PureDWTS DWTS Juniors Season 1 – Court’s Premiere Post-Mortem
So last night was the premiere of DWTS Juniors – if you didn’t tune in live, you can get a synopsis of sorts from my live blog here. Even though I had an idea of what to expect headed in, there were of course some nuances that didn’t come to light until I actually got to watch the show myself. So here’s my general impressions after watching last night’s show:
These kids are all giving it 110%. Every single one of those kids was giving it their best shot last night – even the ones that maybe aren’t natural performers. That’s something to be commended, as I can recall more than a few adult celebs on DWTS who clearly were not putting in their best effort during their seasons. All of the junior celebs, all of the junior pros, and most of the pro mentors are really putting their hearts into this, which I appreciate. It’s nice to watch a show where everyone’s so invested 🙂
Val is not very good at verbalizing what he wants to see as a judge. I know a lot of fans were insistent that Val would be “a great judge”, because “he’s so good with kids” (is he…?) and “he has competition experience” (so do most of the other pros), but for reals – he was probably the most vague of the three judges, and couldn’t seem to articulate specific critiques for the kids. These aren’t adults that have enough experience with the subtleties of human language that they’re able to deduce less-than-obvious things that the judges may be trying to tell them – these are kids that need to have things very explicitly stated for them, in concrete, non-abstract terms. You can’t really tell two 9-year-olds “work on your technique”; be specific: “I want to see more rise and fall and heel leads”, “work on your frame and keeping your posture up”, “I want to see you using your hips more”, etc. Even Len at the very least calls out specific examples when he’s complaining about technique. Possibly the most confounding comment I heard from him last night: “I want you to embody the dance more.” It was said to Miles, after his salsa. I don’t think Miles knows enough about salsa to really understand what that means and apply it, and I’m guessing he probably thought he was “embodying” the dance because he performed the choreo he was given well. Even Maks, when he was at his pettiest and nitpickiest sitting behind that judges’ table, was more specific and lucid than that. And before anyone tries to pull the “but English isn’t Val’s first language!” bullsh*t: not buying it, have never bought it as a valid excuse for the many jerky things he’s said over the years, he’s been in this country over 20 years, and part of the responsibility of being a judge is being able communicate what it is you want to see – if he can’t do that, he has no business judging. I’ll be waiting to see if he improves as the season wears on…
Mandy is the saving grace of the judges’ panel. I may not always be the biggest fan of Mandy or her choreo, but my god – she was singlehandedly saving the whole panel last night, and was giving really supportive, helpful critiques to the kids. With Val being vague and Adam just kinda showboating and making flimsy analogies, it was nice to have a judge on the panel that both supported the kids AND gave them really clear, relevant tips on how to improve that the kids could understand. I can’t remember who she said it to, but one of the junior celebs was getting ahead of the music – and Mandy gave him/her a very good tip: “if you feel like you’re getting ahead of the music, make your moves bigger – it will get you back on time.” These are the kinds of things the kids need to be hearing – very simple, concrete examples of what to do/what not to do. And Mandy was phrasing it in such a way that the kids still felt good about themselves, so her critiques were likely to be much better-received. Also gave her props for being the only judge (and the only person on the show at all, really) to point out that Kenzie does, indeed, have dance experience. Which brings me to my next point…
Nobody is being fooled by the “Kenzie isn’t a dancer” act. Quite possibly the worst example of attempted gaslighting of the audience on this show I’ve seen in quite awhile 😛 The fact that they’re trying to bill Kenzie as a singer, and won’t even cop to her sister being a dancer (Maddie, a dance phenom, was conveniently referred to as “an artist”) is ridiculous to the point of it being almost comical – how far will they go to avoid mentioning that Kenzie has had quite a bit of dance training??? Are they going to come up with euphemisms for dance training? Is Kenzie “well-versed in rhythmic movements performed to music”? I think after she handled that “foxtrot” (in quotes ’cause after about 8 bars, Gleb basically said “f*ck it” and choreographed a Charleston/Lindy) quite easily, nobody was convinced she was a non-dancer that coincidentally managed to nail a dance on the first try. I’m interested to see if they try to keep this song-and-dance act going for the rest of the season – especially since Maddie is due to guest in Kenzie’s samba later on. How are they going to introduce her? “Kenzie’s artist sister”? 😛
Jordan & Frankie were the right choice to host this show. While Tom & Erin’s more dry, sarcastic tone sits well with the adult version, the kids version needs a softer touch – and I think Jordan & Frankie are perfect. They’re both professional, but also have an exuberance to them that appeals to the kids and makes them not so intimidating. Frankie in particular seemed to be doing a nice job of interviewing the kids up in the box, and bringing some of shyer ones out of their shell. They also play off each other nicely, likely owing to the chemistry they built when they were on the same season AND while on tour together.
