What You Waiting For?

Season	Episode
2	31

Release dates

Air date

December 19, 2014

Air date

July 1, 2015

Credits

Writer(s)

Frank van Keeken

Director

Mitchell Ness

Chronology
Previous	Next
"I Don't Know"	"You Love Me"

“	I’m gonna show them how you really win at Nationals.	”
— Michelle

Click here to see more quotes.

"What You Waiting For?"is the 31st episode in Season 2 of The Next Step and the 61st episode overall. It aired on December 19, 2014.

Synopsis[]

Michelle can't leave the mall due to shoplifting allegations, jeopardizing her chances at winning against Amanda in the female solo round.

Plot[]

Amanda season 2 5 — Amanda accidentally claps for The Next Step.

Riley and James have just won the duet round and are celebrating their advancement to the female solo round with the rest of A-Troupe. Michelle confesses that she is excited to be facing Amanda in the next round, while Amanda is worried. Since there are six hours before Michelle has to perform, the dancers are permitted to go to the mall so long as Michelle returns an hour before her performance. After their departure, Lucien pulls Tess aside and tells her to make sure that Michelle doesn't return in time.

At the mall, Michelle tells the other dancers that she has to buy a souvenir for her mom and will catch up with them later. While Michelle is browsing, Tess sneakily places one of the store's bottles of perfume into Michelle's bag, unbeknownst to Michelle. As Michelle leaves the store, the security alarms sound and, upon checking her bag, the store clerk finds the aforementioned item and assumes that Michelle was trying to steal it. Despite her protest, Michelle is taken away by two mall security guards. Meanwhile, a dancer from Life of Dance is performing her solo, which Amanda watches. She confesses that she lost the solo round the previous year, causing the team to be unable to qualify for semi-finals, and that she cannot let her team down again.

In the security office, Michelle is stuck with the two bickering mall cops. She suggests that they check the security tape, but their irritability causes them to merely reply to her in a snarky manner (the female guard even suggests that Michelle could go and steal a new ceiling fan to replace the faulty one in the office). Michelle realizes that she probably won't return in time for her solo.

Kate is growing nervous, as all of the dancers except for Michelle have returned. Elsewhere, Amanda overhears Tess telling Lucien that she took care of Michelle. Upon further inquiry, Tess tells her what happened. Amanda is offended and angry, as she wants to win fairly and because she feels as though the two don't believe in her. Soon, A-Troupe begins wildly searching for Michelle. They call her cellphone, but the female security guard forbids Michelle from answering it. Michelle says she thought every felon was allowed one phone call, but is told by the male guard that rule doesn't apply in the security office. Chloe decides to go back to the mall to search for Michelle, while everyone else returns to the venue. Riley decides it would be best if she prepares an alternate solo. As Riley prepares back at the venue, Kate is worried; Riley is wearing her duet costume, hasn't practiced the solo, and Kate knows it isn't as good as Michelle's. Curiously, she is sure Elite has something to do with it. At the security office, the security footage finally loads onto the computer and it is proven that Michelle didn't steal the perfume. Michelle makes her exit, leaving the guards arguing about the bungled arrest. Michelle runs into Chloe in the mall and the two race back to the venue. Amanda goes on-stage to perform her solo. She finishes and, just as Riley is about to go on-stage, Michelle arrives. Riley almost faints with relief.

Amanda michelle season 2 2 — Amanda and Michelle await the verdict.

Michelle quickly changes into her costume and goes on-stage. After a fierce and intense performance, fueled at the anger she feels at being frames, Michelle and Amanda await the judges' verdict. While waiting, Amanda assures Michelle that she had nothing to do with Tess's actions. The Next Step wins and moves on to the semi-finals. Amanda congratulates Michelle and also apologizes, as she realizes that she has put the studio through a lot. Elite leaves, disappointed, although Amanda admits that Michelle deserved to win.

Trivia[]

Given that the female solo round takes place 6 hours after the duet round and the duet round presumably takes place on a Saturday (given that it starts at 11am), this episode takes place on a Saturday, the fourth day of the competition.
Amanda was the female soloist for Elite Dance Academy at the 16th Annual Nationals, but lost to an unknown studio.
Joanne Chapman's School of Dance has qualified for the semi-finals at Nationals.
The Next Step Dance Studio has defeated Elite in the female solo round, and has qualified for the semi-finals.

Continuity[]

Based on the fact that Riley is wearing her pointe shoes and says that she will perform a solo that she prepared for the "auditions" if Michelle does not return on time, it is implied that it would have been her solo to "When the War Is Over", which she performed in "Never Enough" and "Game On".
Michelle's solo incorporates choreography that she rehearsed with Eldon's help in "Water It".

Behind the Scenes[]

The song that Michelle performs her solo to features vocals by Tamina Pollack-Paris, who plays Tiffany.

Errors[]

Emily's hairstyle changes from a French braid to a complex braid around her head between A-Troupe celebrating James and Riley's duet win and her, Michelle, Chloe, Riley and James being at the mall, and when she, Chloe, Riley and James next appear at the Living Arts Centre, her hair is back in a French braid.
- While it is unlikely that she would take the time to change her hairstyle in between, it is still possible that she would do so, especially since both James and Riley needed time to change from their duet costumes into their A-Troupe uniforms and Riley removed all her performance make-up, and there were a few female solo performances between their time at the mall and return to the Living Arts Centre.
While Sabrina is performing her solo, Tré Armstrong claims that Life of Dance defeated Joanne Chapman's School of Dance in the semi-finals at the 16th Annual Nationals, contradicting all past and future statements that LOD actually defeated them in the finals.
It is stated several times in this episode that Michelle is defending her Miss National Soloist title. This does not logically make sense, as since Michelle’s old studio is located in Madison, Wisconsin, it can be presumed that she would have won Miss National Soloist at the 16th Annual Nationals in the United States of America, which would make her technically unable to defend her title at this Nationals.
- However, it is possible that those speaking just mean that Michelle is attempting to win Miss National Soloist for a second time, albeit in different countries.
Only seven female solos are shown, but there are supposed to be eight soloists competing.
- Given the order of the solos and the line-up of the teams competing in the semi-finals, the female solo that was not shown was the team that went up against Life of Dance.
Given that The Next Step was supposed to compete last in the female solo round, it is likely that they also competed last (or close to last) in the duet round. Logically, it should not take six hours for seven female soloists to dance.

Production Errors[]

When Amanda is performing her solo, at various points, the Elite Dance Academy team and Lucien are missing from the wing where they are watching her dance.