Simple Twist of Fate The Next Step

Previously on The Next Step...

One, two... Full out, Noah.

'Noah is one of the three dancers going to the qualifier

'to represent The Next Step'

and he's marking the routine.

So I need to know, right here and right now, if I can depend on you.

I won't let you down. I promise.

'I want to be there for the team.'

To be honest, I'm not sure my back is ready.

Skylar, I was really impressed with your trio but I've decided

to go with the original trio.

'Riley just made a huge mistake.'

She doesn't see that now, but she will. She will.

We just have to finish in the top four in the qualifier,

and we're on our way to regionals.

'I can't believe I'm here.'

I'm about to dance my very first competition as a member of A-Troupe.

-You excited?

-I'm very excited.

'I feel pretty good'

but my back is still bothering me.

I'm not going to tell anyone because I don't want to worry them.

-You guys ready?

-We're ready.

Then let's win the qualifier.

We're the reigning internationals champions.

Qualifying for regionals should be a piece of cake,

so why do I feel so nervous?

-All right, hands in.

-Let's go.

-One, two, three...

-ALL:

-The Next Step!

Let's go!

Qualifier, here we come.

# We

# We're gonna show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're gonna tear the roof off this place... #

Stand up!

-Sloane.

-Hey.

-What is this?

-I'm setting up for the party.

-What party?

The congratulations-on-qualifying party to welcome back the trio

from regionals qualifier.

I want the trio to know that we're rooting for them,

so I decided to throw a surprise party to celebrate

after their big win at the qualifier.

Did Riley tell you to do that?

Cos this is kind of weird, knowing that we haven't won anything yet.

No. It was my idea.

Sloane's heart is in the right place but from my experience,

if you celebrate too early, you bring bad karma.

-Are you going to help me or not?

-I'm in. I love a good party.

-Me too.

'Sloane's right. Setting up for this

'party is a great way to distract ourselves from the qualifier.'

I'm not thinking about what could go wrong any more.

James texted me good luck earlier

but I was asleep. Now I'm trying to text him back but he's asleep.

This time difference is a killer.

-Hey.

-Hey.

-How are you doing?

I feel strange.

I feel like I'm responsible for whatever happens today

but I'm not dancing, so I have control over none of it.

That's not true. You still do.

This is Riley's first big test as studio head.

She needs to remember that this team is hers now

and that it's up to her to motivate this trio.

I think Noah, Richelle and Piper would really appreciate

some words of wisdom from us veterans.

That's a good idea.

Michelle's right. I need to help get my team mentally focused

for this qualifier.

-Why don't you talk to Piper?

-OK.

Amanda, why don't you talk to Richelle,

-and then I'll talk to Noah.

-OK.

-Hey, Noah...

'I would have liked to be the one to give Noah a pep talk.'

What's a better pep talk than,

"I have feelings for you"?

So, how are you feeling?

Good, why?

No reason. Just want to make sure you're feeling good for the trio.

If Riley finds out something's wrong

with my back, it'll just make her more worried

and I don't want to make her job more stressful than it already is.

I mean, you're our most experienced dancer,

so I'm really counting on you to be our rock.

You know what? Call me igneous.

Did you say ignoramus?

No, igneous, it's like a kind of rock.

Oh. OK.

-Igneous.

-Igne-os.

It actually is pronounced "igneous"

but it sounds way better when you say "igne-os".

You know, if I was a superhero, I would be called Igne-os.

-Igne-os.

-Yes.

-OK.

-'Would all dance teams please report to the main stage?'

-You've got this.

-Thank you, Michelle.

-Good luck.

-'All dance teams, please report to the main stage.'

-Let's do this.

-All right, Next Step, let's do it.

-Whoo!

Apples? What kind of party food is that?

I like healthy choices at a party.

Oh...

Great, no-one can eat that one now.

Guys, this reminds me of this crazy thing that happened

on my first dance competition.

What was it? Go on.

So, I got cast to be the lead in a duet with

the cutest guy in the whole troupe. We were playing Adam and Eve.

-Aw! That's romantic.

-That's so cute.

Anyway, I was supposed to give Adam the apple, right,

but then I dropped it right when he was doing all these crazy spins

and he kicked it into the audience.

It bounced off three kids and hit the judge right in the face.

So let me get the physics straight -

the apple bounced off of three kids and then hit the judge in the face?

That's a magic apple.

How did the dance score?

We got disqualified.

I don't want this to happen to me ever again.

Apple?

Were you not listening to the story? No, thank you!

Well, an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

She's kind of got a point.

'Sloane has one of the worst'

competition stories I've ever heard. But I might be able to top it.

