World of Dance: tWitch should be a permanent judge

Guest judge Stephen “tWitch” Boss has made World of Dance so much better

When World of Dance came back for its fourth season on NBC, it got off to what could, at best, be described as a rocky start. The quality of dancers was just as good as ever, but a lot of the magic was missing.

The scoring system was gone, so any kind of explanation or accountability for the judges’ choices went out the door with it. Then, there were all the distractions, like a seemingly endless string of comments about Jennifer Lopez’s Super Bowl performance and Derek Hough’s TikTok account.

Our favorite World of Dance judge is tWitch from So You Think You Can Dance

Most of us fell in love with Stephen “tWitch” Boss when he was a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance Season 4. He has also appeared on that series as an All-Star and a judge, and there are tons of other reasons to “obsess over” him.

It should come as no surprise, then, that having him show up on World of Dance was exactly what the latest season needed to breathe new life back into it—especially since his many years of being associated with SYTYCD gave him the type of well-rounded perspective necessary for such a big competition. It’s not enough to have a background in only one or two different styles when attempting to provide meaningful commentary on a series that boasts so much variety. So, who could be better than a former contestant and judge on a different competition series?

At a time when some of the regular judges’ criticisms are so bad that others call them out, it’s so nice to have someone like tWitch who can be the voice of reason. It’s hard to imagine Derek Hough turning to him and saying, “I don’t know what you think you saw,” like he recently had to with Ne-Yo.

WORLD OF DANCE — “Duels” — Pictured: (l-r) Styles & Emma, Oxygen — (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC) /

Then, there’s tWitch’s special role in all of this. He’s not just someone to provide feedback; he also gets to pick which two acts enter the Redemption battle after each set of Duels. If his first choice—ballet duo Styles and Emma versus urban dance crew Oxygen—is any indication, the man really knows how to pick them.

Honestly, if he hadn’t already won us over way before now, actually putting some respect on ballet would have definitely done it. Ballet provides a technical foundation that can be applied almost anywhere, and reality TV is forever neglecting it.

With this season’s Duels apparently only matching apples to apples, pitting two such different types of dances against each other had the potential to create some real drama about who should or should not have advanced to the next round. But thanks to his background, tWitch is no stranger to seeing how the best competitors can sometimes be the least evenly matched. On top of that, the actual performances from both groups were two of the given by anyone so far in World of Dance Season 4.

Because of that eye for picking the best of the best, then throwing them up against each other in truly interesting pairings, the case for never letting tWitch go seems to be pretty clear. Add to that his great commentary, and it ought to be a done deal.

And if we have to waste time talking about TikTok? Look no further than the “twitchtok.”

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There’s really no better choice than to keep tWitch on World of Dance forever. Or, at least, keep him until that other dance show comes calling for an All-Star or guest judge again, TV gods willing.

What do you think? Would tWitch make a great permanent judge on World of Dance? Share your thoughts with us!

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World of Dance should make Stephen “tWitch” Boss a permanent judge

By Shana Lieberman | Jul 21, 2020

Guest judge Stephen “tWitch” Boss has made World of Dance so much better

Our favorite World of Dance judge is tWitch from So You Think You Can Dance