Our next solo is going to...
-Kendall. -[Jill] Shut up!
[all applauding and cheering]
[Jill] Hey!
You are doing a piece entitled, "The Journey."
It's about your journey.
You came to the ALDC of Pittsburgh,
you got on the competition team,
then you're moving to LA.
Where is your journey going?
What style? What kind?
It's a lyrical.
[Abby] All right, so,
Nia, you will be dancing the third solo.
-Oh, cool! -[all cheering]
Wow, look at that!
Nia, you are in the open category,
and the name of your piece is "The Promised Land."
Originally, I thought about you doing a piece as
the first female president.
-But that didn't happen. -It didn't happen.
[all laughing]
Abby, now you could still be the first female president.
[woman] You have the same credentials as Trump.
You're a business owner and a reality TV star.
Like, you could run.
What's the story, then?
Well, Nia, I don't have a narrative.
You know, you played a heavy-duty character
in your last solo,
and you won big.
But this is not an acting piece, this is a dancing piece,
and I need to see your technique,
so we're gonna see it on stage.
[Abby] Come on, guys, let's go!
[Jill] So far so good, no one has dropped.
We're still hanging in there, Abby.
-She was-- -Guys, now, come on, come on.
Guys, settle.
I want the three soloists first. That's it.
With each soloist,
I want each mom in the room with us.
[Kira] I'm glad you're starting with solos,
'cause I think that the girls do not feel very confident.
[Holly] They were sad yesterday.
They were defeated. When they walked out of that room,
their body language just looked like, "Why bother?"
[Kira] I think a lot of it had to do with
the fact that they had to have
a fluorescent yellow line in the dance room
to know what a straight line was,
they had to go over the first part of the choreography
over and over and over again.
[Abby] Know what, you guys?
You're dance mommies, you don't understand!
We, Gianna and I,
collectively did not like what we were seeing!
That's why we did it over and over and over and over.
I think it's ridiculous to have a lead competition team
and put a line in on the floor.
Does your daughter know her solo?
Does she wanna dance instead of one of these kids tomorrow?
This is nuts.
[Abby]
and I want to get into the hotel and get started,
but the moms, once again, coming at my neck,
all about the minis,
and the girls aren't getting enough time with me,
and they haven't learned their solos.
"Waa, waa, waa." You know what? Get your butt to class.
Then you'll feel confident in every dance step that you do.
[Abby] Kendall. "The Journey."
We need to see struggle, lost.
Tripping.
But we need to see it in the movement.
Yeah, you-you're literally trying to use your shoulders
to lift your leg, I see you doing it.
That's where we wanna see, and I hate to say the name,
Elliana's leg.
That's what I need to see right there.
Hyperextended, the calf muscle, the foot, everything.
Here's Kendall with "The Journey."
["The Journey" playing]
Kendall's journey started as this little kid
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
who came to my dance studio,
who auditioned to be on this team.
She has all types of memories.
Some of them are very, very good, amazing.
And some, well...
The people that were in here dancing
are 1,000 times better than you.
And now,
she lives and succeeds in Los Angeles, California.
And how will the journey end? That's the question.
And the only one that can answer it is Kendall herself.
-Do you want me to get Holly? -Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
She has an attitude.
Abby has an attitude big time.
I wonder why. I wonder if it's because
Nationals is close and we're so disorganized,
or if it's something else, like her case.
[Jill] Hol, you're up.
-And they're pressed on time. -Okay.
[Abby] Nia, you are doing "The Promised Land."
Don't take your body too far forward.
Let the knee come up. Yes.
Like you're marching up Capitol Hill.
That's what that should be.
["Promised Land" playing]
Though you may not agree
with the politics going on in the USA,
this is the place where dreams really do come true.
The Promised Land.
Nia could portray a character,
but now I need to see the technique.
The competition here in Denver, Colorado, is tough.
All the tricks need to be spot-on.
[Jill] So what did you think of Nia's number?
That's tough. She has that front aerial at the end
that I'm nervous about.
It's a top dance. It's a great dance.
But is this a dance that she should be doing in Denver?
I don't know.
[Jill] Hey, you guys, we have a while
until the group dance.
Do you mind if we get the... Get the soloists ready together?
You guys need help with anything?
We're here, we're a team, we can help you.
Well, the team's a little divided.
I think we've seen that.
It would help if you could let the soloists get ready...
peacefully.
Okay, bye-bye.
All right, girls, here we go.
I have two teens and a senior.
And we know at Sheer Talent,
they give a high score of the day,
always have, always will,
for the top solo, duet, or trio.
So we should keep that in mind.
Okay. Let's go.
[Holly]
But if they pull out a win, it's all because of our kids.
Abby won't get any credit from it.
[dance music playing]
[applause]
You'll do your front aerial.
-You'll nail it. -Mm-hmm. I did it in there.
-I'm gonna nail my turns. -[Kalani] Nail your turns.
-And I'm gonna hold my-- -Your knees to your face.
I'm nervous because I'm going up against
Kalani and Nia in the overalls,
and I won with my past solos,
and, you know, I need to keep that streak going for me.
Plus, this dance is about my journey of being on this team.
I want that journey to continue with a solo at Nationals.
[host] Welcome to the stage
entry number 89, teen solo/group.
["The Journey" playing]
♪ It makes no sense ♪
♪
♪ The spark between us makes everything okay
♪ When you are near ♪
♪
♪ The road is clear ♪
♪
♪ There may not be ♪
♪
♪♪ But you and me ♪
♪
♪ We are on the journey ♪
♪
♪ We are on the journey ♪
-[cheers and applause] -Good job, Kendall!
-Good job. That was great. -Thanks.
-Could you breathe? -No.
[laughs]
Thank you.
I love the choreography with my solo,
but I am a little concerned about
hitting the front aerial.
I did a good job acting
with the "How to Get Away With Murder" solo,
but I really need to show my technique with this one.
[host] Welcome to the stage
entry number 90, teen solo special.
[cheers and applause]
["Promised Land" plays]
♪ Promised land ♪
♪
♪ Ooh ♪
♪ Promised land ♪
♪
♪ See the promised land ♪
♪ I've seen the ♪
♪ Promised land ♪
[cheers and applause]
It did not look bad. You saved it well.
[host] So we have teen solos...
All the solos are great.
It's gonna be a tough call, and it's in the judges' hands,
but how they do today could possibly determine
who will get a solo at Nationals this year.
So I can barely breathe.
Third place...
[suspenseful music playing]
Entry number 55, "Race to Erase."
[applause]
Second place...
[suspenseful music playing]
Entry number 90, "The Promised Land."
[applause]
To me, the fact that Nia came in second
shows how competitive of a dancer she was.
And who knows, if she had not had that big error,
she might have won.
[host] First place
[suspenseful music playing]
goes to entry number 89, "The Journey."
[cheers and applause]
[Jill]
I'm just so pleased.
She deserves it.