Previously on The Next Step...
I've never been to the beach.
- Yo, let's go to the beach! - Yeah.
I want to take my dancing to the ultimate level.
'What are you doing?'
I clearly do not deserve to be in the front row,
- Michelle does. - No-one's ever stood up to Emily like that.
And it's her sister. I'm pretty impressed.
Michelle's literally been here for a few days,
and she's already making us all fight.
Who thinks Riley should get kicked out of E Girls?
- What? - Emily has taken this way too far.
How's all that drama going with the E Girls?
Emily's been mad at me before. This time it seems different.
Please don't do this.
It's done.
Didn't Emily, Stephanie and Tiffany have a competition this weekend?
I don't know,
I've tried to avoid talking about dance around my sister.
'Me and my sister keep our personal lives separate,'
and I really don't want this thing that's going on at the studio
to affect our lives at home.
- Hey! - ALL: Hey!
How'd you guys do?
- Oh, well, we came in second. - Whoo!
APPLAUSE
A trio competition is where you go with a trio
so there's solos which is one person, duets which is two,
and trios which is three.
We went out there to kind of remember what it's like to
be on stage in front of an audience and
we can go into regionals not being so nervous.
Second? Who came first?
Elite.
Elite Dance Academy is our...
OK, well, they're everyone's main competition. They win a lot.
It's been The Next Step's goal
to beat them for as long as I've been here.
You should have seen Elite. They were amazing.
You guys have to see this.
I've never seen a team so polished...
- It's scary good. - Whoa. - Yeah.
- No way! - Yeah. - They're so on time.
- And that's just a trio. - Look at that move. - What is that?
- Wow! - ALL: Whoa!
I taped the footage of Elite because I wanted to
show people what we lost against.
- OK, OK, that's enough. That's enough! - Yeah.
Right?
Look, I say we take a little road trip to Elite,
sneak into their studio, see what they're doing for regionals
and come back and work on ours. What does everyone think?
Oh, I... I could...
- EMILY SCOFFS - Wait.
You weren't thinking you were invited, were you?
No.
Good. 'Why would I want Riley to come?'
She's so negative about everything.
She can stay here alone and learn her lesson.
I really thought things with Emily would have been better by now.
My relationship with Emily is...
not really going to heal as fast as I thought it would.
So, who's going to come?
Oh! Oh! I'm... I'm coming!
I'm happy to go on this road trip with Emily.
I'm even going to pretend like it's kind of a date.
Stop. Back.
I really hope he doesn't think this is a date or something.
OK, James, how about you?
Nah, I'm not interested.
All right.
Obviously this isn't for Michelle, so...
No, I'll come.
Really?
Yeah, I'm interested in seeing the competition, right?
I want to go check out Elite's routine because
if I spend a little bit more time with Emily and the rest of the team,
it'll bring me a little bit closer.
OK.
I let Michelle come along because I want people to think I'm fair.
'But I'm not.'
This isn't a democracy.
It's an Emily-ocracy.
# We
# We are gonna show the world
# Everything we're made of
# We're gonna tear the roof off this place
# Stand up! #
I'm working on my math right now
because my grades are dropping, and if I don't pull them up,
my mom's going to pull me out of the studio.
- James? - Yeah?
- Can we talk? - Yeah.
What are you doing?
Don't worry about it. What's up?
I need you to do something for me.
Wait. You want something from me?
Yes. Yes.
Oh, you want a favour.
I don't know about that.
It kind of amuses me that Riley would come to me for a favour.
I know he's going to hold this against me,
but it has to be done.
I'm just a little worried about Michelle.
Why?
I don't really want her to go on the trip with Emily
by herself.
I mean, her and the E Girls are not really on good terms right now,
and I just don't want any trouble.
OK, so where do I come into this?
I just want you to go on the trip and just make sure nothing happens.
'I asked James to keep an eye on Michelle at Elite because'
I feel like he's the only one I can really trust.
That's a big favour.
Really? James, please, come on.
Well, I'm going to have to convince Emily to let me go.
