‘Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition’ recap: Wild West Showdown

The competitors jumped to new heights this week on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition in a classic olde tyme theme.

Abby greeted the dancers with a big ol’ “Howdy partners!” That’s right, this week would be a country western theme. McKaylee and her mom Shari felt confident, as they’re both actually from out west – Nebraska. But as well as the theme, the skill of the week would be jumps, and the competitors would have to pay special attention to their take offs and landings, as well as their elevation in the air.

For the challenge, Abby choreographed a ho-down style combination complete with cowboy hat props for the dancers. After performing the routine several times, Travis, Kalani, and Trinity were the last three in. In a twist, instead of having them keep doing the combination, Abby challenged them to a jump off. The dancers would jump continuously, alternating an “Italian” and “Russian,” two tricky jumps. Trinity ended up the winner, but she collapsed to the floor afterwards because her legs were so tired and sore! For the prize, Trinity’s mom, Tina, would get to save one dancer from the bottom three at elimination.

“Just one more reminder: I’m the only sheriff in town,” Abby warned the dancers as they hurried off to rehearsal. This week, Trinity and JoJo would be doing a duet together, which involved twirling ribbons. JoJo’s mom, Jessalynn, made sure to suck up to Tina during all of practice. If JoJo was in the bottom three, she wanted Tina to use her prize to save her!

McKaylee and Travis also worked on a duet together, but they struggled in practice, because Travis was once again shorter than his female partner. Kalani and Gianna, on the other hand, would be dancing their first solos of the show!

While the moms were working on costumes, Jessalynn decided to ask Cindy why she talks s*** on JoJo all the time. Cindy responded bluntly that JoJo is a brat, which isn’t entirely untrue. Jessalynn obviously disagreed and told Cindy it’s not fair for her to pick on a 9-year-old. Jessalynn went on to tell Cindy she’s as “wide as she is tall,” to which Cindy stormed out of the room.

It’s no doubt that the tensions were high when the night of the performances came. Abby wanted to see a routine that “captures the spirit of America,” and she sure couldn’t say the first one didn’t. JoJo and Trinity’s duet was even called “American Spirit,” and the girls strutted on state in sparkly stars and stripes crop tops and skirts. They danced to a version of the national anthem, twirling their ribbons around stage. I wasn’t a huge fan of the choreography, but I think Trinity definitely out-danced JoJo. In the ending pose, though, the girls’ ribbons got tangled together! The judges thought that Trinity was great, but JoJo had some work to do. Abby even told her, “I think cute is over. You need to start worrying,” to which Cindy cheered back in the dressing room.

Kalani’s solo, “Rhinestone Cowgirl,” was up next, and, boy, was she on fire! Kalani danced wonderfully and showed her sassy side in this upbeat routine. She even used a saddle and a lasso prop, and let her hair out of her ponytail mid routine. I loved it, and the judges loved it, too. Make sure to watch the full routine in the video below! Gianna would sure have big shoes to fill in her solo.

But first, Travis and McKaylee’s duet, “Show Down,” took the stage. The dancers dressed as cowboys with Travis in cowhide pants, and McKaylee in red fringe pants. Their hip hop moves looked sharp together, and I thought this dance was much better than the other duet. The judges agreed that McKaylee looked great, but Abby wasn’t so sure about Travis. Even though Travis is shorter than McKaylee, Abby thought he should be jumping higher than all the girls simply because he’s a man. Abby seemed to forgot that Travis isn’t a man, but a 12-year-old boy!

Gianna’s solo was the night’s finale. In her routine, “Nashville Sweetheart,” Gianna portrayed a country music star complete with a sparkly guitar prop. I thought she looked good, but just not quite as good as Kalani. Richy thought her performance was solid, but she was missing star power. Abby pointed out that she’s wearing “cheater shoes” on her feet, that don’t even match her skin color. She wasn’t impressed.

The judges talked it out, and decided to put Travis, JoJo, and Gianna in the bottom three. Of course, Trinity’s mom, Tina, had the power to save one of them because her daughter won the challenge. Tina had a difficult time making up her mind, but eventually chose Gianna to save. Jessalynn, of course, was mad because how could Tina not save her duet partner! But to Jessalynn’s relief, between Travis and JoJo, the judges picked Travis to send home.

Next time, the five remaining dancers will be challengde to portray nightmares in their dances. Watch it next Tuesday on Lifetime!

Image: Youtube Screenshot