Dance music is no stranger to, well, dance competitions. Though various dance forms like modern, jazz, and contemporary tend to use more classical, pop, and instrumental works, hip hop takes no shame in borrowing from the sometimes erratic and often wildly fun rhythms of EDM.
During this season of America’s Got Talent, 11-year-old dancer Noah Epps stunned the judges with a unique marionette performance utilizing many elements of popping, including animation, ticking, bone breaking, tutting, and dime stops to emulate the bizarre movements of a stringed puppet. The costume and make up only served to further emphasis the unnaturalness of Epps’ movements, with painted-on joints that matched his inhuman jerks, pops, and isolations.
The latter part of his performance is what made dance music fans flood AGT’s Twitter with Excision references, as the young dancer used “Exterminate” in his set. In the scope of his audition, it’s a bit of an odd choice, jarring ferociously with the more light-hearted, carnival-esque hip hop in the first half. But at the end of the day, that matters very little and it was a joy to see our favorite dubstep lord on the small screen. 
Check out the performance below! Though the video doesn’t show past his performance, we can save you the trouble and let you know that Epps received four out of four “Yes” votes from the judges.
Killing it dude! Nice song choice 😉 https://t.co/wbSGSbSPfH
— Excision (@Excision) June 19, 2020