I already told her I wasn't going to go.
That's going to cost you.
OK.
OK?
I owe you.
Hey, Giselle.
Oh, hey, Daniel. How are you?
Now that a bunch of dancers have gone to Elite,
I booked some studio time and I'm hoping to get in some extra practice.
- Good, how are you? - Good, thank you.
'Giselle and I have a really close bond.'
I've known her since I was five years old
and she mentored me so that I could become a great dancer.
So, er, how's everything in A Troupe?
- Really good. It's just a lot of pressure, you know. - Yeah.
I just wish you were there too.
'It's really hard not having Giselle'
in A Troupe with me because the whole point of her mentoring me
was that one day we could be partners in A Troupe.
'And now, I'm in B Troupe.'
I feel like I really let Daniel down.
I'm just going to practise as hard as I can, night and day,
and I'm not going to make that mistake again.
- Hey. - Hey.
Hey, er, Daniel, do you know where James is?
No.
Last year, Beth dated James for, like, five minutes
and she will not get over him. She just doesn't leave him alone.
OK. Thanks.
You're welcome.
DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES
You! Why are you here?
I'm here to rehearse.
Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel!
I'm annoyed that Daniel's here because I thought that
I would've had this space, this time, for myself
for me to work on what I need to work on.
And then when I walk in, I see him. I mean, how would you feel?
OK, well, you should have booked the studio. I did.
Well, I thought I was going to be here by myself
cos everyone's at Elite.
I've only known West for a year, him and I were in B Troupe.
He wasn't that committed last year but he's pulled it together this year
and he's working pretty hard.
Here's what I'm going to do for you. We can split the studio.
- Oh! OK, I have back half! - OK, it doesn't matter.
Yes, it does!
How are you going to get to the bathroom through my territory?
It's going to cost you.
HE LAUGHS That West is a funny guy.
THEY LAUGH
WEST STOPS LAUGHING ABRUPTLY
Wait, is he being serious?
I mean, maybe not the washroom, but if you want a beverage,
I got a water cooler, OK?
OK.
Why do you even want to go?
I really don't know why James suddenly changed his mind.
No-one's going to pull a fast one over me.
I want to help you guys out.
So now I have to convince Emily to let me tag along
on her Elite spy mission
after I already rejected her once.
I know a shortcut there.
I have GPS, it automatically finds the fastest way.
I do...
- I used to date a girl there, so I... - You dated a girl from Elite?
I did.
'Typical James. Is there'
anywhere in town where he hasn't dated someone?
Er, so I know a back entrance. It's kinda sneaky too.
'At the end of the day,'
James is part of A Troupe.
He says he knows all of these shortcuts, so he might be an asset.
All right, all right, all right, OK, you can come.
Perfect.
OK, I'll get changed and I'll see you guys out front.
Well, you owe me.
Thank you.
'I feel a lot better'
knowing that James is going to Elite. It'll be nice for someone
to look over Michelle cos we all know Emily won't be.
DANIEL'S MUSIC PLAYS QUIETLY THROUGH HEADPHONES
WEST'S MUSIC BLARES THROUGH SPEAKERS
West has no spatial awareness. He is blasting his music.
After I was nice enough to lend him half the studio,
he won't even stay on his own side.
MUSIC STOPS
West! West! What are you doing?
Wha...?
Wait! Who turned off the music?
I did.
Wha...? Why?
Because your music is too loud and I can't hear mine.
Come on, man, I'm just... I'm just feeling my groove, you know?
Feeling my music.
Dancing isn't about that, it's about practice and precision.
Dan's a good guy, but, I mean, he just needs to loosen up.
'I'm a classically trained dancer so'
my style is very, very technical and precise.
West throws himself around the studio and if it looks cool, great.
And besides, you're not even on your own half.
You know what? Free water. Just for that.
That's not funny.
Well, if you hate my dancing and my music so much,
- why don't you rehearse in Studio B? - Why don't you go to Studio B?
- Why don't you rehearse in Studio B? - OK.
