‘Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition’ recap: "Broadway Backstabbers"

This week on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, the eight remaining dancers took on Broadway.

Broadway veteran and AUDC judge Rachelle joined Abby for the challenge this week, so the dancers knew right away that this week’s theme would be Broadway. Additionally, the skill would be versatility.

Rachelle taught the competitors their Broadway style choreography for the challenge, and McKaylee and Travis were the top two. McKaylee won because she made eye contact while performing, and Travis did not. As her prize, McKaylee would be performing the first solo of the competition.

Because the skill this week was versatility, each routine would include several genres of dance, but it would also be inspired by a Broadway show.
During a tough day of rehearsal, Ally was scared to do her side aerial in high heels and Tyler, who was originally featured in his trio, was moved to the back because he couldn’t keep up with Trinity.

As the dancers got into their costumes, hair, and makeup, Gianna’s mom Cindy decided to cut her daughter’s skirt shorter so she would stand out. Ally and her mom noticed, though, and cut their skirt the same way. If it kept going, there wouldn’t be a skirt left!

The first dance was Travis and Kalani’s duet inspired by Phantom of the Opera. The dance, called “Monster of the Night” had both jazz and ballroom elements. They wore black and white costumes, and Travis had the phantom’s mask painted on his face. The judges thought that Travis didn’t give them enough, and they critiqued Kalani’s facial expressions. Abby was especially irked that she told Kalani to work on her face earlier in practice and Kalani didn’t listen.

The next dance was “Extra, Extra,” a trio inspired by Newsies, featuring Tyler, JoJo, and Trinity. The dancers started from in the audience, crying, “Extra! Extra!” and handing out newspapers. Then they hit the stage with a hip hop routine. Trinity blew JoJo and Tyler away, and the judges noticed. Rachelle gave her the ultimate compliment, saying, “You could be on Broadway today.” However, when Tyler admitted that he was originally the feature and got pushed to the back, the judges were not impressed.
Ally and Gianna performed next with their dance “Eight,” inspired by the musical Nine. Their jazz / Latin style number blew the judges away, and they especially thought Ally was fantastic. After being scared to do the aerial in practice, she nailed it on stage.

McKaylee’s solo was the last dance of the night. The lyrical routine called, “I Danced a Dream ” was inspired by Les Miserables. McKaylee wore a tattered dress and a short-haired wig as she spun and leaped across the stage. Her emotions and facial expressions were spot on. It was my favorite dance of the night, and the judges loved it too, even giving her a standing ovation. Watch the full number below.

The judges each had different favorites after they saw all the performers: Abby’s was Trinity, Richy’s was Ally, and Rachelle’s was McKaylee.
The bottom three, though, were JoJo, Travis, and Tyler. In the end, Abby told Tyler that he would be eliminated. Suddenly, Travis spoke up and said that if his brother was going home, he would go, too. Abby was infuriated.

She yelled, “You know when your brother needs you? When he needs a kidney or a lung! Not when he has the opportunity to win $100,000. Every one of those girls over there would give up their right arm to stay in this competition one more week. You're gonna stand on this stage and waste my time?"

Suddenly, Travis changed his mind and decided that he would stay in the competition after all. Abby warned him that after threatening to quit, he better be fully committed.

Next time on AUDC, the competitors will dance in a fairy tale themed week. Watch it on Lifetime next Tuesday.

Image: Youtube Screenshot