Knowing Me Knowing You The Next Step

Previously on The Next Step...

'LaTroy and I have been dancing together our whole lives.

'If we could both make it here,'

it'd be so sick.

There's something wrong with my back.

-Have you seen a doctor?

-I'll get it taken care of,

you've just got to trust me.

Do we need to clear the air about the qualifier?

The reason I was distracted at the qualifier is that I like Amanda

and Amanda likes me.

Right now everyone's just hanging out in Studio A.

Riley says she has a big announcement,

but no-one knows what it is.

All right, guys.

Our first competition was a disaster,

and we cannot afford any more mistakes.

I'll be holding auditions for the next qualifier, so I want to make

sure all the dancers are at their best.

The next qualifier is coming up very soon.

It's going to be a small group competition,

and we'll be holding auditions to pick five dancers.

But first, in order to bring the team together,

I thought we'd do some anonymous peer reviews.

It's a great chance to see what you need to work on to become

a stronger team-mate.

These peer reviews are a great way to identify our strengths.

And, more importantly, our weaknesses.

So, in each envelope is the name of the dancer you will be reviewing.

Now, I encourage you guys to give honest and constructive feedback.

I'm really looking forward to these reviews.

Since I personally don't have any weaknesses,

it should be a really good confidence booster for me.

It's all anonymous,

so don't worry about anyone finding out who wrote it.

It kind of feels like homework.

These people need a reality check. Qualifiers are serious business,

and I expect everyone to take this seriously.

What if it's negative?

'If someone says something bad about me,'

I don't know what I'm going to do.

I don't like negative energy.

Look, just write the reviews,

hand them back to me, and then

I will give the feedback to you guys. Sound good?

Every great leader finds new ways to inspire their team.

And I know that these peer reviews are exactly what we need

to get back on track.

# We

# We're gonna show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're gonna tear the roof off this place

# Stand up. #

I'm heading into Riley's office for my peer review, and I'm so excited.

I can't wait to hear how impressive I am.

-Hey.

-Hey.

-Want a candy?

-No.

OK.

So I have your peer review.

And I have to say, after reading it over,

I agree with everything that your reviewer wrote.

Perfect, can't wait to hear it.

I am not looking forward to telling Richelle what's in her peer review.

Richelle can get a bit...passionate when she gets upset.

Great. "Richelle is a technically skilled dancer.

"She is an asset to the team,

"but sometimes she can be a challenge to work with.

"In my experience, Richelle has difficulty taking criticism."

So, what do you think?

Well, I am a technically strong dancer,

always striving for perfection.

Right. And the second part?

They don't know what they're talking about.

Difficult? Can't take criticism?

Um, no. Nice try, anonymous reviewer.

OK. Well, I'd like to say that you took that well.

I did, thanks.

That went a lot better than I expected.

Hi. Thank you.

Noah told everyone we liked each other.

Just to cover up his back problem.

It makes me doubt how he really feels about me.

Why do you want to meet me here?

I just thought I'd ask you out on our first official pre-date.

Pre-date? When I take you on our first real date,

I don't want to blow it.

It's got to be the most magical, perfect thing ever.

So I just thought I'd take you on this first pre-date and I can work

out the kinks, and if I say or do anything stupid on the pre-date...

-It doesn't count.

-Exactly.

'It's a weird idea, but I kind of like it. This pre-date'

will be a great way to find out how Noah really feels about me.

-What are we going to do on this

-pre-date? Well, let's have lunch.

-What's your favourite food?

-Sushi.

-Then let's have pizza.

-I just told you my favourite food was sushi.

Yeah. So when we go on the first real date we'll have sushi,

and it'll be that much better.

Noah sounds really excited about the pre-date.

It's a good sign, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

Yeah, make it bigger, even bigger.

Sloane is helping me work on my solo

for the small group auditions for the qualifier.

Try to hit your moves harder.

Yeah, sick.

After we choreograph LaTroy's solo, we'll work on mine.

'I was so close to dancing in the last qualifier.

'I really need his help to make my solo perfect.'

OK, wait, stop. That was sick when you went into the wave.

But just try to make the difference more between your pops,

like make your pops really hard, and your waves like smoother.

Try again from the beginning.

Yeah, like that.

-That's sick.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, that's sweet.

-PHONE BUZZES

-Hold on a sec.

When I checked who's texting, it's my dad.

Me and my dad, we don't see each other much, so when I hear from him,

it's a big deal.

Who's texting you?

You know, girls.

I'd don't tell Sloane who's texting me because she doesn't like my dad,

and I'm excited to hear from him,

and I just don't want to hear a bunch of negative stuff right now.

Tell your girl you're busy working on your dance moves and just put

your phone away, OK?

-LaTroy?

-Yeah, I told her.

Cool.

OK, so can we work on my solo now?