Looks like we're at an impasse.
You know what, can you spell "impasse"?
I-M-P-A-S-S-E.
Huh, good, cos I did not know that.
Right now, we're on a bit of a mission to spy on Elite.
It's just time for the dancers to see how amazing they are.
They're our main competition and people have to take this seriously.
We're so close.
- You don't even know where we are... - Why am I in the back seat?
What route are you taking us on?
Right now, we're pulling up to Elite,
and we're all super excited, there's a big tension in the air.
This is the first thing we've really ever done
kind of as a team.
'Coming to Elite is an opportunity to become closer with the team
'and I can see that Emily and I are'
getting along.
I told you I knew a back way!
- Who cares? Do you want a cookie or something? - I'd love a cookie!
We're entering Elite from the service entrance.
'No-one knew about this back entrance except for James.'
Obviously.
How about we play a game?
I don't want to do that.
How are you going to say no? You don't even know what the game is.
What if the game could be I'm giving you a million dollars?
- Well, are you going to give me a million dollars? - Better!
You are going to choreograph a ballet routine for me,
and I'm going to choreograph a hip-hop routine for you.
West has a ton of crazy ideas
and this choreographing for each other is another crazy idea.
You're about to learn a little lesson.
Oh! Huh, you know what? I love to learn.
I mean I just learned how to spell "impasse".
DANCE MUSIC PLAYS
'Their legs, their turns, their feet?'
Oh, my gosh!
'I'm just surprised at how good they are.'
They're unreal.
Elite's dance is incredible.
'I've never seen anything like it.'
They're like robots! Dancing robots.
I'm a little worried about getting caught,
but if we leave now, we won't get caught.
Guys, I think we've seen enough. Let's just go.
Yeah, let's get out of here, guys. Quietly!
'I think my choreography is'
going to be much better than West's.
I think mine's going to be better.
I mean, maybe Daniel's...
I mean, no, maybe mine...
I mean, maybe Dan... You know what?
Maybe both of ours can be better.
- OK, start right foot front in fifth position. - OK. - Yup.
Your arm is going to come on out, and your leg to the side.
I really like dance because it's kind of like math.
'In dance and math, there's a right way to do something and a wrong way.
'Especially in ballet, there is a right technique'
and many different ways you can do it wrong.
One, two, three, four...
and then five, six, pas de chat.
Pas de chat. Is that like...like a new breed of cat or something?
It means "jump of the cat" in French.
See? I kinda got it.
Yeah, OK. So what you're going to do for that...
Hit me, hit me. Hit me, hit me, hit me...
- Get in coup pas... - Hit me, hit me.
Come on, don't leave me hanging. Don't, don't, don't...
All right. Let's go.
It's kind of fun teaching West my choreography.
It's a good training exercise for me.
OK. No, no, no, this isn't the dinner table.
Get that biscuit foot out of here.
Dry! Is that a ballet joke?
Hah! It just means that you have ugly little ballet feet.
- Oh. - Five, six, seven, eight...
'He's like a little ballet student who has absolutely'
no idea what he's doing.
- Did you guys see that? - That was crazy! - Yeah, they were amazing!
Have you guys seen a team that cleaned this early in the season?
- ALL: - Never. - No.
I have an idea.
- Let's go in and shoot a video. - Really?
That way, we can take it back to the studio and analyse it.
- No, that's such a bad idea. - Yeah. - Why?
- What if we get caught shooting a video? - I'll go.
- You'll go? - Yeah. I have my phone.
I volunteered to go video Elite because I do want to fit in here
at The Next Step and I feel like if I do go and video them,
then I will be more accepted by Emily and the rest of the team.
- Perfect! - Nah, you know what? I'll do it. It's fine. I can do it.
I promised Riley nothing would happen to anyone,
especially Michelle.
- Don't worry about it. - No, it's fine. I volunteered. - I...I'll do it.
No.
I should have volunteered sooner to show Emily that I'm brave
and I'm a man. She shouts me down, though.
Go.
