Only You The Next Step

Previously on The Next Step...

Noah!

Today is my first day back at the studio after getting

out of hospital.

I couldn't be more grateful that I'm actually back.

You need to give me the power to make some hard decisions.

Whatever I say, goes.

OK. It's time for the team to start focusing on regionals.

Michelle, you will be doing a solo.

I will be taking you off the duet.

-Me?

-A Troupe needs to get to regionals.

And this was the only way to do it.

Right now, I'm dancing my solo for regionals and I couldn't be happier.

All of my hard work has finally paid off.

I'm dancing at my old level or better.

The whole team is counting on me and it feels great.

MUSIC PLAYS

I broke up with James so I could stay focused,

so I'm not thinking about James, I'm not thinking about Alfie,

I'm just thinking about the qualifier.

MUSIC PLAYS

I am so confident that we're going to make it to regionals now that

we've assigned all the dances.

Plus Noah and Alfie are about to start rehearsing their duet for the

qualifier, so it really looks all the fires are out.

Michelle's solo is great.

But she won't get to dance at regionals if we don't

win the final qualifier.

It's all up to Noah and Alfie.

Riley? You know what might really help you next time

you're in a situation like this?

Two words. Dance captain.

Yeah, I avoided assigning a dance captain just because it invites

competition onto the team.

We're a dance team. Competition is good for us.

We really need to start looking for a dance captain.

Maybe Emily's right.

A dance captain could be my eyes and ears around here.

And who would be better than our old dance captain?

That was amazing.

That was so good.

-Thank you.

-So good, in fact, I think you should be dance captain again.

I'm flattered but no.

I don't want to be dance captain.

It's way too much work and I want to focus on my dancing this year.

Michelle would've been perfect.

If she doesn't want to be dance captain,

then I have no idea who we are going to choose.

# We

# We are going to show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're going to tear the roof off this place

# Stand up!

# When you're young you can disappear for fun

# Falling backwards off the world... #

Right now, I'm waiting to start rehearsing

the qualifier duet with Noah.

After Emily removed Piper, she and Riley decided that Noah

should be put back on the duet.

-Hey, good to see you again.

-Good to see you. I'm glad to be back.

-You know I'm ready to get down to business.

-Music to my ears.

Noah's ready to work. Good.

I need something to take my mind off of everything that's been going on

with Riley and just concentrate on dance.

Piper and I, we actually were working on a duet before.

It's a little too lyrical.

You know what, I actually have this like crazy idea

for the theme of our duet.

This is the first time I get to dance since my surgery

and I'm so excited.

In the hospital, my body couldn't move but my mind

was racing with ideas.

-Hit it.

-OK. All right. Listen.

I have this very vivid mental image of a velociraptor

fighting a lemur.

Velociraptors fighting lemurs?

What did they do to him in that hospital?

I mean, Noah's lost his mind.

OK. Just brainstorming real quick.

I'll add to your idea.

How about we don't do that.

And we be kings instead?

Can we be lemur and velociraptor kings?

Maybe we could just start with the lemur, yeah?

-Yeah.

-OK. You sure you're OK?

-Yeah, I'm good.

They gave you the checkout and everything from the hospital?

Yes, I'm totally good. What?

OK.

We start in a duelling fashion type thing, going back-to-back.

A velociraptor would never turn his back on a lemur.

Noah's been away for a while.

I hope he can get his mind back in the game because there's a lot

riding on this duet.

I just want to thank you guys for volunteering to be dance captain.

After Michelle turned us down,

we asked for volunteers to be dance captain

and Richelle, Skylar and Amy were the dancers who stepped forward.

OK, how are we going to decide who's going to get this position?

Because, honestly, I think we should just go to studio A,

have a dance off and be done with it.

This is a waste of time.

Obviously we all know who the next dance captain should be.

Don't make me say it.

Being a good dance captain has nothing to do with

being a good dancer.

-What.

-Why is that?

Because a good dance captain is knowledgeable about her fellow

dancers, caring, compassionate, but above all, super competitive.

I would love to be dance captain but I'm super nervous and when I get

this nervous, I get a little, well, silly.

-K triple C.

-What?

Knowledgeable, caring, compassionate and competitive.

Somehow we're just going to have to hope really, really hard,

that this magically works out.

This is not going to be a simple process because, well,

-Emily is in charge.

-That's right, ladies.

We will be deciding who's going to be dance captain my way.

And it will not be easy.

If Emily's in charge, this is going to be tough.

I've only just met her but she seems really intense.

Really, really intense.

Yep, yep, I love that part too.

That's how you feel?

Jude's one of the musicians from Lost And Found,

the music studio down the hall.

He came in this morning and asked me to dance in a music video

for his new song.

So what do you think?

It was... It was all right.

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.

All right?

Jude does not do all right.

Jude does amazing.

Outstanding. Unbelievable.

But not all right.

That was just all right?

I'm playing with you.

It was tight. I'd love to dance in the music video for it.

You can't do that.

Well, for real, you want to be in it?

Yeah. I already have a million ideas for it.

Jude's song is so amazing.

It won't be hard to come up with some sick choreo.

I can't wait to get started.