'Please welcome Team Gemini to the floor.'

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'The first few teams were good but not great.'

I won't have to push my back too hard to get to the top four.

Never heard of this dance studio before.

'I recognise some of the teams from past regionals'

but the Geminis are brand-new.

Where did they come from?

MUSIC SLOWLY BUILDS

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

The Geminis start slow, but once they turn it on, I can't look away.

MUSIC SPEEDS UP

'Even though I was a little nervous,

'deep down I thought we'd qualify no problem,'

but now I'm not so sure.

Are you OK?

Yeah. Yeah, no, I just...

I have the utmost trust in our dancers.

-It's just that...

-I think it's time that you get a pep talk too.

Riley, you've taken on so much in such a little amount of time

and you've handled it brilliantly. The trio's ready and so are you. OK?

OK.

'This is exactly what James would say if he was here. I'm grateful'

that Alfie has so much faith in me.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'After seeing the Geminis' performance'

now I see I'm going to have to give it everything I got.

I hope I have enough.

'The scores have been tabulated.

The judges have awarded Team Gemini 97 points.

'A new qualifier record!'

Did she say 97?

'The Geminis have set the bar impossibly high.'

Getting to regionals just got a lot harder.

I have the competition horror story to end all horror stories.

-OK, bring it on.

-You ready?

We were setting up for the party,

but now we're telling competition horror stories.

It's helping us keep our mind off the qualifier.

So I'm at my first competition with my dance crew.

We get there, I have to use the washroom ASAP,

so I run to the bathroom and I come back.

I thought I heard my crew being called, so I run onstage

and I realise it's the wrong crew.

-What happened?

-What did you do?

The music started, so I couldn't do anything.

I just had to dance with them.

I was mimicking the choreography and it was horrible.

And the worst part is they had a tutting section in total unison.

Oh. Well, did anyone notice?

Of course everybody noticed! It's tutting! They're doing this...

And I was doing this.

-Well...

-I don't really see the difference.

-Yeah, they look the same.

-Yeah.

I actually can see the difference.

I'm just trying to make Henry feel better.

-It was bad, OK?

-OK.

Well, it must have been really hard for you.

Yeah. We all do stupid things when we're little kids. It's OK.

Actually, it happened last year.

Oh.

THEY LAUGH

These guys told some pretty embarrassing dance stories,

but they've got nothing on mine.

-They were so great.

-I know.

-Did you see how high his demi-pointe was on his turns?

-Yes.

It's amazing. I can't believe it.

OK, well, I'm going to go say hi to Noah.

Why?

You know, just to say hi, give him a little pep talk.

Team spirit kind of thing.

-OK.

-OK.

'After that Gemini dance'

Noah could use a boost. I'm just going to remind him

that there's people out here who think he's amazing.

HE EXHALES

HE GASPS

Amanda. What are you... What are you doing here?

I'm sorry to bother you. I just...

Um, I wanted to tell you that...

I like you. A lot. And I want to be around you all the time.

I just wanted to wish you good luck. You're going to do great.

Thanks, Amanda.

I wish I could say that.

Well, I... I think I'm on next, so...

Oh, yeah, you should get going.

Good luck. Again.

Thanks. Again.

'Whenever I'm feeling down, Amanda is always there for me.'

All of a sudden, I forget about my back and feel amazing.

So do you have any competition horror stories you can tell us about?

Um...

Sloane and I already told our horror stories, but Amy's been stalling,

so that means she must have a really juicy one.

-You've got one. You're hesitating. Spill it.

-Yeah, what is it? Tell us.

You have to promise not to laugh.

-I promise.

-OK.

OK, well, I was at my first competition, doing my solo.

It was great, by the way.

-Of course. Continue.

-Yeah, what happened?

Well, when I went to do the splits,

my pants completely ripped.

Like, wide open.

And the worst part is, I was wearing my days of the week underpants.

And it was the wrong day.

I couldn't move my legs at all.

Or else the whole audience would see the rip.

So I decided to do the dance without legs.

What?

How do you dance without legs?

Well, you kind of just...

..move around and shuffle like this.

THEY LAUGH

'I've got to hand it to Amy, that was quick thinking.'

She invented a new dance on the spot.

So what happened when you had to do acro?

I did this.

Oh, my gosh!

And then, to top it off, I did some log rolls.

Log rolls?

-And end like that?

-Yes!

-OK, I got to try that.

Yeah, how do you even do that?

See? You just can't do that because then the whole audience...

You can't open your legs.

Yo, guys, check out my log roll.

THEY LAUGH

'I've never been able to look back at the story and laugh before'

so that's an improvement.

