Personal tragedy has the power to create a metaphorical divide between those we love… it also has the beautiful capability to bond those same people together.
The young dancers that make up The Lab, a crew that’s competing on this season of NBC’s “World of Dance,” know this at their core. Their most recent performance on the show put that very experience to music in a heart-wrenching routine.
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The Lab’s routine was inspired by a tragic event in one dancer’s life; we don’t know what that tragedy was, but the details are unimportant here.
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What’s important is that their nearly flawless routine highlighted the importance of surrounding yourself with friends and loved ones, especially in times of crisis. They’re the ones whose love and support will serve as a guide as you forge your way through those tunnels of darkness and back into the light.
The performance visualizes strength in numbers, how your loved ones can hold you up when you fall down.
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The young lady whose experience inspired the routine spoke directly to the judges afterward, tears streaming down her face and her voice choked with sobs: “I think the importance of the set is to show that you have to be able to go to the people you trust and love. I’m so grateful for everyone that helped me get this experience.”
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The 15-member hip-hop crew hails from Southern California’s Lab Creative Arts Studio, which teaches dance classes to children and young adults from Orange and Los Angeles counties. Beyond taking classes there, the members of The Lab all share the fact that they come from broken homes, but bond with each other through their shared love of dance and self-expression.
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Their routine, set to Major Lazer and Justin Bieber’s “Cold Water,” featured precisely executed choreography, but the final moments were especially powerful, as the entire crew surrounded their teammate in support.
All the judges were taken aback by the sheer power of what they’d just seen, but no one was more impressed than often stoic Derek Hough. He literally had to choke down tears to continue talking.
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“The most beautiful thing about [your experience] is having people around you that support you … You guys are so powerful as a team, and as dancers, as creators … You guys are just so special. Well done.”
Jennifer Lopez and Ne-Yo agreed, too, saying the routine was infused and fueled by such raw emotion and love that they felt it themselves, just sitting there watching. “There’s nothing better than real and genuine emotion. When you can make me feel what I’m supposed to feel watching what you do – victory, hands down.”
Watch the emotion-infused routine that won them a nearly perfect score, and share to wish them luck as they move on to the Division Finals!
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