PureDWTS DWTS Juniors, Season 1 – Week 2 Live(ish) Blog!!!
Well we had a pretty good time with the premiere last week, and the general sentiment (at least around here) is that Juniors is turning out far better than many of us thought it would, which makes me happy 🙂
Tonight’s episode was taped on August 2nd, and was the only episode of Juniors to be taped on a Thursday (instead of the Fri/Sat taping schedule of the rest of the season). Why? Because Kenzie had to perform at another engagement on Saturday the 4th, so they rearranged the taping schedule to accommodate her. Interesting. *sips tea* Theme tonight is “songs from the year the junior celeb was born” – if you want to feel old now, rather than later, go check out the song/dance list here. And if you’re in a spoiler-y mood, you can see who the high scorers tonight will be here.
If you haven’t checked out my premiere post mortem, I recommend doing so…I’m interested to see what, if any, changes we see tonight. Will Val give more lucid critiques? Will the “Kenzie definitely is not a dancer, pay no attention to the fact that she seems to dance really well right off the bat!” song and dance continue? Will the kids keep doing Fortnite dances? 😛
Kenzie & Sage up first. It’s a quickstep. Will Gleb actually do a quickstep, or just say “screw it” and do whatever he feels like, choreo-wise?
It’s definitely more quickstep-y than the foxtrot last week was foxtrot-y, but it seemed to take awhile to get started. I’ll give the “messin’ about” a bit more of a pass this time around, since it’s kids. Val’s standing and clapping, claiming that “he was tough on her last week because he wanted to see what she could do this week”. They get three 8’s, and the judges are pretty complimentary.
God we’re moving fast this week…
…it’a Sky & JT doing cha-cha next.
And turns out Sky can do a little tumbling! Plus she seems to actually understand the timing of the dance. She’s got a real diamond-in-the-rough quality to her dancing. One to watch, for sure.
Adam praises the cleanliness. Val appreciates the clarity of the steps. Mandy points out the fun faces. It gets 7, 7, 8 – which seems a bit incongruous with the critiques. Mama Spence is livid that Sky didn’t score as high as Kenzie and wants to know how to vote for Sky. Oh crap…
Forgot tonight’s show is only an hour…hence the breakneck pace…
Sophia & Jake are doing a foxtrot to Taylor Swift. Hope she comes out of her shell more this week.
It’s an adorable and age-appropriate foxtrot, and Sophia handles it VERY nicely – girl can move. And she looks so pretty 🙂 She’s smiling a bit more too, but still seems reserved.
Adam basically echoes my sentiment and warns her that there are “a lot of big personalities this season” and wants to see her come out of her shell more. They get 7, 6, 7, which I think is low.
Jason just CRACKS ME UP. Says he’s never heard of the song he’s dancing to tonight 😛
It’s a fun alien-themed jive and they sell it well, even if it was probably technically the weakest so far tonight.
Mandy brings up “poise” and asks Jason if he knows what it is. Jason says “-ish. Do you know what it means? I want to make sure you do!” THIS KID IS SLAAAAYING WITH THAT PERSONALITY.
It gets 7, 7, 7 – if that got three 7’s, I feel like Sophia should have gotten at least one 8. I thought she had a lot more content and only failed slightly on the showmanship.
Fun fact: junior troupe member Reese’s older sister is Taylor Hatala, who was on World of Dance this past season.
Mandla & Brightyn doing a salsa next…
It’s super fast, but Mandla handles it well. Not sure how much salsa I saw, though.
Adam, Val, and Mandy all comment on lack of salsa content. Not sure I like the judges coming down on the kids for the shortcomings of the pros.
They get 7, 7, 8. Mama Spence slightly horrified at Mandy’s critique, which could have been interpreted as racist. *facepalm*
Hudson & Kami doing a superhero themed paso.
It’s cute and Hudson is doing so well with the cape solo. Kami says her superhero is “Lovegirl” because “Love always wins.” Adam is fangirling.
Judges give it 7, 8, 7 – all three say “a strong” before saying their score. Kinda weird – if it was so strong, why not give it a higher score?
This show is FLYING by…
Two of the Black-ish cast members in the audience to support Miles…
Argentine tango to Gavin DeGraw…this I gotta see…
It’s got a ton of content and Miles is handling it very cleanly and moving big.
All three judges praising it heavily. Val points out the fact that Rylee is taller than Miles 😛
Three 8’s. I probably would have thrown in at least one “9” just based on the difficulty.
Artem trying to say “Pussycat Dolls” with his accent is unintentionally hilarious.
Alanna’s cha cha is full of attitude, but the technique just wasn’t there. Might’ve been off-time at a few moments, too. I do respect for her selling the hell out of it, though.
Mandy points out the timing issue, which Alanna admits because “dancing makes me so excited!” Awww.
It gets 6, 6, 7. Forgot to mention: the judges have rotated seating arrangements this week. Now it’s Val in Carrie Ann’s spot, and Mandy in the middle. Adam’s still in Bruno’s spot. Curious…
Milo is apparently guesting on American Housewife this week…
Akash and Kamri (squeeee) doing cha-cha next…
Akash thinks the dance is “about partying and being cool”. Witney says she’s never said that 😛
He’s having some timing issues and is hitting some moves hard and others…not so much. But I’ll be damned if he isn’t having a blast and selling the hell out of it. He even has some stank face going on 😛
Akash is winning over just about everyone – says he “loves this show” and is having so much fun. Val is cracking up when Akash said he taught the girls tutting by watching a YouTube video 😛
Three 7’s and Akash is thrilled. He may not be the strongest dancer this season, but he is the very definition of connecting to the crowd.
