University of Texas Arlington's paper, the Short Horn, interviewed Fanny Pak's Tiffani Grant about being on tour, their favorite stop, trying out for ABDC while recovering from an accident, and post-tour plans. Read it here.
A few days later, they caught up with ASIID, Break Sk8, and SoReal Cru, talking about the past (their America's Best Dance Crew appearances), present (the ABDC Live Tour) and futures. They also have candids from the show and the interviews (like this SoReal Cru shot)Read it here.
Each day this week, I'll post a video of one of my personal favorite crews from the America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 Auditions in New York. Important warning and disclaimer: I am not a judge and have absolutely NO impact on the judges. My only qualification is being a huge fan of the show. For another opinion on the auditions, read this post by Stuff Fly People Like.
Today's crew: Urban X from Lawrence, MA. While their routine is longer than most, they also showed more levels with a nice mix of group work and solos.
Each day this week, I'll post a video of one of my personal favorite crews from the America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 Auditions in New York. Important warning and disclaimer: I am not a judge and have absolutely NO impact on the judges. My only qualification is being a huge fan of the show.
The crew de jour: Fr3sh (and yes, I chose them as one of my top crews even before BABDC started getting comments about them!). They auditioned last year, but with different members and have been performing in San Francisco. I thought their dance showed very tight moves, exceptional coordination between the music and the choreography, and a cohesive story. Judge for yourself:
The crews who auditioned for Season 3 of America's Best Dance Crew already have advanced technique and choreography. But, many of them made mistakes that diminished the impact of their performances. So -- for you crews who are trying out in LA, thinking about Season 4 auditions, or just looking to improve your game -- here are the top 3 suggestions made by the judges during the NY auditions:
Look up at the camera while you're dancing. This was an issue particularly with B-boy groups. And, while you're looking, show that you're having fun.
Vary your 'level.' If you start out fast and furious, there will be nowhere left to go unless you also have some slower sections. If you start out slow, build it up. This makes your routine more interesting and shows your range
Finish your moves. Crew members had some incredible dance moves, but they didn't always look 'completed' and didn't always lead smoothly to the next section of the dance.
Each day this week, I'll post a video of one of my personal favorite crews from the America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 Auditions in New York. Important warning and disclaimer: I am not a judge and have absolutely NO impact on the judges. My only qualification is being a huge fan of the show.
Featured today: Round 1, from New Jersey. The crew has been together for 3 years and auditioned for ABDC once before. Why they stand out for me: these guys ooze likeability. They were fresh, engaging and funny, both during the interview and their dance routine.
TV Guide talked to Shane Sparks about the America's Best Dance Crew auditions. Read it here. His reflections and advice:
"Try your best to be in the crew.What happens is the dancers get out there and they're left alone. Third episode comes around and they're doing their own choreography, so the level they came in with dropped."
He's expecting fierce competition. "I think we proved our point [as a serious show...People I really respect in the business are coming out."
Why he's not judging the auditions: "As humans, we pre-judge...I like it when I see them for the very first time on the very first episode … with clean eyes."
There's a lot out there on the America's Best Dance Crew Live tour, but The Fresh Fiends provides some unique photos and videos, including a tour of the Tour bus, and a video showing that "everytime DJ Virman leaves the building, all the girls scream because they think he’s one of the JabbaWockeeZ."
Each day this week, I'll post a video of one of my personal favorite crews from the America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 Auditions in New York. Important warning: I am not a judge and have absolutely NO impact on the judges. My only qualification is being a huge fan of the show.
Here's Main Event, from Brooklyn NY. They've been together since 1999, I find them a little scary -- one crew member is called Nugget - The Bone Breaking King. That said, they've got all kinds of exciting and sick moves, both individually and as a crew. UPDATE: Main Event competed on America's Best Dance Crew Season 3, with a name change: Ringmasters.
Blogging America's Best Dance Crew is invited to cover the Los Angeles auditions for ABDC Season 3 this Saturday, October 25. If you are interested in covering the auditions for this blog and have a video or still camera, email me ASAP at bloggingbestdancecrew@gmail.com. We can't pay, but we can guarantee that you'll have a great time.
Update: This is now filled, and we're really looking forward to seeing their report.. Thanks to all who wrote in.
Each day this week, I'll post a video of one of my personal favorite crews from the America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 Auditions in New York. Important warning: I am not a judge and have absolutely NO impact on the judges. My only qualification is being a huge fan of the show.
