Nationals Day 1: Tensions Are High Taking the Next Step

This is Taking The Next Step.

The series that gives some of the UK's top young dancers the chance

to compete to win the opportunity of a lifetime -

a guest role on the hit Canadian TV show, The Next Step.

The Taking The Next Step team travelled all over the UK to try and

find the country's most talented young dancers.

Over 2,300 hopefuls applied.

But only the very best auditioned at regionals

in front of our three judges.

Actor and dancer Jonny Labey.

Your technique is outstanding.

Founder of the dance group, Flawless, Marlon Swoosh Wallen.

Just chill with it and then attack.

And head judge, professional dancer

and former Pussycat Doll, Kimberly Wyatt.

You have got sass for days.

Our judges picked up their top 50 from the regional auditions

to come to nationals.

Listen, you just came in here and smashed that.

Come and get your ticket, dude.

You're going to nationals!

But with only six places in the studio finals up for grabs,

they will have to give it their all.

Not only is it tough on that side of the table,

it's really tough on this side as well!

This is Taking The Next Step.

-It's London, and it's nationals.

-I'm so excited.

-Come on!

It's the day one, and the stage is set for our top 50 dancers

to perform for these guys once again.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Today, the judges have set three challenges

to help them narrow down the competition.

Our dancers will have to adapt a piece of choreography.

Show off their best moves in a troupe-style dance battle.

And work as a team to come up with their own choreographed routine.

But only 20 dancers can make it through to day two.

It really is just getting tougher and tougher.

First up is challenge one - learning a piece of choreography.

Hello, everybody, and welcome to nationals.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You guys should be so proud of yourselves for getting this far.

It's taken a lot of hard work,

and some pretty amazing dancing, so please be proud of yourselves.

But now is when the hard work really begins.

Challenge one is all about how well you learn and adapt choreography.

Before nationals, our dancers were given a routine to learn in advance

created by our choreographer Ian.

The dancers will perform in groups,

but the judges will be looking at them individually.

So go and rehearse, practise, be brilliant. Good luck.

Everyone's heading off to rehearse their routine, and Ian is on hand to

help them adapt it and add their own flavour.

-Are you excited?

-Yes!

-Good.

This is all about you as an individual.

You take my choreography and then you just make it your own.

You embellish it, you play with it,

and I really want to see your personality come through.

Each group has ten minutes in the dance studio before going to perform

the routine for the judges.

Whatever your flavour is, whatever your style is, let me see that.

Anything you want, yeah? Just have fun with it.

With so many different styles of dance left in the competition,

this is going to be a difficult challenge.

You've got to take us on a journey with this, yeah?

Only 30 dancers can make it through to the next challenge,

and group one is up first.

All right, try and shake those nerves.

Really enjoy this performance, and just go for it.

Hoping to give it her all is Paisley,

who we first met in Manchester.

She impressed with the judges with her hip-hop style.

Go on, Paisley!

But how is she going to cope with adapting

a more contemporary routine?

Your time to shine is now. Cue the music.

MUSIC: Flying from The Next Step

Paisley and group one have done all they can.

Now they have to wait for the other groups to perform

before they hear the decision.

You were definitely mixing it up. It looked like it went well.

-Are you all pleased? Are you happy?

-ALL:

-Yes.

Anyone who's a bit, like, "Arrgh"?

-Me. Me.

-Well, that's good!

Got a good vibe from the judges there.

There were a lot of smiley faces. How do you think it went?

-Good!

-Yeah? Happy with that?

-Yeah.

In group four, we had tap dancer Harvey,

who blew the judges away with his audition in London.

-He's amazing!

-Oh, great!

But he's bravely decided to push himself and do his performance

without his tap shoes.

Group four and Harvey have finished their performance.

Now all they can do is wait.

In our final group, 15-year-old Christian is hoping to

show the judges he's worked hard since his regional audition.

Don't rush. That was the only thing as a judge

that was taking me out of it a little bit.

Well done, guys. We'll see you soon.

The final group has performed,

and the judges have a difficult decision to make.

Guys, now you've just got to wait now.

Do you reckon you've done enough?

-Hopefully, yeah.

-You can do no more.

-Just relax.

-Well done.

-Relax, enjoy it.

You got to nationals, guys - you've done really well.

-Really well.

-Well done. Off you go, go chill.

-See you later, guys. Bye.

-Bye.

Our dancers have given it their all,

but now the judges must split them into two new groups -

one that's staying, and one that's going home.

All right, we've got an incredibly difficult decision.

Quite a few difficult decisions to make.

You're not kidding, Kim.

Whilst you deliberate, we're going to catch up the guys.

