Your Time Is Gonna Come The Next Step

-Previously on The Next Step:

-You messed up at the qualifier.

I can't let Riley know that I've been hiding my back pain

the whole time.

-Woo!

-London town!

This is the most elite hip-hop competition in the entire world.

I like you.

As a friend?

More than a friend.

Alfie, isn't it?

You'd be the perfect fit for our team.

The Next Step will not be dancing at the qualifier.

Things have been a little tense since I pulled the team

from the last qualifier,

but today is a brand-new start.

Listen up, A Troupe.

Now, I know that not all of you agreed with my decision

to pull us from the last qualifier.

Did the Geminis even end up going to the second qualifier?

They did.

And they won.

So you were right, Riley.

Yes.

The Geminis said they would poach Alfie if they beat us.

Pulling out of the qualifier was a hard decision,

but at least we didn't lose anyone.

But that's in the past, and we need to focus on the future -

which is the third qualifier.

So what kind of competition are they having next qualifier?

Duets.

How are you going to decide who gets to compete?

Well, I know all of you are tired of auditioning for the qualifier spots,

so I've decided to simplify things.

You've all voted for the top five dancers

from the last set of auditions,

so we're going to go with the number one and two dancers,

which means Alfie and Noah will be performing the duet.

I'm flattered that Riley chose me for the qualifier team again,

but it's a lot of pressure,

and my back is not in good shape today.

Now remember, only one team from this qualifier

will make it to regionals,

so you absolutely have to win.

Good luck.

-All right!

-Yes.

-You good to rehearse?

-Yeah.

Erm, you know what? I just need to do one thing,

and then I'll be right back.

-Right.

-Cool?

-Can't wait to work on this duet with you.

-Yeah, man!

-All right, see you.

Noah's back already cost us the first qualifier.

And I know it's still bugging him.

I hope he knows what he's doing.

Here we are at the Bangers & Mashups hip-hop competition in London.

There are 40 teams competing in this first challenge of

one v one battles, and if you lose you go home -

and we did not come this far to go straight back home.

We've never seen a competition like this.

And I am psyched.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen,

to the Bangers & Mashups International Hip-Hop Extravaganza!

-Are you excited?

-CHEERING

-All right, you are ready for this?

-This is intense, man.

-Yup.

This is intense!

Some of the best hip-hop dancers in the world. Are you ready for that?

I'm representing our team in this first challenge, and it's intense.

It is all head-to-head.

And all the way from Barcelona, Spain,

it's the scorching hot Fuego Fuego Hip-Hop Academy!

Before each one v one battle,

there's always some smack talk between the two dancers.

It's for fun, but it is important to get into the other guy's head.

Let the smack talk begin!

CHEERING

This dude came here knowing he was going to lose.

A dude like Santana?

He ain't got no moves!

Yo, do you even know how to smack talk?

I can smack talk all day.

I knew how to smack talk

before I could talk.

-OK, man...

-Or smack.

It's not a game. It's psychological warfare.

-Practise on me now.

-Practise now?

-Yo, what is this?

-What is that?

-Check it. Skeeby skeeby dooby wat,

West is about to stir up the pot.

Pot.

What was that?

Why did I think West could smack talk?

He can barely TALK talk.

Hey, it's Mr Santana, king of the buggy.

Dance moves like chess moves,

you move like a rookie.

Let's let the hip-hop begin!

You know what? It's fine, it's fine. I know exactly what I'm going to do.

I'm here for one reason, and that's to dance.

I know exactly what I'm going to do.

Alfie, could I talk to you?

I feel a little awkward around Alfie now, but I'm the head of the studio.

I have to get over it.

You, erm,

haven't really said much since I pulled the studio out of the

qualifier to make sure we didn't lose you.

Right, as I told you, as the studio head,

I don't think you made the right decision.

So you still feel that way?

But as a friend,

it's nice to know that you care about me.

Erm, so why do you think, as studio head, I make the wrong choice?

Well, because only one team from the final qualifier

makes it into regionals.

Yeah. But I believe that we can do it.

Especially with such a strong team as you and Noah.

I'm trying to focus right now on the studio and our future,

and not how Alfie's eyes are so...

'Stop it, Riley!'

Speaking of which, shouldn't Noah be here right now?

