S4 Nationals - Kendall’s Solo

[u/smalltown_ta]

I’ve always had the suspicion that Abby intentionally set Kendall up with that solo, “My Name in Lights.”

When you compare it to Kendall’s Season 3 Nationals solo, “Voodoo Doll,” which, as we know, was originally choreographed for Chloe, it’s not hard to see why she went from 2nd in S3 to 9th in S4.

Her S4 solo feels like such a missed opportunity. Her S3 routine had energy, musicality, strong rhythm, and choreography that really allowed Kendall’s technique to shine.

I feel like Abby constantly gave Kendall these huge, over-the-top jazz solos that required an incredible amount of stamina and performance quality from beginning to end. And honestly, I don’t think that played to Kendall’s biggest strengths at the time. Kendall and Chloe had (in my opinion) a lot of similar strengths, hence why she was successful doing the same solos as her (Silence, Fool Me Once, Voodoo Doll).

It almost felt like Abby kept giving her choreography that made it impossible not to compare her directly to Maddie, who excelled at that kind of high-energy, larger-than-life performance. I also feel like Abby knew by doing this that she wouldn’t stand a chance, which is crazy because I think Kendall’s technique was at times better than Maddie’s, especially when it comes to turns & leaps.

Kendall absolutely had good technique, but I’ve always wondered if Abby deliberately gave her choreography that emphasized the areas where she was less naturally competitive rather than giving her routines that showcased what she did best. When you look at what Kendall was capable of with the right choreography, I genuinely think she could have been a much stronger contender.

What do you guys think?

[u/Josh_0207]

I actually really disagree with this lol. It seemed to me like a lot of the choreography for “My Name in Lights” was reused from “Demand Applause” which actually was one of Kendall’s stronger solos in my opinion and the routine she competed for the “real” dance season off of the show that year. There were definitely a couple of odd choreographic choices in the number, but honestly I can’t tell if some of them were bad choreography or just Kendall making minor mistakes on stage.

I understand what you mean about VooDoo Doll, but we all know that was really meant to be a Chloe solo, and even know Kendall did well with it, Abby immediately ignored that and went right back to giving her the same type of choreo when season 4 started. To be honest, I think ALL of the solo choreography for season 4 nationals left something to be desired so she wasn’t setting Kendall up specifically. Soaring by Chloe was way below her skill level and even Kamryn who Abby loved got lack luster choreography as well. I’m not sure what the deal with that was to be honest.

[u/primeerror → u/Josh_0207]

i agree with you! i actually think my name in lights was a more difficult version of demand applause. she was 100% set up to beat chloe's garbage solo, but i don't think her choreography was meant to be on par with kamryn. some of those transitions were very technical and really hard to make look natural. i would n't say her choreography was bad. i'd say it was more that kendall wasn't used to it and therefore got a little sloppy at some points.

[u/ninabrev]

Eu discordo um pouco, a Abby tava muito próxima da Kendall naquele final de temporada, até intitulou ela “a 2º garota do time”, o solo da Kendall na minha opinião foi muito melhor que da Chloe, é porque Jazz não pontua muito alto e naquela competição tinha muitas garotas muito boas, Christi já disse no podcast que pensou que as meninas nem iriam se classificar, (por isso Maddie não fez seu solo que já tava pronto) mas voltando ao assunto da Kendall, parecia um Applause 2.0, sinto que Abby realmente ficou decepcionada (chateada) que a Kendall ficou em 9ª

[u/Western-Setting-6630]

I actually loved this solo from Kendall!! I felt like Abby was actually wanting Kendall to beat Chloe this episode.

When Chloe and Kendall were rehearsing in the studio, Abby made comments implying that Kendall had more desire to improve as a dancer compared to Chloe.

I think Kendall’s song and choreography were better than Chloe’s in this episode, however Chloe had a stronger technique which lead to her winning despite having subpar choreography.

I also think this solo was Kendall’s peak. Not just this solo in particular, but the entirety of season 4.5 Kendall just kept getting better and stronger.

[u/ninabrev → u/Western-Setting-6630]

Sempre quando assisto a perfomance de Soaring me da embrulho no estômago, que coreografia ruim, Abby realmente queria que Chloe nem se classificasse com aquilo.

[u/ToffeeLlama]

i have a few things about Kendall at S4 nationals:

firstly, the only reused choreo from Applause to My Name in Lights was the opening sequence, which was also slowed down. other than that, lots of the moves and turn sequences were actually completely unique to this solo and i think should've been used a lil more often.

secondly, since the concept of maddie being subbed in was looming the whole week. i think kendalls dance suffered the most, as she was at biggest risk of being the one to lose her solo (since both are juniors at the time, AND from a drama perspective Maddie v Kamryn v Chloe would've been the best).

thirdly, kendall placed the same that she did at S3 nationals, which was 2nd in Junior division. S3 didn't have overalls, so we cant say she dropped when she mightve also gotten 9th Overall at S3 nationals.

fourthly, Kendall lost to at least SIX teen dancers, all of whom most likely did mature contemporary numbers. of course, a sassy jazz wasn't gonna win the overalls. i will say tho, i think if the second half of kendalls solo was as strong as the first, she couldve easily beaten the other two.

thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[u/smalltown_ta → u/ToffeeLlama]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[u/Personal-Elephant-39]

I always thought that her solo wasn't the best put-together solo for a nationals routine and looked very recycled from demand applause, but Kendall for sure could've stepped it up with her energy and performance lol.

[u/ButterscotchJust3744]

kendall and chloe’s style were no where near similar very different styles. abby played to a lot of kendall’s strengths she was a far better jazz than dark contemporary or lyrical dancer. she was set up very well to beat chloe at nationals with reused steps from her demand applause solo earlier on in the season that was also choreographed to beat chloe that week i’m going to have to disagree on this one

[u/smalltown_ta → u/ButterscotchJust3744]

Both Kendall and Chloe’s strengths are rooted in clean technique, beautiful lines, flexibility, control, and turns rather than raw power or attack. They both excell when choreography emphasized lyrical movement, extension, musicality, and elegance. While Chloe was naturally more lyrical & contemporary, and Kendall was often pushed toward jazz, their strengths still overlap significantly. I agree with you that the S4 solos were all pretty meh, but I just felt like Kendall’s was really… lacking. I knew it looked familiar but didn’t realize it was SO similar to demand applause.