the winner pretty easily by over scoring and under scoring accordingly. I’m going to have to work up a spreadsheet just to look at just how much influence that really is.
@Valerie – Source or it didn’t happen. And sorry, but not really filling him in on what the show was about until after the contract was signed? That’s a stage mom move. I’m sure he made friends on the show – but that doesn’t mean it was necessarily a fun experience for him overall. Hell, a friend of mine made friends while incarcerated – would he describe his experience in jail as “fun”? Probably not.
Yeah, if they cast Kenzie looking for views and hits – they’re doing it wrong. I agree with Heidi that they cast her for ringer potential, and it was probably beneficial for her to do the show for exposure and promotion for this singing career of hers they’re trying to sell.
Could Kenzie have been the last-minute replacement for another celebrity who decided to not do the show? It seems a weird casting given that she hasn’t really pursued any dance exposure since leaving Dance Moms and left the show two years ago? Of course she’s not going to say no to DWTS.
And a question about the judges comments: how much experience does Val have with teaching youth dance classes? It doesn’t seem like he has an awful lot because his critiques seem more in line with what you would tell a master class, rather than dancers trying to improve below that level. It could be why Mandy’s critiques seem far more helpful and targeted towards the kids — because of having experience teaching kids, really, any sort of skill.
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@Justin – It’s possible (re: Kenzie). I was just told she was the last one cast, and that Sage was brought in specifically for her. I don’t think Sage was at the junior pro auditions, so that would make sense – plus he’s the oldest of the junior pros (I think he’s 16), and the casting cutoff was roughly 13 for the junior pros.
And I honestly don’t have any idea how much experience Val actually has teaching/coaching kids in ballroom/Latin. If you ask one of his fans, he’s “the best dance teacher that ever lived, the best teacher for kids, he invented dance, he invented kids, he’s perfect for this job, etc.” And yeah – his critiques would be more helpful to a bunch of experienced adult dancers, as opposed to kids just first starting out that have no clue what they’re doing. The thing that really gets me is that he probably has the easiest job as the self-proclaimed “technique judge” – technique is pretty objective, and it’s easy to point out things like “your frame was sagging”, “your feet got pigeon-toed”, “you were off-time”, “you missed a step”, etc. And yet, he can’t even seem to articulate any of those things – it’s just “work on technique”, or “work on chemistry”. WTF.
@Courtney: It might also be that he’s trying very hard to protect his image by not sounding like a big jerk critiquing kids.
I know rehearsal footage can be edited heavily, but you can’t make it all up. And the way we’ve seen him interact with his celebrity partners in rehearsal makes me think that he sees those technique things but is biting his tongue so he doesn’t come across as being mean to kids.
Methinks he doesn’t quite have the same tact as Mandy in terms of being able to frame a helpful critique in a way that a kid can understand and in a way that an adult wouldn’t think she’s belittling what they’re doing.
What I know for sure – Mandy needs to be the 3rd judge on the main show, She was amazing. Get Derek to choreograph the opening and finale pro dances and put Mandy as a permanent judge. Sorry Julianne.
Er, Julianne hasn’t been a judge for two seasons (or is it more?) now and I doubt she’s ever coming back – so why “sorry Julianne”? I doubt she ever comes back and I tend to doubt they get Derek back long term either, for that matter. But you can be sure DWTS would take both of them back if they wanted to come back…and if the network was willing to pay their ask, which is likely a lot higher than it was a year or two ago.
ABC don’t have the money to spend on DWTS that would be needed to bring Derek back. In a fantasy world where Idol wasn’t around and DWTS still had a decent sized budget I’d go to Derek and give him whatever he wants and whatever role he wants in order to get him on board. Dancer, choreographer, judge, exec producer, director. Anything. Unfortunately that ship has now sailed and as DWTS sadly declines in the ratings, ABC have lost him for good.