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Writer's pictureKristyn Burtt

3 'World of Dance' Behind-the-Scenes Facts You Need To Know

Updated: Jul 6, 2020


World of Dance is cruising into its final four weeks of Season 3 with only one more segment of The Cut ahead, two episodes of Divisional Finals and then the World Final to come. We've seen the show morph a bit in the three seasons it has been on NBC, so viewers are sometimes curious as to how things happen behind the scenes.


Dance Dish decided to gather a few fun facts about the show that you might not know. We spoke to a few contestants who demystified some of the processes from casting to costumes. Take a look at what we learned about World of Dance.



1. Casting: While some established groups submit their material online and are invited to an in-person audition, others find themselves pulling together a duo or a group in a much different way. Mia Mugavero explained how she and Audrey Lane-Partlow came together as Audrey & Mia to do the show.


"World of Dance contacted her [Audrey] and said they wanted her to audition. They wanted her to find someone to audition with and she called me four days before the audition," Mia said on To The Pointe. "We got together the next day and Bdash and Konkrete choreographed it. They went on tour and we had the next three days to clean the piece [by ourselves]."



2. Costumes: The general rule of thumb with World of Dance has been that the acts bring their costumes for The Qualifiers and then the World of Dance wardrobe department, led by Marina Toybina, takes over for The Duels and beyond. Dance Dish learned that it's a little more complicated than that. Derion Loman of Season 3's Derion & Madison mapped out how the process worked for them.


"Our first two rounds, Maddie and I dressed ourselves, but everything you bring in, wardrobe alters it for you. We brought in the mesh leos we wore in The Duels round, but they added the metallic shenanigans to it," explained Derion. "Wardrobe is always there supporting you whether you are bringing your costume or they are bringing it. For this round [The Cut], they came in and said, 'Here's a rack of clothes, go through and find what you want.' Maddie's dress was pretty expensive."



3. Collaboration: It takes a village to put together a show and that does include choreography. While the acts either choreograph the number themselves or bring in an outside choreographer, there are moments in a piece that have elements added by either a supervising choreographer or one of the mentors on the show. Derion shared how mentor Derek Hough helped them during The Cut and added a very specific and stunning move to their number.


"[Derek] is such a knowledgeable resource to have as your mentor. At one point, he grabbed Maddie [with permission] and swung her around. To be able to stand out [of the routine] and watch that with our choreography, it's so helpful," he said. "He threw a couple of things in there that were added to the piece. There's a part where Maddie does this beautiful layout and she grabs her ankles back in an arch and I swing her around in that position — he's the one who gave us that as a little tidbit."


As the final episodes of World of Dance move forward, keep these behind-the-scenes moments in mind. It adds perspective and depth to the season as the field gets whittled down to that million-dollar winner or winners.


 

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