By: Alexandria McLean | @itbalexandria

It’s the moment The Next Step dancers have all been waiting for, Nationals! Nationals consist of a number of different elimination rounds that A-Troupe needs to survive through in order to make it to the finals. First up is the male soloist elimination round. Eldon, the male soloist for A-Troupe, reflects on the strength of his team and concludes that The Next Step is stronger than ever.

While Eldon watches the other male dancers compete, Giselle, West and Emily, represent A-Troupe in a scavenger hunt to win tickets to see Shawn Desman perform. Some of the scavenger hunt activities include finding a seat, solving a riddle to find a costume, and taking a picture with Shawn Desman. Working together Giselle, West and Emily are able to outwit Elite and pull ahead. There luck begins to run out when the line up to take a photo with Shawn Desman is ridiculously long. West comes up with the idea to pretend to be a celebrity in order to cut the line. Using his alter ego Compass, the trio takes a picture with Shawn, which puts them in the lead and the winners of the tickets to see Shawn perform.

Back at the competition, A-Troupe watches Elite’s male soloist Max perform. His performance is great and a lot better than they thought. The Next Step dancers view him as a mix of Daniel and Eldon as he is both graceful and powerful. After Max’s breathtaking routine, Elite moves on.

How will Eldon’s solo routine go? Will it be enough for A-Troupe to move on?

Catch all new episodes of The Next Step Fridays at 7:30PM on Family Channel.