Atlanta trio on NBC's 'World of Dance' season starting May 29

Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

NBC's "World of Dance" season two tonight will feature a trio from the renowned Atlanta dance troupe Dragonhouse: Andre "Droiid" Rucker of Marietta, Dorian "Bluprint" Hector of Duluth and Taylor Pierce, who now lives in Texas.

The winner takes home $1 million and dance crews from the around the world compete.

UPDATE: The trio did not appear in the debut episode so presumably they will show up in a future one.

Dragonhouse has been around for eight years and is known for its animation/robotic type dance. It's a rotating group of 20 men and women. Nigel Lythgoe of "So You Think You Can Dance" has been particularly taken by the group and several members from the group have performed on the show over the years.

Bluprint made the top 16 season 10 of "So You Think You Can Dance." Droiid made it to Hollywood one season on that show.

This is the first time this particular trio has performed on TV. "We mix very well together. Dorian is good at putting the routine to a beat. Taylor brings a female quality and gives the group balance."

I caught up with Drooid recently at Rockwell Dance Academy in Acworth, where he demonstrated some of his animation moves for me:

Droiid, who went to Cedar Grove High School in Decatur with Bluprint, said the better performers have their own agents. His agent sets him up for music videos, TV commercials half-time shows at sporting events and corporate events that need dancers to jazz things up. He's been a full-time professional dancer for four years.

"World of Dance" is just another place to showcase his skills. And it's an invite-only show. You can't just audition off the street.

The entire season was pre-taped. There is no public voting. The judges - including Atlanta's Ne-Yo, former "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez and "Dancing With the Stars" pro Derek Hough - make all the decisions.

Droiid, 27, felt it was more difficult than "So You Think You Can Dance."

"I think it's tougher working in a group than just doing it by yourself," he said. "They want every routine to be a million-dollar routine. They're stricter. It's just more competitive. The judges can be harsh! We had no idea how hard it would be."