Kids sure do love the Fortnite dances. I saw quite a bit of “flossing” and “hyping” – as well as a few other dances that I’m fairly certain are from Fortnite. It’s annoying when Bobby does it on the adult version, but I’ll give the kids a pass because those moves are likely very familiar and accessible to them 😉
Miles, Kenzie, Ariana, Sky, Sophia, & Akash seem like the ones to watch. They’re the ones with the biggest personalities or skill sets, and some of them have both. Akash in particular has serious dark horse potential 😎
So what are your overall thoughts after the first episode??? Share ’em below 🙂
My cousin plays Fortenite religiously and it’s the worst. I love video games but it’s the literal worst. You hit the nail on the head about Mandy. If Len ever was to leave again, I would be all for her to join the mothershow as a judge.
I watched with my 4 1/2 year old granddaughter. She was enthralled, captivated….just plain loved it!!!!! The kids…she was crazy about them all. She didn’t care about the judges, their critiques…they just didn’t matter to her….(I need to take a few lessons from her)…she was so excited watching kids dance. I loved watching with her. It was special.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect but the entire time I was watching, especially in some of the video packages, I kept thinking how cute these kids are.
Also, I appreciated, like you said in your live blog how Mandy stated that she wants to refer Alana as Alana and not “honey boo boo”.
I’m wondering if Brandon’s stint as a mentor sealed his position as a pro this season? because he seems like he’s such a great coach and teacher to the kids.
Ugh Maddie is going to be in her sister’s next routine? Gee I wonder how “almost perfect” that dance will look?🙄
Not gonna lie-for me, I’m kinda partial to Jordan as a host over Frankie-sometimes Frankie seems a little too over the top and Jordan is calmer-but that’s just my preference LOL
I thought I read somewhere that Mandy continues to work with kids during dance camps/training seminars-things of that nature? I think her experience working with kids definitely showed last night-she knows how to speak to them on their level and be upfront, yet positive at the same time. Val, as a judge, was disappointing to me-I really thought he was going to rise to the occasion and be able to make a good impression. I thought he was like parrot! Constantly repeating similar comments to the same contestants-it old fast for a first episode:/ Adam, I thought, was there largely as a filler; however there were maybe 2 comments that I thought could’ve been considered like constructive criticism. I, too, am curious to see how next week pans out….
“well-versed in rhythmic movements performed to music” LOL
DTWS Juniors is the show I never knew how badly I needed. I was smiling so damn hard the entire time and I want to adopt them all. I’m kinda glad that we as viewers can’t vote because I don’t know how I would choose who to vote for. Even while I’m already annoyed by the “Kenzie’s not a dancer” schtick, I still feel protective of her because they’re all so young.
So help me god, if anyone comes at any of these kids or TPTB try to weasel their way into anything, I will let loose.
@Mary Ann – Maddie will show up in week 6 for “Giving Thanks” night. Spoiler alert: the samba with Maddie wasn’t even the highest-scoring routine that night 😛
Ha! That’s pretty good. But in all seriousness, I do wonder if the pull of Maddie isn’t necessarily the big deal that it would have been four years ago, or even two years ago.