It's nice to see Michelle doing something for the team, for once.
'When Michelle goes into Elite to videotape their dance,
'I get a very bad feeling.'
I knew I shouldn't have let her go.
And I don't even want to think about what Riley's going to do to me
if something happens to Michelle.
So, now we're in my world, OK?
And in my world, we like to start off with a little handshake,
so put 'er there, all right? Circle up. Circle it up.
Come around, circle, pop up, pop. Yup, you see?
You got it.
And also in hip-hop, that would be our warm-up.
'Daniel just put me through ballet school.'
Now, it's time for me to school him.
'I'm a little nervous about learning hip-hop'
because I've never abandoned my technique before.
We're going to sit down, sit,
and then we're going to punch with our knees, and our hands,
and we come up and we push it down.
All right? What...?
Dude, what was this?
What...? Wha...?
Well, that's what you did, right, you developped your one leg,
and your supporting leg was off on deux.
Devil pay fondue...what? Dude, in hip-hop, we speak English.
We don't use any of those French terms or anything, all right?
So let's just stick to English.
Learning West's choreography is a lot harder than I thought
it was going to be.
There's no technical precisions. There's no classical terms.
It's trickier than what I'm used to.
- From the beginning again. - OK. From the beginning.
Five, six, seven, and around, step, step, one, tw... What?
Why are you facing the mirror?
- Well, I just wanted to see how it looked... - No, no, no, no, no, no!
You've got to feel your body movin' to the music and the beat.
- OK, sorry. - All right, so let's try it this way this time, OK?
- Not the mirror. All right. - Yep.
So, let's try it, five, six, seven, and...
'West is surprisingly a good teacher. I seem to be getting the hang of'
hip-hop and I think that I'll be able to pull off the duet.
I am terrified of getting caught...
..but, you know, it's best for the team
and I do want to impress Emily.
Guys, where is she?
I told you this was a bad idea.
I told you not to shoot the video.
OK, enough with the "I told you so's", can you text her?
Yeah, that's actually a good idea.
Sent.
MOBILE PHONE CHIRPS
Hey! Hey, you.
I didn't think this would happen.
'I thought I could just get the video, get outta there',
but that's not the case.
'At this moment, we're waiting for Michelle.'
I'm getting worried because it's been a while.
She hasn't even replied yet.
- It's been ten minutes. - Go look for her.
You're actually just going to send another person in there like that?
It's not a war zone, they're going to come out alive.
Me and Daniel just had so much fun learning each other's dance styles,
so we just decided to combine the two,
and just come up with an ultimate ballet/hip-hop dance duet.
It's kind of a fusion of opposites.
'The story of our dance is I'm a puppet and'
West is controlling me.
'He's the puppet master.'
I learned a lot of new things about dance
that I didn't even think existed, like feeling the music
and really working out that groove.
He really helped me learn that.
I came to The Next Step to take my dancing to the next level
and this is all really just good training for me.
- Sweet, man! - That's good. - Yeah!
- Do you want to grab a juice? - Let's do it!
Turn.
BOTH: Drop it like it's hot!
'At the beginning, there were a lot of misconceptions'
about mine and Daniel's different dance styles.
'We really gained an appreciation for each other's dances.'
'I was always taught that'
dance was about technique and precision,
but West kind of showed me a new side to dance.
Dance is all about feeling the music and expressing yourself.
Yeah, you. Get over here.
'Walking towards the Elite troupe is terrifying.'
I see that Michelle is standing in front of the whole company
and she's caught.
All I can think is she's in so much trouble.
Guys! She got caught, we need to go!
- What? - Yeah, she got caught. We'll talk about it in the car.
- Get in the car, just get in the car. - We can't just leave!
Just cos one of us goes down, all of us don't have to go down.
This isn't the Titanic.
Get in the car! Get in the car!
I didn't want to leave Michelle there,
I basically got forced to go.
It's just bad, bad, bad.
'These people look so mad at me.
'I don't know how I got into this situation and I'm so overwhelmed'
and I just want to cry.