How do you feel like the routine went for you?

I feel like it went well.

I feel like I did everything I could, and I really went for it.

-Yeah?

-So hopefully...

Is anyone really confident that they're going to get through?

-No.

-No.

-All we can do is hope.

-Yeah, hope.

-Yeah.

Guys, everyone cross your fingers.

OK, now, I'm not going uncross mine for the rest of the day, all right?

This goes out to all of you. Good luck. OK?

She was a no for me.

-She was a maybe.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, I'd say maybe as well.

-OK.

-I was yes.

-I was a yes.

-I was a yes.

-A unanimous yes.

-Yeah!

Hoping to be one of those yeses is tap dancer Harvey.

Contemporary and, like, lyrical's not my strongest, but, like,

I tried my best with it, and I think I did well, so, yeah.

Fingers crossed, mate.

-Is that the final decision?

-Is that us?

-I'm signed.

-All right, that's it.

Not only is it tough on that side of the table,

it's really tough on this side as well!

All right, let's get 'em in.

-One, two, three, go team!

-All right.

The first group has been called, but will they be staying or going home?

Thank you, guys, and welcome back.

We've been so impressed with every single one of you.

The standard of the competition this year has been incredibly high.

We are only allowed to take 30 performers

through to the next stage.

Thank you so much for being brilliant, for working so hard,

and for sharing your talent.

However, on this occasion...

..you will not be going through to the next stage.

Please keep your spirits high

cos we have been so impressed with all of your hard work.

You really have been incredible.

And you should all be so proud of yourselves to have made it this far.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

It's the end of the road for our first group,

but they've done amazingly well to get this far.

Despite not going through, Harvey and Paisley are staying positive.

A bit sad, but overall happy cos it's been a great experience

and it's just been an amazing experience, yeah.

It makes me think that I need to do ballet

cos it'll help me in the future.

As the first lot of auditionees head home, it's time for the judges

to tell group two if they're staying or going.

We're only able to take 30 performers

through to the next challenge.

And those 30...

..are all of you.

CHEERING

EXCITED CHATTER

We are all so incredibly proud of you guys.

Your hard work is really starting to pay off now.

So keep it up, keep that focus, keep that determination,

because you're through to the next challenge.

CHEERING

It almost felt like a party popper. Like everyone...

-The whole effect like...

-It really... It got me!

So, look at you. You're through!

CHEERING

-Dance is awesome.

-That's it.

So, in this room we have our Taking The Next Step winner.

Oooh!

-Just let that sink in.

-Very exciting.

Just let that sink in, guys.

And letting that thought sink in is Christian,

who made it through the first challenge.

There are now 30 dancers left in the competition,

and there's plenty of work still to be done.

Welcome back and congratulations on making it through

to the second challenge.

Now it is time for us to have a bit of fun...

..in our dance battle.

Our remaining 30 are going to freestyle -

just like they do in A-Troupe.

They'll take centre stage and show the judges and the competition that

they deserve a place on The Next Step.

So the good news is,

is that no-one's going to be sent home after this challenge.

That said, we are still in the room and everything always counts.

We want to see you bring that fire, bring that heat.

We'll be go full out. So, yeah, let's take it away.

-LINDSEY:

-And choreographer Ian is going to count them in.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

-Here we go.

-STOPWATCH BEEP

-Go.

MUSIC: Hero by Grayson Matthews

There is no elimination after this challenge,

but our dancers are still out to impress the judges.

And go!

Hey!

Ready, go!

CHEERING

And go!

It's the first time our dancers have had the opportunity to scope out

the competition, and everyone is giving it their all.

And go!

The final 30 have smashed the dance battle

and shown the judges just how high the standard of the competition is.

That was absolutely brilliant.

You know what? It was great to see a bit of your personality really

start to shine through.

-My mouth hurts from smiling that much.

-Yeah.

This is exactly what we've been wanting to see all day.

-Thank you guys so much.

-ALL: Thank you.

We'll see you back for challenge number three!

And let's remember what's at stake for our final 30.

The winner of this competition will travel to Canada

to appear on the hit show The Next Step.

They'll join the cast and make

a guest appearance in a brand-new episode.

The winner of Taking The Next Step can expect a really fun day.

Basically live the dream.

The winner will be able to meet the cast,

be on set and dance with us, I'm so excited to meet them.

Only 20 dancers can make it through to day two of nationals,

so ten of our hopefuls will be heading home.

The next challenge is group choreography,

and for this, you've been divided up into three groups of ten.

Working together, we'd like you to choreograph a performance

to a 60-second piece of music.

But you'll be judged both as a group and on your individual performance.