Today's featured performance: Point Blank, from Philadelphia. The group is composed of members of 2 crews that competed for several years, then decided to work together a few months ago. The crew includes an engineer, a dance instructor, a marketing person, and a dental assistant. And, their earbud shtick is priceless.
I just emailed this note to Customer Support at JBWZ.com:
"Hi, this is Nancy T. at Blogging America's Best Dance Crew. A number of readers are really unhappy that you are not offering the adult-sized JBWZ Halloween costume because you're out of the adult size T-shirts. I would like to suggest that you offer the other JBWZ T-shirts as an adult substitute, for the same $50 price.
You'll get more customers and make more money overall -- especially since ABDC Live tour is almost over so that the overall demand for JBWZ Ts will decline very soon (at least until just before XMas). You'll also make a lot of JabbaWockeeZ fans very happy. Thanks for considering this idea."
Readers - if you're still interested in a JBWZ costume but they're out of your size, I suggest you also contact them at support@tribecka.com.
Rebel Yell talked to the hometown team -- Super Cr3w -- during their stopover in Las Vegas. Ben was especially glad to perform at home: "I finally get a chance to see my son...it sucks that we have to leave early." Conclusion: "Super Cr3w is on a mission to bring b-boying out to the masses."
Speaking of Las Vegas: Lexi Batista blogs about her experience in competing with her crew Meccamee for the privilege of opening the ABDC Live Tour in Vegas. Read this wild post about the experience of competing and meeting Joey from ASIID and Matt from Fanny Pak. Lexi is also quoted in the Rebel Yell article. Here's their performance -- wish we'd been there!
On Saturday, I attended the New York auditions for ABDC Season 3, and watched 37 of the 40 auditioning crews. I had planned to stay only about 2 hours, but couldn't leave -- it was too much fun watching the crews perform! I knew there must be perks to working so hard on this blog!
Over the next few days, I'll share information on the day, including an interview with one of the judges and some fun facts. And each day this week, I'll post a video of my personal favorite crews from the day. Important: I am not a judge and have absolutely NO impact on the judges. My only qualification is being a huge fan of the show. So, don't call me out for influence or stupidity.
MTV just posted the MADE episode where Marie becomes a hip hop dancer, with guidance from Sam Renzetti of Xtreme Dance Force. Here's the segment where she takes lessons from Shane Sparks at Millennium Dance Center, then visits the America's Best Dance Crew set where she gets dance tips from Supreme Soul, Fanny Pak, and A.S.I.I.D.
Remember Status Quo from Season 1 of America's Best Dance Crew and the VMA Challenge in Season 2? They reappeared at the Season 2 auditions in New York, but in two different groups! First up was R2D2, which features Jamal from the old Status Quo:
R2D2:
A little while later, Status Quo auditioned-- same name, some different members, different logo. The newer members were all part of the larger Status Quo but didn't compete the first season because they were too young or too busy with school. Here's their video:
Dallas area people -- have some friends you want to take to America's Best Dance Crew Live on October 22? The Dallas Pulse is offering two tickets for the price of one, but only for its members and MySpace friends. Click here for details.
Yesterday, I was able to attend the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 3. Over the next few days, I'll post photos, videos, and some interviews from the day. Here are some first news and impressions.
There will be no casting special. Instead the casting directors will pick nine crews to compete in January 2008.
Picking only 9 crews is going to be EXTREMELY difficult. I saw about 8 crews (out of the 37 I watched) who could have competed in Seasons 1 or 2. And, Michelle (the casting director in NY) told me that there have been at least 5 strong contenders in each city they've visited so far.
I don't know about you, but the reason I watch American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance casting shows is to watch people with NO talent make fools of themselves. ABDC couldn't make a show like that from the NY auditions -- ALL the crews we saw were talented dancers
I also watch casting shows to see nasty judges tear into smug performers. ABDC casting didn't do that. The judges' comments were all either positive or constructive.
These crews were incredibly NICE. If there were ego problems, almost everyone kept them under control. That had to have been difficult given the frazzled nerves, the weather conditions (the crews waited outside in the cold for hours!), and the high stakes.
In an upcoming post, I'll give some tips for crews participating in future auditions (Los Angeles or Season 4).
University of Texas Arlington's paper, the Short Horn, interviewed Fanny Pak's Tiffani Grant about being on tour, their favorite stop, trying out for ABDC while recovering from an accident, and post-tour plans. Read it here.
