When the War Is Over The Next Step

Previously on...

Are you ready, Eldon?

Thanks to these guys, I got my lucky coin.

Wait. This is the wrong coin! It has the wrong date on it.

I don't know how I'm going to win anything without my lucky coin.

-I forgot my wallet.

-I didn't bring anything.

You said lunch was on you today.

-I'll be back soon, I promise.

-OK.

-See you in a bit.

'Great, yeah. Just leave me here with no money.

'No way to pay at all.'

Thanks, Ella.

Sweden is unstoppable. We would not even be on B-Troupe in Sweden.

I don't know how The Next Step could ever beat them.

Welcome, everybody, to the Absolute Dance International Championship,

right here in vibrant

and beautiful Miami, Florida.

I am your host, Chuck Anderson.

I'm really excited to introduce to you my co-host.

She's a dance expert. She's a star of stage and screen.

She's a busy gal, but she's taking time to join us here!

Ashley Leggat. Welcome.

Thank you, Chuck. I would not miss it.

Those of you who know me, know dance is my biggest passion.

And to be here,

watching the best of the best

take the stage could not be more exciting for me.

And Ashley, our first team up from Jamaica, Kingston Dance Central.

Today is finally here. The first day of Internationals.

It's just... It's so crazy.

Out of Italy, it is Academia Toscana di Danza.

These are the ones to watch this year.

There's kind of an opening ceremony so we can see all the teams

and where everybody's from.

Cape Town! The Royal Dance Academy out of South Africa.

This is Internationals. It's almost kind of weird.

I see so many team jackets and different languages. It's crazy.

Up next is the team from the Philippines, Manila!

SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE

It's really fantastic,

because we really get to see who our competition is.

That is Stockholm Dansteater out of Sweden.

What makes Sweden so great is they're such good friends,

even outside of the studio.

They're just like The Next Step.

They have that connection like we do.

-And here's a team from Poland.

-Yes!

An all-male contingent.

And that is very unique to this competition. They're strong,

they're rehearsed and they're ready to go.

And here we have from the UK, Summerford School of Dance.

That's right. Some teams come to Internationals...

Today's going to be rough, because later on,

me and Riley are both competing against each other

for Miss Internationals Soloist.

And now The Next Step hits the stage

for the first time ever at Internationals.

It's pretty crazy, walking across that stage,

because the theatre is huge and of course it's Internationals,

so it's all sold out. There's just so many people.

Here is the team that is really wowing the dance community,

especially here in Miami.

Very popular.

If they can hold it together, who knows?

They might be able to bring it all the way.

I'm already nervous.

And I have to compete for Mr Internationals Soloist against

the best dancers I've ever seen.

Internationals is going to be a lot harder than I thought.

# We

# We are going the show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're gonna tear the roof off this place

# Stand up! #

We are standing amongst 1,800 of the best dancers in the world.

Today is the day where I do

my solo for Internationals.

So right now, I'm kind of marking through it in the foyer.

No-one gets eliminated in these rounds.

But whoever wins Mr and Miss International Soloist

also gains a five-point advantage

moving forward in the elimination rounds.

I just hope that I can win that five-point advantage for our team.

You're done enough rehearsing. Come on.

Let's go do something fun.

-I really should be practising.

-Things are about to get intense.

Let's have one last bit of fun. Yeah?

Sure. Why not?

I agree to do one last prank with Ella,

just because it'll be a good way to kind of let loose

and relax for a little bit.

The excitement... Superstition sort of has a role in this, doesn't it?

-Yes, I...

-At least where you're concerned!

'We just goof off, have fun and make faces.'

It's kind of awesome.

I would need to chew mint bubble gum

and blow ten decent-sized bubbles before

I went on stage, so sometimes I'd be chewing and chewing

and trying to blow and people are, like...

Like, er... Oh!

Seeing Kate being left there holding the sign. It's priceless.

-"Hi, Mom," I guess!

-Yeah, there's... From Miami... Hi, Mom!

..as the Absolute Dance International Championship continues.

# Everybody going to do it like this

# Do it like this

# Are you really going to do it like this?

# Do it like this. #

Well, there appears to be no slip-up whatsoever from every single entrant

we've seen so far in this aspect of the competition

for Mr International Soloist, as Poland's Bartek

takes control of that stage.

I'm coming up soon to go do my solo and, er...

I've never really been this nervous before.

Beautiful control.

Oh, this competition is so serious. And I don't have my lucky coin.

