The World of Dance title hope is over for Tsawwassen’s Emily Sun.
Sun, the 17-year-old captain of the GRVMNT Hip Hop crew from Richmond, failed to qualify for the finals after finishing out of the top two in the first semifinal round on the Aug. 4 episode of the NBC hit show.
Six of the 12 semifinalists competed last Tuesday night with only the top two advancing to the World Finals, which will air this Wednesday. Night two of the semifinals is tomorrow night (Tuesday).
Following their performance last week, judge Derek Hough praised GRVMNT for their routine.
“Yo, first of all, I love the whole concept, I love the look, your energy was off the charts, fantastic,” he said. “But the one comment I would make, is you sort of stayed in that V formation a little too long.”
Judge Jennifer Lopez said the execution was great given the choreography, but for her, some of the steps lacked originality.
Judge Ne-Yo said he agreed with all of the comments adding that he was waiting for that “GRVMNT” moment, but that they danced it [the routine] amazingly.
All three judges gave GRVMNT a total score of 89.7, which put them into fourth place.
“This is the end of this chapter, but not the end of the book. Take this. Learn from it and we will see you guys another time. Appreciate everything that you brought to the competition,” said Ne-Yo.
The next day, Sun took to Facebook to thank everyone for their support.
“Even though we didn’t make it to the finals I greatly appreciate everyone’s encouraging and kind words throughout this journey! Really means a lot,” she said. “As a team we got so much support from around the world, but individually, it is so heartwarming to see the Tsawwassen community being so supportive. All of the comments and messages that I’ve received is just amazing from such a little community that I live in.”
In a follow-up interview with the Optimist, Sun said competing on the show was a life-changing experience.
“Before we even stepped up on the main stage it was already a huge honour,” said Sun. “So many contestants were already out, so to be among the few to dance in front of a live audience was amazing. We did our best and yes, it was disappointing, but for all of us, it was just a life changing experience. It was amazing.”
Sun said when they first entered the competition it was more about showing what they could do and their passion for dance.
“Getting onto the main stage, to dance so many times, and to show the world what we do as the group – we did all that we could,” she said. “We hope to stay together and continue doing some local shows and practicing. Hopefully we can get back for Season 5 and compete again.”
