Photo credit: Justin Lubin/NBC
Last week, I wrote an article about World of Dance and my frustration with the time limits and showcasing some —but not all — of the acts. One of the executive producers sent me a DM addressing my concerns and I really took this message to one of care.
I loved that they took the time to read my article and then privately try to solve one of my questions. It shows how much everyone involved in the production really loves this series. Even if Season 1 doesn’t have enough time in the hour to feature everyone — which hopefully will be addressed in Season 2 — someone took the time out of their busy day to reach out. I like that.
There are other ways WOD is hitting all of the right notes with me this summer and I wanted to point out some of the obvious, and not so obvious, ways this show is making a difference in the reality competition genre.
Photo credit: Trae Patton/NBC
1. Judges: I look forward to Derek Hough’s reactions on that judging panel each and every week. He experiences what we do as an audience member watching some of these incredible dancers. Behind the scenes, I have even heard stories of Derek reaching out to some of the acts to offer a few pointers or consoling them after they were eliminated.
Even with Ne-Yo as the tough judge, I feel like everyone is acting out of a love for dance. No one is showboating, no one is trying to hog the spotlight with cute one-liners. The panel judges from their heart and I think we saw how different tastes range last night when Derek gave Super Cr3w a 95, while the other judges hovered in the 80s.
2. NappyTabs: The contestants I’ve spoken with have all mentioned how much they appreciated NappyTabs’ contributions to the show. The duo understands the needs of dancers, yet they can also explain the needs of television to the dancers because producing a show isn’t easy. What works for art, doesn’t always work for television and NappyTabs provide that necessary balance to everyone who was participating.
NappyTabs also created an experience of a lifetime for these contestants along with their super team of supervising choreographers, Tessandra Chavez and Kyle Hanagami.
“We are there to help them in any way that we can because some acts don’t know how to play it to camera and we can guide them and advise them,” says Chavez in a recent To The Pointe episode. “We aren’t re-choreographing acts, but we were their secret mentors and coaches.”
Photo credit: Trae Patton/NBC
3. Experience: While everyone would love to walk away with the million dollars on WOD, it’s the experience that they take with them that’s going to impact them as artists. Contestants have continually described the backstage camaraderie, whether interacting with a competitor from their category or meeting their idols like Les Twins, Jabbawockeez or Ian Eastwood.
This will impact the junior competitors in ways we can’t even see now, but I think we will look back on Season 1 of and realize what a huge contribution it made to dance history. I also think of how this show is influencing young dancers to open their eyes to different genres or inspiring viewers to sign up for a dance class in their local area.
With only three more episodes of World of Dance left, the impression the show has made on me and countless others is tremendous. I look forward to seeing how the show grows in Season 2, but I hope it retains its heart and authenticity because that is why the show works so well.
Don’t miss Dance Network and Popcorn Talk’s latest episode of ‘To The Pointe With Kristyn Burtt’ featuring ‘World of Dance’ contestants from The Lab with director Valerie Ramirez.
Article originally published on Dance Network.
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