So for those who are new here, you may not know that I actually had the chance to compete on Season 1 of NBC’s World of Dance with my two sisters back in 2017. Jennifer Lopez was the executive producer (and was also a judge along with Derek Hough and Ne-Yo! Yes, we got to meet them all and JLo is as beautiful in person as she looks on tv… :) It was obviously a dream come true for us!! I don’t know what we expected when we got to set - I think we were expecting to see most of the dancers we knew from the competition world, but instead we were actually competing against some of the most famous dancers in the world, many who were idols of ours. (We were definitely the major underdogs Ha Ha :)) It was pretty overwhelming to say the least.
The experience was absolutely incredible and this definitely won’t be the only time I write about it. (If there’s anything you’re curious to learn, please leave a comment because I’d love to indulge deeper! Audition process, events following, etc.) But right now I’m going to share 5 facts you may not know about the show! (This is specific to our season. I’m not sure how it changed in the seasons following!)
5 Things you didn't know about World of Dance
1. For starters, the environment there was absolutely incredible. The intense battles that you saw on the screen, weren’t nearly as scary off of it. The backstage area was just a big open room where everyone just hung out and got to know each other. We met so many new friends of all ages in our down time. While acts were competing on stage, there was a huge television screen where we all watched and cheered each other on together. It truly was so much fun.
2. I hate that I’m even including this one, but THE FOOD Y’ALL…Let me just say, it was INCREDIBLE. As someone who is a food lover and picky eater, it didn’t disappoint. We always walked down for lunch and the display was such a wide range that it felt like Thanksgiving every single day. Okay maybe I should stop talking about it because it seems like I have problems LOL. But having craft service every day was not so bad!
3. If you were a minor, you had to go to “school” every day. This meant sitting in a room (closed off with a curtain) with all of the other kids (aka all of your competitors) and working on homework. We had to legally complete a minimum of 3 hours a day. Usually that would be how we started off our morning. Sometimes we’d have to head to rehearsal or interviews and then head BACK to school. Always the worst. :) We also had tutors there but they honestly were no help at all. HAHA. Let’s just say my sisters, mom, and I had some pretty good laughs.
Here's our favorite tutor Sana. She was pretty classic:
4. The show was filmed at Universal Studios which made it so much fun! There were some days where we were driven around the sets to film b-roll footage. (Of course for me it was extra fun because I want to eventually be in movies. It felt like my dreams were just sitting there right in front of me.) Entering the studio every day truly felt like a dream.
5. We typically had only one actual rehearsal a day. Between interviews, fittings, and everything else, we had to make our own time to rehearse. This made it interesting. We spent multiple days driving all over LA trying to find rehearsal space. We rehearsed at random studios, in the hotel, and even in our friend’s room and backyard. It was absolute chaos 24/7 and definitely added to the stress. But it all worked out in the end and paid off!
Us practicing in the backyard:
World of Dance was a crazily chaotic but super memorable experience in my life and I love getting to share that with you guys! What else would you like to know about our experience? :)
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