You're going to have 45 minutes to complete this challenge,

and at the end, only 20 of you will proceed to the next stage.

-You ready?

-ALL: Yes!

-All right, let's do this!

The groups are heading off to work on their routines

and the clock is ticking.

They've all been given a space to rehearse

and are getting down to business.

But communicating with nine other dancers can be difficult.

THEY SPEAK OVER EACH OTHER

Everyone stop shouting over each other!

We're not listening to each other.

And some are managing it better than others.

Why don't you do a front aerial directly forward

in front of the judges?

-When they do a move, other people join in on that same move.

-Yeah!

-We'll wait and we'll go in twos into the line.

-Yes.

A group one, Casper is taking control.

We met him in London where his technique was on point.

I mean, you've turned into, like, a technical Trojan.

But can be technical Trojan do enough

to get through this challenge?

Fingers crossed.

Group three have the additional challenge of incorporating

tap into their routine.

Kai and Jessica have some thoughts on how it's going.

-How's it going?

-It's going horrible.

-No, it isn't!

-I'm joking, I'm joking.

-No, it's not.

-It's going really well.

-It looks good.

Kai is no stranger to impressing an audience with his moves.

Kai, you're the guy, man.

And as the final tapper in the competition,

he brings something unique.

-You're king of the counting today for this group.

-Yeah!

We've noticed you're counting...

-That's my thing.

-That's you're thing?

-Tap dancing, musicality...

We'll all do something, and he'll be like, "Wait, wrong count."

With only 45 minutes to come up with their routine, time is against them.

Guys, just so you know, you've five minutes left.

Quickly, we've got five minutes!

So, Jolie has one eye on the clock and one eye on the prize.

When she auditioned in Glasgow, the judges were blown away

with her energy.

Jolie, you're a little rocket, aren't you?

But will she impress them and launch herself into day two of nationals?

30 seconds left, guys. Come on.

EXCITED CHATTER

Rehearsal is almost over.

There's just enough time for one final run through.

THEY CHEER

THEY SHOUT INSTRUCTIONS

Hold it! Yes!

Guys, we're really sorry. Time is up.

That's it. Good luck.

You've done a really good job.

The groups can do no more, in what has been

their most difficult challenge so far.

It's performance time, and to keep it fair,

we've randomly chosen the order.

All right, group two, you're up first.

I see a lot of smiling faces, which is nice.

But Jolie and her group won't just be performing for the judges -

the other dancers will be watching too.

Take your positions, it's time to dance.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

THE NEXT STEP THEME PLAYS

BEAT DROPS

Wow, you guys!

You put a lot into that, and you could tell.

And it definitely paid off.

I thought it worked brilliantly. And when that beat kicked in,

you know, you had your boys here. Well done.

That's exactly what we're looking for - working together as a team.

-Great job.

-ALL: Thank you.

-Well done, guys.

-Really good job.

An amazing performance by group two to start things off.

Do you feel like you've do enough?

I hope I've done enough.

Like, I just...I just don't feel anything when I dance.

I just feel like I'm kind of just in the moment, so I just don't

know how I've done, but I just hope I've done enough to get through.

So, group three is up next. Are you up for the challenge?

-ALL: Yes!

-OK, let's do this.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

THE NEXT STEP THEME PLAYS

BEAT DROPS

Yes, group three. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

I enjoyed that. I can see you guys enjoyed it yourself.

I will say there was a lot of choreographed chaos.

I would have loved to see more just in-sync dancing,

really going for it.

But ultimately, I think you have all got some fantastic strengths

and I loved seeing all of that used to the best of its ability,

-so really good job.

-Great effort, well done.

ALL: Thank you.

An amazing routine by group three.

I feel, like, our group had a really strong beginning,

and I think that was good,

but I feel, like, at the end,

we kind of weren't sure what we were doing and, like, time pressure.

So, Casper is not sure.

Can the final group incorporates Kai's tapping into their routine?

How are you guys feeling?

-ALL: Good.

-Good, good, good.

Well, you've seen the last two groups, I think you know what to do.

THE NEXT STEP THEME PLAYS

Wow. Group one, really, really good.

I was actually intrigued because I was, like,

"I wonder how the tapping is going to work?"

That was, like, one of the biggest questions,

but really, really well done.

I like the fact that you guys kind of introduced the crew

and then the crew was together and then you had solo moments,

you showed the intricacies with the tricks and stuff like that.

-Brilliant. Well done. ALL:

-Thank you.

I really enjoyed it, I think you guys absolutely smashed that.

Really good job, you guys.

My one critique would be no matter where you're at on that stage,

I can see you!

