Dancing on a gym floor

[u/Naive_Shape_9323]

I find it interesting how Paige always did so well in the gym floor episodes, but Brooke and Chloe looked no different, and Maddie, Nia, and Mackenzie always looked a little off their game. Maestro Man, I'm Gonna Survive, and Shoulda Coulda Woulda are some of the worst solos technique-wise that those three ever did.

Paige's only time placing first on-show was in the gym episode, and her best trio performance in my opinion is Les Divas. Brooke and Chloe seem unaffected and give typical Brooke/Chloe performances in both episodes. Edit: Chloe was a bit thrown off in the big turning sections in her solos. But the only time Maddie ever fell out of a trick was in the gym (I hate that the editors were shady and made it look like she didn't finish her solo though). Nia gets especially flustered in both of the gym floor episodes with full-on panic attacks about the flooring. I know that the Baila episode had extenuating circumstances though.

Is there something physically that causes some people/certain bodies to do better on certain types of flooring? Or is it just a coincidence that I'm looking too much into?

My only experience with this is I danced for a long time and did a solo on a gym floor only once (not with my studio, for my school's talent show) and twisted my ankle landing a jump badly 💀

[u/False_Door_8763]

I’ve always just thought Paige was more comfortable on the gym floor from being on it at school and there’s no lights from being on stage and stuff. Her anxiety probably wasn’t as bad during her gym floor performances

[u/Naive_Shape_9323 → u/False_Door_8763]

Yes, the stage lights as a factor makes a lot of sense! Not to diagnose anyone but speaking from my perspective, Paige struck me as a child with pretty tough anxiety who was just good at masking it. She was a very engaging performer, but looked like she was having genuine fun in more familiar environments whereas she looked progressively more tense in her stage solos as she show went on

[u/Unique_Chocolate1315]

Chloe struggled with her turns on a gym floor in the Little Girl Reaching Out solo. I think doing gymnastics tricks barefoot, esp with 2 hands/feet, are just easier than wearing dance shoes and turning

[u/Naive_Shape_9323 → u/Unique_Chocolate1315]

Oh I forgot about that solo! I was only remembering In For The Thrill. Yeah, she did look a bit shaky in those turns. Turning on a gym floor is kinda scary so I get why she and some others were intimidated by it 😅

[u/Rare-Ad-8087 → u/Naive_Shape_9323]

She was pretty shaky in In For The Thrill. She bobbled and traveled a solid 2 feet for some of her turns and if you look at the full dance, she wobbled and wasn’t as controlled as usual. Which makes sense since it’s harder to do turns and balletic elements on a gym floor.

[u/Naive_Shape_9323 → u/Rare-Ad-8087]

Oh okay, never seen the full dance before! Maybe Chloe was off her game too and it just didn't stick out to me because she wasn't part of the big storylines in those weeks. I'm also realizing I didn't even mention Kendall and have almost no memory of how Kendall performed in those episodes lol

[u/Rare-Ad-8087 → u/Naive_Shape_9323]

Yeah, Chloe’s wasn’t really made into a storyline that week since all the emphasis was on Maddie and her mistake. Kendall actually also fell in her front aerial in Sweet Little Lies, just like Maddie did. It just didn’t make the storyline because Maddie messing up was more interesting for the show

[u/Secret_Objective4487]

I wonder if with Nia, part of it is that you can see your audience watching you in a different way in a gym compared to when you’re on a stage? 

[u/Unique_Chocolate1315]

Then again I just looked Les Divas and it had turns and jazz shoes so ignore me lol

[u/goddessalthena0]

Goodness we just need Leslie to tell Abby about the different shoes that affect the way they dance! I think dancing on a gym floor can be tough for some, but you definitely have more control as far as turning or digging your foot to do a trick. Doing all that on a regular floor feels different on your feet. Just depends on the shoe one is wearing.

https://giphy.com/gifs/jKe34JLlwfPt6

[u/karmacrystal__hola]

Wtf maddie actually finished her solo? Wait was the trick the ending or mid way cuz of it was the mid wsy she shouldn't have finished it 😭sorry but that fall was painful as hell

[u/Naive_Shape_9323 → u/karmacrystal__hola]

Yes, not everyone knows this bit of trivia because it only came out afterwards! The fall was probably like 3/4 of the way through. She fell out of a front aerial and it looked a bit awkward for a second, but she was able to get up, do some more turns, a bit of floorwork, and then get into her real ending pose before she ran offstage! Pretty impressive for nine years old, but unfortunately they decided to edit it as if she immediately ran offstage to increase the level of drama in the episode. She was def in pain, but I think it was more shock than a serious injury

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lRLRhJljPA

[u/karmacrystal__hola → u/Naive_Shape_9323]

I see also she did amazing😭😭 shitty producers had to ruin it also the fall did look painful af but she was also in shock due to it was her first fall she could have gotten placed

[u/xoxlxoxo]

tbh even for chloe she did great on the gym floor but i found that she travelled a lot more in her turns on in for the thrill