Two members of a dance team featured in the hit competition series “World of Dance” gathered for a watch party at Primanti Bros in Monroeville on Tuesday. See & Be Seen was invited to capture the excitement.
Will Thomas, 25, and Audrey Case, 24, are performing with their dance team Royal Flux Dance, which is based in Los Angeles.
"It's like the Olympics of dance," Will said about the show. He was beaming with excitement after waiting months to watch the episode.
The episode premiere just happened to land on the week they were in Pittsburgh judging the Extreme Talent Showcase National Championship.
The two may have been without the other six members of their dance team Royal Flux, but they had friends and dancers there to support them.
"We are aching for our team," Audrey said. "We've been talking all day and texting."
Led by choreographer Jaci Royal, Royal Flux tries to break the boundaries of contemporary dance with athletic stunts and lifts.
Audrey and Will met while competing on season nine of "So You Think You Can Dance" in 2012.
Audrey said "World of Dance" is a completely different experience.
"It brings together all ages and all styles, all kinds of groups, solos, any kind of dance," Audrey said. "It puts them on the same stage, and we are able to grow from each other and be inspired by each other and incorporate hip hop onto the contemporary team. The contemporary dancers inspire the hip hop dancers, the breakers, to be clean."
The episode began with a performance by dance team Embodiment.
"We're best friends," Audrey said.
Judges Jennifer Lopez, Derek Hough and NE-YO gave Embodiment an average score of 84.7, which puts them into the next round.
Five more performances later, it was time for the final team, Royal Flux, to be introduced. The Primanti's dining room erupted in applause.
But in the episode, things took a turn for the worse during rehearsals. Audrey fractured her ankle, and the team is unsure it can continue the performance that night.
"I couldn't believe it," Audrey told See & Be Seen. "I couldn't actually grasp the fact that everything that we had been working for up until that point could be in jeopardy just because of me.
But Audrey went against the doctor's orders and decided to dance anyway...on one foot.
"I made the decision to dance anyway because of the people I'm with," she said. "We're such a family that I knew I could not let go of all that we had been going through. Our routine is designed for every person. If one of us got hurt, there's no way we could do it without them."
The team went on to perform, Audrey with one foot up, but the execution was smooth.
The judges gave them a score of 87, which puts them into the next round.
"We were shocked," Audrey said.
J-LO commended their Audrey for pushing through the injury for her team.
"You're creative and daring," J-LO said. "You're great technical dancers -- very emotional. Everybody doesn't have that."
"We felt so supported," Will said.
Will and Audrey are excited to move onto the next round. They will be dueling with another dance group. "World of Dance" airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on WPXI.
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