Maybe I should go look for Noah.

No. No, no, no. You stay. I'll go look.

-For Noah.

-We could go together.

No. You stay, me go.

I'LL go! I mean.

You know, English, it's just...

Yeah. OK, bye!

Oh, it's this way!

Well, that was awkward.

This energy between Alfie and I is really throwing me off.

The vibe at Bangers & Mashups is insane.

Super street, super cool.

These guys look unreal.

The competition is off to a roaring start, but of course, Masked Man,

it's up to you.

Who...is the winner?

Fuego Fuego!

-ELDON: Smack, dude.

-Rip them up.

-I'm ready.

All that's left to do is to go on stage, and bring it.

And smack it.

Fresh from their victory

at the Absolute Dance International Championships,

it's The Next Step dance studio.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And all the way from Colombia,

the Rough And Tumble Razor Backs!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I'm not worried about West's dance skills.

I AM a little worried about his smack-talking skills.

Let the smack talk begin!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Yo, I just got one thing to say to you, man.

I can't wait to sweep this floor with an internationals winner.

I saw you dance last year,

the whole puppet-master thing.

But I'm pulling these strings now, man.

You're just a ratty old sock puppet.

Two little buttons for eyes, and a heel that's all worn out.

Heels worn out?

Button eyes?

Not bad, sir, but you didn't get into my head.

Now let's get the smack talk out of the way.

All right.

I've got one thing to say to you, man.

I love you.

I have no idea what West is doing.

This is the worst smack talk I've ever heard!

But before we start off,

I got one thing to say.

Here it comes.

Now I'm going to play HIM like a puppet.

GASPING

'What?!'

What just happened?

Did West just kiss a guy on the cheek? What is he doing?

I did not see THAT coming.

No, that was different.

I'm not a negative person.

For me, it's all love.

And I'm pretty sure my love got into his head.

And that, my friends,

is how you smack talk.

How can you eat that?

-What?

-Egg sandwich. I hate that.

Whatever.

Noah.

Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?

Oh, should I?

With Alfie?

For the duet.

Right, that. Right.

To be honest, my back wasn't up for rehearsal,

so I was just kind of hiding out instead.

Give me one good reason why you're missing rehearsals.

Erm...

I forgot to eat this morning.

That's why, you know.

See, I get this low blood sugar

and I don't want to take a chance with this body.

Get to studio A.

Mm-hm. Right away.

Egg salad sandwich. My favourite.

Why are you lying to Riley?

And why are you skipping rehearsal?

It's your back, isn't it, Noah?

-Listen, the pain in my...

-No, no, I'm not done yet.

You could seriously be hurt.

And I don't want you dancing at the next qualifier.

You need to see a doctor.

It really is getting better, and you need to stop worrying.

You're lying to yourself.

Listen, I was right about the egg salad sandwich.

It's disgusting.

And you're wrong about me.

If Noah's back is as bad as I think it is,

he could be in a lot of trouble.

He's got to think about his future.

The first round is going to be house,

the second round is moves and grooves,

he third round is water flow.

Are you guys ready?

WHOOPING AND CHEERING

Take it away!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The way it works is each of the three hip-hop rounds

has to incorporate a different style.

In this house battle, the movement is very bouncy.

The music is very repetitive and it's a lot of footwork.

You're just trying to figure out the musicality.

Just...be creative.

N'Sane's good, he is. Really good.

But, erm, I think the crowd's with me.

This guy's impressive, but, honestly?

I think West's "smack talk" rattled him a little bit.

The winner of the first round is...

The Next Step!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

We just need to win two out of three rounds in this one v one challenge.

One more win, and we move on.

Second round, here we come, baby!

You're late!

I'm sorry. I was just having some girl trouble.

Girl trouble?

Yeah.

-Look, you like this girl, she likes you back.

-Yeah.

And you're in a relationship with this girl.

You don't have girl trouble.

-What did you have in mind for the duet?

-Right.

-So, I was thinking like a step-step 540.

-OK.

One, two...

-Like that.

-OK, cool. OK.

Pah, pah!

-Yeah.

-OK.

That wasn't good.

I'm just not ready to do this.

Good to go again?

Yeah, you know what? I left mid-conversation,

and I need to go work out my girl trouble.