I've never been at a competition without my lucky coin before

and Internationals is an odd time to start.

It's not even a lucky coin.

If it was a lucky coin, he wouldn't have lost it in the Everglades.

'I need to get these five points for The Next Step'

and I don't know how I'm going to do that without my lucky coin.

-Hope I'm not first.

-No, I don't mind if I was first.

-Really?

'Ella and I are just checking the schedule to see

'when we're going to be dancing our solos.'

-Oh. There's just one dance between us.

-Yeah. And I'm before you.

Actually, I was wondering,

-are you doing the dance you rehearsed at The Next Step?

-Yeah.

Ah, good. That's a great dance.

-It was one of my favourites.

-Thank you.

It's going to be weird dancing against each other.

-Yeah, but we still have to dance our best, right?

-Of course.

'It just kind of hurts a little bit,'

just because...

I don't want to compete against my best friend.

Time to get our "game face" on.

See you on the other side.

I am in full competition mode.

No-one's going to take this win away from me.

# I'm going to the top

# I'm never coming back. #

Up now, we have Kyle from Stockholm Danceteater.

And I have to think as a three-time Mr International Soloist,

he's got to be the favourite here today.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

We're standing in the wings, waiting for Eldon to go on for his solo.

I have NEVER seen him this nervous before.

This Swedish dancer is...

like, amazing.

Man, are you good?

His extreme lack of confidence

is starting to worry me a little bit.

Relax, man. You don't need that stupid coin, right?

You're going to kill it. You always do.

It's because I've always had the "stupid coin".

The only reason why he may need the coin is

because he BELIEVES he needs the coin so much.

James texted me to come talk to Eldon and I'm really confused.

I'm not supposed to be talking to Eldon

until he gets to 30 pirouettes.

I need you to get his head in the game. Just talk to him, OK?

-YOU want me to talk to Eldon?

-Thalia, yes. I lift the ban.

I know that they're not supposed to talk.

But I think this time it's necessary.

-Hey!

-Hey!

-You look great.

-Thanks.

When I see Thalia, I, er, kind of relax a little bit

because I know that she is here to support me.

Listen, I know you are going to win this title.

I'm not so sure. The competition is fierce.

I've never seen him this nervous before.

I don't know what to do.

Just dance for me.

That I can do.

I feel better because now it's not about the other dancers.

It's not about the audience.

It's not about my lucky coin. It's about dance.

It's about Thalia.

And look how he closes out the dance, his arms wide open.

It's almost as if to say, "Give me that fourth title!"

That's right and our audience seems to agree,

with a standing ovation!

Please put your hands together

for the male soloist from The Next Step, Eldon!

-AUDIENCE MEMBER:

-Whoo!

# I swear there's mountains high

# A long way below... #

As I'm dancing, I just feel very different.

Usually the stuff I do is just like...do a corkscrew and a B-twist

and then hit some beats.

This dance is a lot more emotional than the past things I've done.

And Thalia is like the driving force of my emotions.

I definitely feel like Eldon's dancing for me

and it just makes me like him so much more.

He's incorporating elements of gymnastics, elements of ballet...

There's so much technique in this routine. And his jumps!

Wow!

I feel like Eldon has just come so far since Regionals and

I really hope he wins.

He is killing it right now. What did you say to him?

-I told him to dance for me.

-I tried that!

Well, maybe that's why he was freaking out.

Wow! With back hand-springs. Unbelievable.

This is incredible.

-It's happening again, goose bumps!

-Yeah.

The gymnastics element, the ballet technique.

He really has everything.

Eldon is dancing amazingly. I knew it.

He's really just dancing from his heart.

And that's what makes it so special.

This could be my last solo with The Next Step.

I'm just taking in this moment.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Whatever happens,

I could not have danced that well without Thalia.

I just hope it's enough to impress the judges.

Seeing Eldon perform is making me both anxious and very nervous.

I'm the only person

representing my team in this round.

And I really want to win that five-point advantage

for the rest of them.

'She is so emotional when she dances and I just feel like...'

I can feel everything she's feeling. And it's beautiful.

Well, all the male soloists have had their proverbial kick at the can now.

It's just the waiting game, isn't it?

And this is the worst part. You can ask any dancer.

Getting on that stage is one thing,

but once you've left it on the stage,

basically it's out of your hands - the tension really rises.

You're good. You got this.

'As we wait to hear if Eldon will win...'

I have to admit I'm a little worried for Eldon,

but I can't let him know that.