Ariana & Artyon up last…
It’s a rock-themed jive and they of course deliver. Ariana might have actually nailed the technique a bit better than Artyon, I think.
Adam’s standing for the them, saying “if Val is going to stand for the FIRST dance of the night…” Mild shade?
Oh hai Mama Arnold in the audience! 🙂
They get their scores after the commercial break – 8, 8, 8. Now it’s time for the elim…
Hudson/Kami/Hayley leaving us tonight. Both kids crying. Some of the other kids crying. I hate this.
Ok so Jordan just said something about a “two-night Disney event” next week. Da fuq???
Mackenzie and sage…..I loved the energy level but at the same time I wasn’t loving it either. I’d give that a 7 to be honest. Kinda feel bad saying that lol. Sky and JT wowed me though. This kid is just one ball of energy and charisma all in one. I’d give that a 9.
Sky is just the cutest thing in the world! Her non-stop smiles and her sweet little voice… I love them!
Something about Kenzie & Sage’s energy just feels HOLLOW…like neither is 100% present in the dance. Sky & JT, on the other hand, are entirely present and selling the dance 200%.
Liked Jason and Hudson and would give them both an 8. Mandla I loved though. That was by far one of the most fun routines I have seen in a long long time. I’d give that an 8
I loved all of these dances and would give them all an 8 (even Alana who I think was hysterical and just a blast). Saying that, I am now LOVING Adam and Mandy but val is starting to annoy me tonight.
Hit submit too quick. His comment about a handful of couples that can win this rubbed me the wrong way. These are kids not adults. If someone said that on the mother show I’d be cool with it but these are kids
Not to throw out a cliche from another show, but I’m wondering if Kenzie is doing DWTS for the right reasons. It might be that she saw this as an opportunity to win a mirror ball and gain exposure to part of the DWTS audience. It’s as if she’s afraid to mess up, so she’s dancing very carefully and internally because she feels the pressure to perform.
It’s a contrast to the other kids who all are looking at this show as a chance to learn how to dance and have a bunch of fun doing it, so they’re dancing more freely.
Another thing I noticed, the celebrities who are starting to pull away all seem to have partners who are pure performers, especially Miles and Mandla. If those two didn’t perform to the level they are, Brightyn and Rylee might just eat them alive. Then again, if Artyon wasn’t as full of personality, Ariana might eat him alive.
It’s a 2 Night Event because the Main Show is doing Disney Night on Monday and Jr is doing Disney Night on Sunday
I wish the judges would stop telling Sophia that her personality needs to be bigger. There is nothing wrong with being a shy kid!
Next week is Disney ninght for juniors and I think next monday is Disney week for regular DWTS, I think it’s what Jordan was talking about.
Anyway, Brandon is delivering the most challenging choreo imo, I feel like the routine he made could also be for adults. Miles’ AT was really good to, Rylee has a great stage presence. I feel like Cheryl did the best she could with a music that was not really fitted for a jive but I still enjoyed the dance a lot.
Personality wise, Arianna, Alanna and Jason are giving me life but I love all the cast !
Adam still seemed a tad out of place in his critique but at least he is nice and fun. Val did a better job and Mandy was still perfect to me. I also love Jordan and Frankie as hosts.
Forgot to mention Sophia and Jake : I think she is really shy but it’s even more “tough” for her because she is just 9 and Jake is 14 – which is really old for a 9 yo lol – so I think that’s why sometimes she is extra shy with him.
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I’m loving this show. Really we should all remain children forever. These kids are so genuine that the dance (and show) is just great and refreshing.
I have to say Cheryl’s and Withney’s junior pros really stand out to me as incredible performers (not only dancers). They have something special.
The only thing is that eliminations are really tough!
OMG these kids are so adorbs. My fav contestants are Sky, Ariana, Jason & Akashi. Fav pros are Kamri, JT & Rylee. So only complaint (other than the fact somebody has to go home every weekend kids end up crying) is it just makes me not getting more into gymnastics or dance when I was a kid
Looks hit submit to soon before I finished editing. It should say makes me regret that I didn’t do more dance or gymnastics. Also not watching the eliminations anymore it’s too hard watching these adorable little kids cry
Oh joy, more kids crying! Just what I want to see. The rating of this show is 4.5 million and I think the ratings for premiere was almost 5 million. I guess it is okay for a Sunday night. Besides the kids crying, I have to say I am enjoying the show a bit more than I thought I would. It is nice to see how the kids are enjoying their dance experience and is void of drama (right now) and is focused on dancing. I have to say I am really impressed with the kid pros. While they obviously don’t choreograph, they have bunches of dance talent. Lots more than me, that is for sure. I still enjoy DWTS the most, but where I figured I would watch one or two episodes and be done with it, now I am gonna stick through to the end.
It is interesting with Val and Mandy playing musical judging chairs. It looks like it is some kind of compromise to satisfy two huge egos.
It was frustrating to see Hudson leave. But, I figured that might happen when I thought paso doble on week 2 and the judges were being pretty soft on content. Similar to the adults, it is unfair when one star works hard on content while others get away with more freestyle. I agreed with Len on this. Also, how many of these kids had a chacha or jive this week?
[…] and dance list here, spoiler post here. If you want a recap/rundown of last week’s episode, week 2 live blog here and week 2 postmortem […]