So make sure your technique is still flawless

cos I do have a judging hat on,

but really good job, I really enjoyed that.

-Fabulous.

-ALL: Thank you.

So we will see you in a while after we've made our decision.

And it's going to be a hard decision to make.

Of the 30 dancers left in the competition,

ten will be going home.

The remaining 20 will make it through to day two of nationals.

-Judges, hello.

-ALL:

-Hello!

There are a lot of people's faces on your table.

-Yeah.

-It's been difficult, hasn't it?

-ALL: Yeah.

-It's going to be really tough to deliberate over them

cos they all just did so brilliantly.

They threw themselves into the challenge and performed like crazy.

-Just so we know, you're getting rid of ten now.

-Yeah.

-But you're not getting rid of a group that's performed.

-No.

-It's going to be ten people?

-Yes.

-Right.

-And we're looking for certain things within performers that we've

seen throughout the whole process,

and you can still judge that within a group as opposed to just going,

"Right, well, they smashed it, they're all through."

Well, listen, you've got a really tough job to do.

We'd rather you than us cos, for us,

everyone's through him we have no idea what's going on.

And also we can't dance, any of us, so that would be really unfair.

I mean, you could have your own group challenge right now.

-We're ready!

-Five, six, seven, eight and go!

Yes, yes, yes, yes and pose!

-Whoa.

-Yeah, we smashed it.

So, it's decision time again and it really is

-just getting tougher and tougher.

-Tougher and tougher.

But we need to let go of ten kids.

How do you feel about this one?

Mm-hm. Mm-hm.

I think he's a yes.

-Yeah?

-Me too.

I'm quite nervous about it, I mean, I know me and my team, like,

did really well and we put everything into it,

so there's not much you can do right now, is there? So it's just

-the big wait and it's quite nerve-racking, I would say.

-Yeah.

Who's the scariest judge?

-Kimberly.

-Do you reckon?

-Swoosh.

-You think Swoosh?

-Yeah.

-And you think Kimberly?

-Yeah.

So Jonny's the nice one, basically.

We are chilled about Jonny

-but we need to win over the other two, right?

-Yeah.

Five, OK, we're halfway there.

We're halfway there.

Boom.

-I hate to lose him cos he does have moments of brilliance...

-Yeah.

..but we are looking for all-around dancers.

All-around dancers. Yeah.

Oh, that is going to hurt.

-That really hurts.

-She just really stood out.

-Yeah, she was brilliant all day today, wasn't she?

-Mmm.

What would it mean to both of you to get a yes?

-Everything.

-Everything.

-Yeah.

So our final decision?

Yeah. I don't want to have to do that ever again.

I mean, it makes me sick to my stomach to have to let those go.

-Yeah.

-But when I look over here,

I feel really excited about the potential we have in our yeses.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Let's get them in.

Our dancers have been called in and the judges have separated them into

three new groups for the decision.

Unfortunately, one of these groups will be going home.

Thank you all for your effort

that you've put in throughout the day today.

The group choreography challenge was asking a lot from you guys.

Thank you so much for your focus, your determination

and your hard work, you absolutely smashed it.

However, guys, as you all know,

we can only take some of you through to day two of nationals.

So, group one...

..congratulations, you're all through.

SAM: So, the first group have made it, including our only tapper, Kai.

So...

..group two, thank you so much

for doing everything you have thus far...

..however, this is the end of the road for you.

Unfortunately, you won't be coming to day two of nationals,

but thank you so much.

So group two are heading home,

including 12-year-old Jolie, which means...

Group three that you are also through.

So, our 20 top dancers have made it through to day two of nationals

where they will be battling it out

for just six places in our studio finals.

Well done to all of you for coming this far.

We'll see you tomorrow for challenge four.

Make sure you get good sleep. See you tomorrow.

ALL: Yay!

Guys, you're having what we like to call a yes party!

Did you guys get through?

-ALL:

-Yes!

-Oh, good.

Go celebrate.

CHEERING

-See you. Go, go, go, go, go!

-I can't hear a thing.

I mean, and it's been so difficult to let go

-of some absolutely brilliant, impressive dancers.

-Gems.

-Yeah.

But looking at all these faces we have

going through to tomorrow's challenge is very exciting.

Yeah, very exciting, I'm excited.

Oooh!

-Nationals. Yeah!

-Yay!

Next time, it's day two of nationals and our final 20 will be acting

with the help of a special guest mentor.

Please welcome Adam Garcia.

And of course, there will be more dancing.

We are about to enter semifinals with a live studio audience,

do we feel that all of these could represent Taking The Next Step

and take on that challenge?

Don't miss it.