All right, Ashley. I'm getting word that our judges

have made their decision.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And the Mr International Soloist winner is...

I'm so nervous right now. This means so much to me.

..Kyle from Sweden!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I don't understand how Eldon lost. His dance was amazing.

I just... I feel so bad for him.

Sweden was already the strongest team here.

And now those five extra points will make them even harder to beat.

I'm pretty mad right now. Because this was my last chance to

pull through for The Next Step and I didn't do it.

Welcome back to our coverage

of the Absolute Dance International Championship, here in Miami.

We are down to the last four competitors

for Miss International Soloist.

Maddie from Stockholm Danceteater is showing why Sweden leads

the competition we've seen so far.

That's right and something tells me she'll be looking for

the matching "Miss Trophy".

APPLAUSE

Next is Summerford School of Dance out of the UK.

And Summerford is a studio

that is known for being no-nonsense and having really top-shelf talent,

'so I really can't wait to see what happens on stage.'

Good luck.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ella takes the stage and they play my solo song instead of hers,

which is weird.

What's even weirder is that they don't stop.

And then I realise she's doing my choreography...

to my song.

-This is your solo.

-I know.

There are two reasons why I stole her solo.

Because the solo's good.

It is better than any dance I could have ever come up with.

And secondly, because it might throw her off so much,

that she blows her chance of even winning this thing.

As I said to her, I will do anything I can to win this competition.

I'm appalled.

I feel so bad for Riley.

I watched her rehearse that solo for so long.

I feel like such an idiot.

Ella warned me and she told me she would mess with me

if she had the chance.

And I gave her the perfect opportunity to.

I showed her my solo.

My biggest mistake was believing Ella was my friend.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And the crowd is going insane.

A standing ovation for Ella from Summerford.

That's got to be one of the best solos we've seen all day.

The emotional was there, which we're not used to from Summerford.

And I have to tell you, that choreography touched me.

It had so much heart. The dance was brilliant.

Good luck.

I have to go on stage after one more dancer.

And I have nothing.

What am I going to do?

What am I going to do? She just took my dance.

I can't do the same one that she just did.

If I did the same routine as Ella,

it would look like I stole her solo, instead of the other way around.

Doesn't anyone else have a solo?

Well, I have a solo. OK, I'll teach it to you.

You can do it really fast.

No. We don't have time. You have to do it.

Riley...

Giselle - you're going to do the solo.

Come and change ASAP.

APPLAUSE

Well, you know, Ashley,

this week, we knew it was going to be full of twists and turns.

Well, try this one on for size - The Next Step had a scheduled dancer.

Taking her place is going to be team captain Giselle.

Wow. I'm kind of stressing out for her. That's...

You've never seen anything quite like this, have you?

I've actually never seen anything like this in Internationals.

Thank you.

Will the dancer for The Next Step please enter the stage?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

This is my first time performing on the stage and I have to do a solo?

I haven't even practised!

All I can do now is hope that Giselle goes out there...

and kills it.

# So this is how it ends?

# No worlds left to avenge... #

I feel like I'm taking on the world right now.

I've never had this amount of people watch me dance

and appreciate what I do on the stage.

This is absolutely incredible.

And I'm not only doing it for me, but I'm doing it for my team,

and especially Riley.

Giselle is doing incredible.

She's such an amazing dancer and

it's really, really nice to see her do her best.

# Don't take enemies for friends... #

Giselle's solo is pretty good.

But...I think I can beat her.

Giselle is dancing amazing. She always does.

But this is Internationals

and this time "amazing" might not cut it.

# When the war is over

# When the war is over. #

CHEERING

As I finish my solo...

..it is so...

such a cool feeling.

A standing ovation for Giselle of The Next Step,

and goose bumps from my co-host Ashley Leggat.

Very well played.

At this point, I want nothing to do with Ella.

How could you do that to me? We're supposed to be friends.

Riley, do you not get it yet? That's the game.

It's not a game to me.

Then you are going to lose.

'She's wrong. I'm not going to lose.'

There's no way that she's going to beat The Next Step.

Ladies and gentlemen, the judges have made their decision.

I'm just in the wings waiting to hear who wins

and I just hope it's me.

I have never felt so much pressure on myself in my lifetime.

Absolute Dance International female soloist...

I just hope what I did was enough for my team.

..England!

CHEERING

She cheated, and she still won.

How is that fair?

Ella winning solo means that Team England

now has a five-point advantage,

which they could use in any elimination round.

First round, Ella.

Which means they might even be able to use it against us.