The first stop in finding our dance captain is figuring out who is the

most knowledgeable.

SQUEAKING SOUND

OK. Why is mine so hard to squeeze?

It's so much harder than everyone else's.

Well, because you're the strongest, Richelle.

-Hmm, funny.

-Rudolph?

Shut it off.

Emily is the epitome of a dance captain and if anyone can

find a diamond in the rough, it's her.

This is how this game is going to work.

Riley is going to ask you some questions about your fellow dancers.

If you know the answer, you either ring it, squeeze it, or light it up.

Or light it up.

Each question is worth two points.

First person to ten points wins.

What?

Why don't we make each question worth one point and the first person

to five wins?

You just lost yourself a point.

SQUEAKING SOUND

OK, let's get started. Name the dancer with the strongest hip-hop...

SQUEAK

-Me.

-No, you wish.

BELL RINGS

-Skylar.

-LeTroy.

-Correct.

Name the dancer with the shortest temper.

BELL RINGS

-Skylar.

-Richelle.

-Correct again.

OK, that was just rude.

BELL RINGS

Correct.

You can tell Richelle and Skylar really want this and that's

great because a dance captain needs that competitive fire.

Name the dancer with the highest kick.

BELL RINGS

-Skylar.

-Amanda. Have you seen her legs?

Yes. Which two dancers have the most complementary dance styles.

BELL RINGS

-Skylar.

-Noah and Richelle.

-Good job. Correct.

Which dancer is most likely to be late for a rehearsal?

BELL RINGS

-Skylar.

-Noah. Or Sloane.

-Wait. Both.

-Correct again.

Well, that is ten points for Skylar,

zero for Richelle, and negative one for you, Rudolph.

SQUEAKING SOUND

-Can I keep this?

-No.

-Good try.

Skylar won that round, somehow.

But I'm not worried. Round two is mine.

You think you could follow that from the beginning?

You know, I'm just going to quickly go grab a drink

and I'll be right back.

It's been so long since I've danced and I want to do it

more than anything.

But something's holding me back.

-You're going to come back to rehearse, right?

-Yes. Totally.

This is a little too familiar.

What?

Why are you running away?

This might be familiar to Alfie but it's not familiar to me.

I don't know what's going on.

Richelle, Amy, and Skylar,

you will now be delivering speeches to this gathered crowd.

A dance captain must be able to rally her troops.

And therefore, the most convincing and rousing speech for dance

captaincy will win.

I've asked the girls to deliver a speech because standing in

front of a crowd is intimidating for normal people,

but a dance captain needs to be fearless.

Amy, you'll go first followed by Richelle and then you, Skylar.

-OK.

-Good luck.

Skylar won the knowledge round but this round is way more important.

This competition could still go to anyone.

Hello. My name is Amy.

I want to be dance captain...

..because I think I can make everybody have a good time.

If you have any problems, talk to me because I'll be the captain.

Except Amy. It's never going to be Amy.

All right.

When I'm dance captain, everything is going to change around here.

There are no days off, got it?

Oh, and if you miss a rehearsal,

don't even bother, because you're out.

Richelle's speech scares me.

What kind of world is she living in?

And if you're late, don't even get me started.

OK, Richelle. Thank you.

-I'm not done.

-Yeah, but we get the point.

I can't believe Emily just cut me off.

Just wait till I'm dance captain, then we'll see who cuts who off.

APPLAUSE

I believe in dance.

That's why I'm here, you know?

This studio has meant a lot to me...

..and I believe in it and every dancer in it.

I believe that if we do our best every time we're called to perform,

then we have no excuses.

We'll leave it all on the dance floor because that's what dance is.

I would be honoured to represent The Next Step as your dance captain.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Well, that was a surprise.

I know.

Wow! Skylar. Bravo.

What? What are you...?

Move the chair, move the chair, move the chair, move the chair.

-Are you Van Damming?

-Of course I'm Van Damming.

-Oh, my!

I didn't know you Van Dammed.

Yeah, I Van Damme.

Van Damming is a training exercise based on Jean Claude Van Damme's

infamous splits,

except I thought I was the only one at the studio that could do it.

Amanda never ceases to amaze me.

Don't tell me you go to the Jewish community centre.

-Tuesdays at 7.30.

-Thursdays at eight.

Oh, my goodness.

-I'm switching classes?

-You can't, mine's full.

Actually, the Goldbergs are going south for the season!

I'm in. I'm there.

-Perfect.

-That is too awesome.

I didn't know you Van Dammed.

You know, how many seconds can you Van Damme?

How many seconds can you Van Damme?

-You tell me first.

-You tell me first.

-Say it together on three.

-OK.

One, two, three.

-45.

-15, one... 151 seconds.

-151?

-Yes.

You Van Damme for 151 seconds?

Yeah. Actually I have something more important to talk about.

Yeah, aren't you supposed to be rehearsing with Alfie?

Yeah, I actually just left to go get a drink from Java.

And why aren't you doing that right now?

Can you stop de-Van Damming?

Yeah, sorry.

I just feel strange.

Well, if it's health-related, Noah, I think you should call your doctor.