Unfinished conversation deserves to be finished.

Exactly.

All right.

Riley and I keep starting an important conversation too.

And, it isn't finished either.

-At least,

-I

-feel like there's more to say.

OK, guys!

Next up, it's moves and grooves.

Good luck.

Right now, we're in three direct-battle rounds.

We only have to win one more to get through this challenge.

This one...is moves and grooves.

With moves and grooves,

you want to take down how full-out you're dancing and

sit in the pocket of the groove.

Really feeling the music and grooving.

West CRUSHED it out there.

But, unfortunately, the other guy's pretty good, too.

The winner of the second round is...

the Razorbacks!

-OK.

-I'm trying to stay cool right now, but it's a tie.

Which means we have to win the next round,

or else we might be getting kicked out of the

biggest hip-hop competition in the world.

We might be going home.

I started rehearsing with Alfie, but whatever's going on with my back,

it's not going away.

I've got a big, big problem.

You were right about my back.

I tried rehearsing, and it's much worse than I thought.

Noah, I'm so sorry.

What do you think I should do next?

You need to tell Riley.

Well, if I tell Riley, she might take me off the qualifier duo.

So what? It's just a qualifier.

What if she takes me off A Troupe?

I get it -

I almost didn't get a chance to dance on A Troupe this year,

but Noah has to choose his health first.

Noah, you could injure yourself permanently.

Promise me you'll do the right thing.

Amanda's right.

I have to stop running away from this problem.

I have to get it dealt with before it risks my whole dance career.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OK. So, for the third round,

it's going to be water flow.

Water flow is like waving,

where you're always isolating through your body,

making your body look like water.

N'Sane is SO good.

I mean, West is an amazing dancer,

but how is he going to come back at them?

Yeah, N'Sane is amazing, but we have to win this round.

I have to win this round.

Or we go home.

It all comes down to this.

CHEERING INTENSIFIES

Masked Man...

Come on over. I don't know how you're going to make a decision,

but we do need one.

Who is the winner?

This is it. Moment of truth.

The final round winner is...

The Next Step!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I'm so stoked when West wins the first challenge of the competition.

I was doubting him a bit at the beginning, but, come on - it's West.

The winners of this challenge will advance to compete

in the two v two challenge.

I think I just proved my theory that hip-hop is love.

All you need is love, baby!

Hey, Riley.

Er, do you have a second to talk?

-Erm, yeah. Of course.

-OK.

This is not going to be easy, but Riley deserves to know

what's really going on.

Here goes.

So, the real reason I fumbled at the first qualifier

was because my back was seizing up.

I thought it could get better with rest, but it hasn't.

I had no idea.

I can't believe I couldn't see

what was right under my nose.

Now it all makes sense.

I'm going to see a doctor to figure out what's wrong.

But please, don't take me out of the duet.

I know I can get better in time for the qualifier.

Well, Noah, that's not up to me.

It's up to the doctors.

If they say that you can dance,

then great, of course you can do the duet, but if the doctors say that...

I don't even want to think about that.

But, thanks.

'I'm worried about my back. But part of me feels relieved

'that I finally told Riley.'

At least, now I can focus on getting better for the qualifier.

MESSAGE ALERT

-Hey!

-Hey.

Sorry I haven't been able to keep in touch,

but this competition is crazy!

West just got us through the one v one challenge.

That's amazing.

How are you doing, though? Are you all right?

Um...

I'm OK.

You just feel so far away.

Yeah.

It's funny, I never really feel like that, though.

I just feel like, you know, all those things like time, distance,

it doesn't really apply to us.

I wish I felt that way.

I've actually never felt more alone.

You OK, though?

Um, I'm not,

but it's nothing I can't handle.

You'll be back in a few weeks, right?

Yeah, yeah. Looking forward to it.

Listen - I've got to go, but...I love you.

Love you too.

-Bye.

-Bye.

I'll be OK.

I know James is there for me -

I just have to hang in there a little while longer.

I can handle it.

Hey.

I've been looking for you.

I can't avoid this any longer.

This thing with Riley is

making my head spin.

Er... I gotta talk to you.

Look, er...

I know you're not available right now.

And I also want you to know that my feelings aren't just

going to go away.

So, if anything changes...

..just let me know.