# Like the way you move

# Like the way you shake

# Doing all the things that you know I can't take... #

'Now, taking the stage, your internationals champions,

'The Next Step!'

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'This is the moment I've been waiting for.'

I hope I have the dance of my life.

I am so ready for this.

THEY CHEER

'There are people out there who are depending on me, who believe in me,'

like Amanda. I'm not going to let her down.

You've got this!

'There's no more that I can do to help this trio out.'

The fate of The Next Step is standing on that stage.

GENTLY BUILDING PIANO MUSIC

CHEERING

-Yes!

-Yeah.

'The adrenaline is pumping and I can't feel my back at all.'

I'm going to make it.

Whoo!

This is what internationals champions look like.

CHEERING

Yes.

Ow!

Uh-oh. I'm in trouble.

Something's wrong. Noah's not OK.

What was that?

My back is in agony. I've never felt pain like this before.

I just have to try and get through this dance.

'I have to fight through this pain. The team still has a chance'

as long as I can finish.

'I thought I could dance through anything'

but this is just too much pain.

That was a disaster.

'I could have taken Noah off the trio, but I didn't.

'I had the power to change this'

and I didn't. This is all my fault.

We just embarrassed ourselves. If we lose, we deserve it.

'The Next Step scores 86 points. That puts them in third place.'

APPLAUSE

-Noah...

-What's up?

-What was...

'I don't know what happened to my back'

but I hope I didn't just cost the team their chance at regionals.

VIOLIN MUSIC

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'Right now we're watching the rest of the performances'

and we're hoping that no-one knocks us out of the top four.

FAST PERCUSSION MUSIC

This team is doing a way better job than we did.

-We're in third.

-That's not that bad.

Are you kidding me? There are still so many teams to dance.

-There is no way that we are going to stay in third.

-Relax.

We just need to place in the top four and we're fine.

-We've still got a shot.

-Really?

'I appreciate Alfie trying to stay positive'

but Richelle's right.

We're going to need a miracle to try and pull this off.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'The fate of The Next Step depends on how these other teams do.'

We just have to hope that they don't score higher than us.

'Rhythm Plus scores 92 points.

'That puts them in third place.'

APPLAUSE

Rhythm Plus? We won internationals

and we're getting outdanced by Rhythm Plus.

OK, now we're bumped down to fourth.

There's nothing we can do. We're done.

I can't listen to this any more. I need to find Noah.

Noah, are you OK?

-What place are we in?

-Fourth.

I let down the team and I ruined the lift.

-Something seemed to be really bothering you out there.

-I'm fine.

I just froze up out there.

'I know the real Noah'

and this is not nerves.

-Noah, is there anything at all that I can do for you?

-No.

Thanks anyway. I just really want to be alone right now.

'I wish Noah would let me stay.'

If only he knew how much I cared about him.

# We're floating through the darkness endlessly... #

# Do you keep holding on

# To days we left behind?

# Do you keep photographs that hold you back in time?

# Oh, you know, it don't seem that bad

# Until you see it from the outside

# All those people that... #

Right now we still have a chance.

We're barely hanging on to fourth place and we need this team

to score lower than us.

# Now we've got courage in the heart and rhythm in the soul... #

This does not look good.

# These feet, these eyes, these hands take you

# High

# Unstoppable, unbreakable... #

Excuse me. Excuse me. Coming through.

Oh, hello, Miss Riley.

What did you think of our dance? Pretty good, right?

Wish we could say the same for you.

Great. Two twins from the Geminis come to gloat.

They just don't make internationals champions like they used to.

The Next Step is not out yet.

Oh, you're right. Not yet.

I can't believe that these jerks are trash-talking us right now.

But deep down, I know that they're right.

They gave the best performance of the day.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'They didn't make a single mistake.'

At this point, I don't think we're going to make it.

-Looks good?

-Yeah, looks good. Everything's ready.

-I like this.

I got the balloons!

When Riley and the others get back here, they'll be so surprised.

This is the perfect way to end an incredible day.

All we need now is the trio to come back with big news.

'Dance Inc has scored...

'95 points!

'That puts them in second place.'

I can't believe it. My first A-Troupe competition and we lost.

PHONE CHIMES

-Who's that?

-It's from Piper.

We didn't qualify.

The Next Step lost a qualifier?

This was supposed to be our big day.

What happens to A-Troupe now?

Where do we go from here?

'I have never been so disappointed in the team or in myself.'

I don't know how The Next Step is ever going to come back from this.

# We

# We're gonna show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're gonna tear the roof off this place

# You

# You can never fade us out

# Don't even ask the DJ

# Everybody knows we own this sound. #