It's not health-related. I feel exactly the same as I did when the

doctor cleared me to dance.

But when I go to dance, I just can't.

It sounds like your brain and your body aren't really on the

same page right now. Even though your body's ready to dance,

your brain just isn't ready to trust it yet.

Listen.

It's natural to feel this way coming off of a big injury.

You're hesitant. I get it.

But the best way to catch your brain up with your body

is just by doing it.

Amanda totally nailed it and now that I know it's all in my head,

I'm just going to tell my head to shut up and listen

to my body instead.

MUSIC PLAYS

# Waking up every morning

# Picking my phone trying to catch her meds...

I'm glad I finally got Jude to trust my instincts.

This is one of the strongest dances I've ever choreographed

and it's going to be an amazing video.

I thought I was good.

But Sloane?

Sloane is really good.

It really worked out and I'm so happy.

# All I know is I'm the reason for this style

# But why are you stalling?

# Is it cos this young boy has been bawling?

# I know you want a piece but I won't give it up... #

I think with this dance, I finally have something to show the world.

I can't wait to send the video to LeTroy and show him

how awesome it is.

Good job.

Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

Of course, of course. And I know everybody's going to love it too.

I'm going to put this online and this is going to be huge.

Mind-blowing. Godzilla loose in Tokyo huge.

You guys won't even know.

Where have you been?

I've... I've been places.

-Ready to dance?

-I think that I am.

-You think?

-No, no, no, I know I'm... I am ready.

Good. I changed up the middle a little bit?

-OK.

-I'm sure you'll keep up though.

Hi, guys. I don't want history to repeat itself.

We need to get to the bottom of whether or not Noah

is truly ready to dance.

What are you guys doing here?

I asked them to be here.

Now, this is the best dance The Next Step has ever seen,

all thanks to this guy. It's strong, it's ferocious, it's exciting.

Noah, are you sure you're ready to dance?

-Who, me?

-Yeah.

You know my middle name is I'm pretty sure I'm ready to dance.

-And then some.

-OK.

Five, six, seven.

Stop, stop, stop. I can't do this.

I want to dance but not if it means hurting The Next Step again.

The truth is I'm not ready.

MUSIC PLAYS

I can't dance in the qualifier and I need to tell Emily

and Riley why not.

I just can't trust myself to be ready in time for the qualifier.

It's days away and I need to be rehearsing

day and night to be ready.

I want to be there for the team.

But I can't, I'm sorry.

Noah, it's totally fine for you to back out of the duet.

-Really?

-Of course.

Look if anybody knows what you're going through, it's me.

I had an injury that completely ruined my dance career.

I would never want that for anybody.

All right. I'm going to start working on my regional dances

I've been assigned to right away.

I just need to take things a little slower, you know, with no pressure.

Then I'll know for sure by regionals if I'll be

able to trust myself to dance again.

That seems like a great idea.

I'm going to need to find the perfect replacement for Noah,

and soon otherwise The Next Step won't even make it to regionals.

-You wanted to see me?

-Yes, I did.

A real dance captain puts the team above her own desires.

This was the final test.

Skylar, I want to let you know how impressed I was with you today.

But I have some bad news.

I have decided to make Richelle dance captain.

OK. That's a great choice.

She's an amazing dancer and if that's who you think is best

for the team, then it sounds good to me.

Thanks for letting me know.

Skylar.

I was just testing you.

Richelle is not the best option for dance captain.

Someday Richelle will be an amazing dance captain

but that day's not today.

Skylar is the best choice to lead The Next Step.

So you're saying?

Congratulations, you are now the dance captain of The Next Step.

-Thank you. Thank you, thank you.

-OK.

When Emily tells me that I'm the new dance captain, I'm in shock.

I never saw this coming.

I actually have something for you.

Gisele left this with me before she went on world tour.

This will help you become the best dance captain you can possibly be.

-What is it?

-That is the dance captain diary.

Every dance captain since 1984 has written in it.

You can even see a little bit of Miss Kate's writing.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-I won't let you down.

-You better not!

I am so proud of myself.

All I wanted was to make A Troupe this year and now I'm dance captain.

It's a dream come true.

MUSIC PLAYS

I just got a text from Sloane telling me to check out

a link online.

I wonder what's up.

MUSIC PLAYS

Sloane is killing it.

I mean look at those moves.

I can tell this video is going to be huge.

# I know you want a piece but I won't give it up

# All I know is your attitude needs some switching up

# I just want to see you doing well in life... #

I'm happy for Sloane but seeing that video just made me miss

The Next Step even more. I just can't wait to see everybody again.

Everyone! Gather in.

We have a pretty exciting announcement to make.

The Next Step officially has a new dance captain.

-And it's Skylar.

-Yeah!

Even though I didn't win dance captain,

I got a great consolation prize.

I took the light bulb.

I'm going to work really hard to make sure this studio

is the best it can be.

We're going to win it all this year.

-I can feel it.

-That's right.

Once we qualify for regionals, of course.

What's going on with the qualifier, anyway?

None of us know anything about it.

You know what? The duet is simply a work in progress right now.

Everything depends on this duet.

And there's only one thing I know for sure.

We're running out of time.

# 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. #