I feel like both of the Ziegler sisters are starting to get left behind in that L.A. scene, especially by those who did the junior divisions of World of Dance and even two S-Rank members who are under 16.
It just seems like they’re not quite the “get” right now, and their trying to play down Kenzie’s dance ability in order to tell a balanced narrative, since none of this is live.
This was such a nice, ps=ositive, joyfoul show to watch. I agree with you on Val, I was expecting real crtiique from him given that out the 3 judges, he is the only one trained in ballroom. He did say on twitter he was really overwhelmed on the first prime and I also wonder if his and Jenna’s dog didn’t died the day before which could explain his lack of communication skills.
I was already convived by Mandy when she guest judged on s24 and I’m very happy about all the thing she said, how she said and how she interacted with the children.
Adam was … I don’t wanna say pointless but I can’t find the word. Any other celeb that did a full season – not even a winner – would have been better or another former pro – again Kym would have been perfect. Except his comment for Kenzie, I can’t remember something he said that was pertinent. But he was joyful so there it is.
The show downplaying Kenzie dance exp is so annoying. I get that she is trying to brand herself as a singer right now and for some legal and complicated stuff, she can’t and probably won’t mention Abby Lee Miller nor Dance Moms but that how she became famous. Also I’m pretty sure the dance moms girls took a few ballroom classes, not enough to say they trained but they tried it. Lastly she has more dance exp than Sage which is kinda ridicoulous.
I’m always here for ringer on the show because they push other contestant to do better but I HATE when they lie about there dance exp (for example I don’t think Frankie would have done so great without Jordan on the show). This reminds me of Lindsey S last season who kept claiming she didn’t have any dance exp and all. She was a great contestant but this little game was annoying.
@Courtney Ha! Ha! Thanks for that spoiler!! Good to know! Can’t wait to see who beats them out that week😜 and no I don’t want to know!🙈🙉😂😂😂
I went into it thinking that I probably won’t like it that much. However, I ended up loving the whole show. Those kids put a huge smile on my face. They were so adorable. I will wait to give my opinion on the judging panel until they get a few shows under their belt. I know everyone is jumping on the Kenzie has dance experience train…which is true. However, who is too blame for the narrative? I feel bad that she is getting so much negativity on twitter. She is only a kid. Just curious. Thanks. 🙂
@Sara – If you read what I wrote, you’ll notice I’m casting the blame on the people around Kenzie – not Kenzie herself. I’m certain the narrative is being pushed by TPTB – Kenzie (and really, none of the junior pros or other junior celebs) doesn’t seem strategic enough to come up with a whole “I’m not a trained dancer!” routine, or even see a need for it. Unfortunately, some viewers probably won’t be able to make that distinction, and will probably blame her for the circus. It is what it is.
[…] from Joe’s season of The Bachelor; Maddie Ziegler is a dancer from Dance Moms whose sister (that is definitely NOT a dancer!) is currently a contestant on DWTS Juniors; Scarlett Byrne is another actress from the Harry Potter […]
Thank you for responding Courtney.
I just would like to point out the mentors were there and listening to the critiques and likely know exactly what Val meant. The point of the mentors besides good or for the regular show
is that they can help the kids utilize the critiques and grow in areas like technique and showing personality.
And I would just like to point out, Jazzyjen, that the critiques aren’t just for the kids and the mentors – they’re for the people at home, too, otherwise why have judges? If Val’s being vague and aimless in his critiques, we may as well not hear him talk at all. Val was a crummy judge the other night, period. Regardless if the mentors were able to parse together what exactly (if anything) he was trying to say about the dances, and explain it to the kids.
Honestly all Val needed to do was be more specific/descriptive about exactly what techniques they should work on.
He can’t say things like:
Watch your shoulders
You were a little ahead (or behind) your partner
Use your hips
Your frame was wrong?
Give me a break, Val competed at their age. The family’s Dance with Me studios trains junior competitors
Somehow I seriously doubt that Val’s judges or trainers just told him to “work on his technique”. He really SHOULD know how to communicate on their level.