Yeah, let's do that,

except I'm going to get us some drinks real quick.

-OK.

-Be right back.

-Sure.

I called Henry in here to discuss his peer review.

But instead, I've been watching him finger tut for like 15 minutes.

I want to say something, it's just, I think I might be hypnotised.

-SHE CLEARS THROAT

-Are you ready for your peer review?

-Lay it on me.

-Great.

OK, so, your peer says that you are inscrutable.

So, basically, you're hard to read.

What do you take from that?

Well, there's a lot to take from that.

Like what?

Well, in a way, the feedback seems kind of bad,

but in another, almost equal way, it seems kind of good.

It's all situational, you know?

Overall, it makes me want to smile.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

I have no idea what Henry's saying.

Darn his inscrutability!

Thanks, man.

PHONE VIBRATES

'Whoa.'

My dad wants to take me out for lunch.

He said he's picking me up in one hour.

This is crazy.

I haven't talked to him in months.

Skylar, hey, could you do me a favour?

Could you give both of these to Sloane, she's in the rehearsal room.

Great, thanks. I've got to go change.

I don't want to miss out on seeing him.

If LaTroy doesn't get back soon,

we won't have enough time to work on my solo.

I need his help.

Hey. LaTroy asked me to bring these to you.

Did he say anything when he gave these to you?

No, he just said to bring them.

-OK. Thanks.

-No problem.

PHONE VIBRATES

LaTroy just sent me a text saying he's not coming back.

No explanation, nothing.

He's supposed to be helping me out with my dance.

Instead he stands me up.

I can't believe he's doing this to me.

So, just to clarify, this isn't a real date, like, at all?

Definitely not. Pre-date, not real.

I want to throw Noah a little off his game.

It's the only way I'll find out how he really feels.

OK, so if this is a pre-date,

in theory a whole bunch of not real stuff could have happened in our

relationship so far?

Sure.

In that case, I would like to talk about what happened last night.

Last night?

-What happened?

-When you met my parents for the first time.

Wait, what?

I met your parents?

Sorry, I meant to say when you pre-met my parents.

Ah, got it.

Right. And it went...

Not well. You didn't even compliment my mum's pierogies.

-I didn't?

-She cried for hours.

-She did?

-Yeah.

I hate pierogies.

Well, then I can't blame Snuffy for biting you.

-Who's Snuffy?

-My cat.

-She bit me?

-Because she hates you.

-Tough family.

-Yeah.

'I can't believe I messed up so much'

at something that never even happened.

I'd better get it together for when I meet Amanda's parents for real.

Any advice for when I actually meet your parents?

Just compliment the pierogies, for goodness' sake.

Got it, OK.

'Noah's trying so hard,

'but I can't stop thinking about how he lied before. I want to believe'

that he's being sincere, but I don't know.

'My dad never came to pick me up.'

I texted him, but he still hasn't got back to me.

He's probably just stuck in traffic.

Hey. What happened to you?

Did you bail on me for some girl?

'I know that Sloane's upset,'

but it'll be worse if she knew that I was seeing my dad.

Yeah, I did.

I'm sorry.

I can't talk to you right now.

'LaTroy wasn't going to meet a girl.'

I know who this is really about.

Ugh, I missed that bid by ten seconds.

Right now, I'm just avoiding the peer reviews,

because they're not really working out how I envisioned.

-Hi!

-I'm here for my peer review.

-Is now a good time?

-Now is a great time.

Take a seat, yeah, take a seat. There you go.

Just got to find your card.

'Let me guess what Cassie's card says.'

"Always says exactly what's on her mind.

"No filter."

Here it is. OK.

So, two small criticisms.

One is complaining about your height,

but obviously you can't do anything about that.

Yeah. I get that a lot.

And the other is that you tend to be a bit blunt.

If by "blunt" you mean "constructive",

then yeah, I'm blunt.

Some of the things you say hurt people's feelings.

Definitely.

OK. And you talk like this to anyone?

-Totally.

-But you never talk like that to me.

True. Good point.

But, I mean, I'm not always right.

-No.

-I've made so many mistakes.

Tonnes.

Riley did lose the qualifier,

and she's always sleeping in her office.

She's always bidding online, and she eats way too much candy. And...

-You can go now.

-Great idea.

Thanks.

'I don't understand why these peer reviews aren't working.

'I got this idea from the internet,'

and when has the internet ever been wrong?

-I'm having a really great time with you.

-Me too.

But it's time to get serious.

-Already?

-No more first date small talk.

-I want to get past that.

-OK.

So, I've made some questions we can choose from. All right.

OK. What do you want to do with your life after dance?

Would you ever move back to Sweden?

Would you ever think about getting married someday?

-OK, listen, Noah. Do you want a serious question?

-OK.

Now that we're talking seriously,

there actually is something I want to talk about.

Why did you make me lie for you?

What do you mean?

I feel like you only told A-Troupe that you like me to cover up

the fact that you messed up at the qualifier,

and that you hurt your back.

You've put me in a really weird position,

and I feel like you're taking advantage of my feelings for you.

'I feel awful about this.'

I'm glad Amanda brought it up. Because taking advantage of her

would be the last thing I'd ever want to do.

Amanda, I'm sorry I hurt you.

I would never want to do that.

I meant everything I said in the studio.

It just made me question if you really liked me.

Amanda, I have never felt this way before.

You're the most amazing girl I've ever met,

and I would never want you to doubt how much I care about you.

Noah was saying everything I want to hear,

but he has a habit of saying things to get himself out of trouble.

How do I know if it's real?

I've been sitting here forever, and my dad still hasn't texted me.

It looks like he's not going to show up after all.

'There's only one person who can make LaTroy feel like this,'

and that's his dad.

She bailed on you,

didn't she?

Yeah.

She keeps doing it to you, doesn't she?

Yeah.

And she's been doing it to you since you were five years old.

Sorry, Sloane.

Sorry I lied to you.

'No matter how many times his dad hurts him,'

LaTroy always believes that the next time will be different.

But it never is.

I don't want you feeling ashamed of me,

going back every time and just looking like an idiot.

I would never be ashamed of you.

You can tell me the truth.

I'm your best friend.

I'm sorry.

It's OK.

'I don't know what I did to deserve a best friend like Sloane,'

and honestly I don't know what I'd do without her.

I'm kind of glad Riley's texts cut our pre-date short.

Things with Noah are even more confusing.

I just can't trust his feelings.

OK, so the reason I brought both of you in here together,

is because you both seem to have the same problem.

Now, I'm not sure how you wound up with each other's cards,

but that wouldn't have really made a difference

if you had actually given criticism.

'I've messed up big time.'

By the end of this peer review,

Amanda's going to know exactly how I feel.

I wrote a lot about Amanda.

Heavy-hitting stuff.

You...you did write a lot.

Let's read it, shall we?

"My main criticism of Amanda is that she's too beautiful.

"She also steals...

"my heart."

Aw! Noah, that's so sweet!

-Not too sappy?

-No.

'When Noah knew I was upset,'

he said everything I wanted to hear.

But he wrote this peer review this morning.

That means these are his real feelings.

And, Noah, apparently it's too easy to get lost in your eyes.

It is! Have you looked in them?

Listen, it's just one of my issues.

I've got to work on it. You know what?

I'll get sunglasses with UVA, B and C protection.

'How does he keep winning me over?'

I feel doubt, and then I like him again.

It's incredible.

OK, you two are driving me insane. You're not leaving this room

until you give each other some real criticism.

Amanda, why don't you go first?

Well, sometimes Noah works on his music so much

that he's just so amazing, and I don't know how he does it.

Oh, that hurts, that stings.

No, it doesn't.

'Noah wouldn't hurt me,'

look at him, he's such a sweetie.

You two are hopeless, so you can just...

You can just leave.

'I finally know what was bothering me.'

It was me, I was afraid.

I need to open my heart to Noah.

Hey! Get!

After you.

Right now, I'm just trying to forget about my dad.

The only thing that helps me when I'm feeling like this

is dancing.

# And this dance is on fire

# Everyone lose control... #

'This is such a great routine.

'LaTroy puts so much emotion into his dance.'

I guess it's good that

something positive came out of this whole experience.

# We just have to lose control

# Everybody lose control

# Put your hands in the air when we say yeah

# Everybody lose control

# This dance is on fire and we now own the world. #

That was great.

Yeah?

Well, I made that for you.

What?

Yeah. To make up for what I did.

It's your audition piece.

I wanted to make it up to Sloane,

and since I wasn't there to help her with her solo,

I choreographed this dance for her audition instead.

You made that dance for me?

Yeah.

I can't believe LaTroy made me this incredible solo.

No matter what, in the end, he's always there for me.

-Listen, about my dad...

-Forget it.

He's your dad.

So, how does my new solo start?

Like this.

Your arm out.

Legs apart.

-Stay like that.

-Mm-hm.

-Switch over.

-OK.

Hit this...

I walk into my office,

and sitting on my desk there's an envelope with my name on it.

"Your dedication to the team is unparalleled.

"My only criticism of you is that you are too hard on yourself.

"Mistakes are our best teachers, don't be worried about making them."

'This peer review is exactly what I needed to hear right now.'

I just wish I knew who wrote it for me.

-Hey.

-Hey.

I just wanted to check if you needed anything.

Um, I have everything that I need, thank you.

All right.

'Being a leader isn't easy.

'But I am also learning.

'And I'm getting better at it.'

Sometimes, a little bit of encouragement can go a long way.

# 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. #