Dance Crews: Audition on February 28 to win $10,000 and national exposure!

Clearasil is searching for crews to battle it out to become the first Clearasil Dance Crew. They've partnered with celebrity choreographer GEO, the Godfather of Dance Crews and the owner of Icon Dance Complex, to execute a casting call to identify the five hottest dance crews.

On Saturday, February 28, 2009, auditions will take place at Icon Dance Complex in Englishtown, NJ from Noon to 4 p.m. Teenage crews, aged 13 to 22 and in groups of five to eight members, will have the chance to perform a one minute dance routine in front of a panel of judges including GEO, Beth Hubela and a New York City talent agent. As the judges narrow down the crews to the top ten, they will then be asked to perform a free style sequence to be named one of the five finalists.

The five winning crews will advance to round two of the competition as they compete in the "Clearasil Pimple Blocker Battle" in Times Square on April 7, 2009, for the opportunity to become the first Clearasil Dance Crew and win a prize package worth over $10,000. Dance crews will compete in the 'battle' against acne to promote Clearasil's new UltraPimple Blocker Pen.

For more information on the Clearasil(R) Dance Crew Casting Call visit www.clearasil.us/pimpleblockerbattle.

Details on Week 7 Hip Hop Decathlon Challenge

MTV Remote Control reports that the 3 remaining crews on America's Best Dance Crew will have to incorporate five different hip hop moves into their routines during the "hip hop decathlon." The moves and their ABDC alum teachers include:

• HOUSING - Taeko (Fysh n Chicks)
• TUTTING - Mike (Kaba Modern)
• THREADING - Ronnie B. (Super Cr3w)
• WAVING -KB (aka Kevin) (JabbaWockeeZ)
• KRUMPING - Frost (Supreme Soul)

Photocredit: MTV

Mailbox: Will there be an all girl finale?, great ratings, new Fanny Pak video

• MTV Remote Control fans the flames by positing an all-female finale. As you might expect, the word "rigged" appears in many of the comments.
• According to TV by the Numbers, America's Best Dance Crew is a hit. On Thursday February 19 it was the #1 cable show for people 12-34. The show's coverage ratings are climbing, up 13% from the prior week. Way to go, ABDC!
  
• Jordache299 taped Fanny Pak performing to Black and Gold when they appeared at the 10th Anniversary of Carnival - Choreographer's Ball

Believe it or not: You can still win the Top 4 Challenge!

Thanks to all who submitted entries on which crews will be in the top 4 at the end of this season, in the order of their elimination. If you want to change your vote, here's your weekly chance. At the end of the season, I'll post who won, and who else got the right combination (and in which week).

Now, the top prize may very well STILL be up for grabs. Out of over 200 submissions so far, only 2 have the top 3 crews correct, and one of those submissions has Fly Khicks winning it all! So, someone could still get in NOW with the right combination and win! Enter now -- this round will be open until next Thursday morning.
Click here for contest rules and prize. Good luck!

Mailbox: uproar about Rihanna vs. Chris Brown music on ABDC, SoReal Cru footage

• Jossip bashes America's Best Dance Crew producers for using a songlist for the Battle of the Sexes Challenge that includes songs by Chris Brown and Rihanna. Quote: "For a network so in tune with young people, and for whom Chris Brown and Rihanna are the epitome of celebrity-dom, you would think a last minute effort to change course might have been demanded."
• Disgracian also thinks the Brown/Rihanna song choices were bad timing and bad taste. Quote: "I physically cringed when one of the members of Quest Crew (whom I adore)--in reference to Chris Brown's MJ-esque footwork--said, quite innocently, "No one does it like Chris Brown."
• 5DTV has some cute footage of a SoReal Cru meet and greet in San Diego

Week 6 Recaps - First Batch

• Tamara at Zap2It shares some insights on the bottom 2. She calls Fly Khicks the "teflon dawns". Regarding Strikers:"even if [Mike] didn't mess up I don't know if the decision would have changed much because the song wasn't great. Not only was it unfamiliar, it wasn't their vibe at all and you can only remix a song so much. It just didn't click. So Mike, it wasn't your fault dude." Nancy's editorial comment -- I agree with Tamara.
• GUnitVer1World still has hopes for his boys Quest, but thinks Beat Freaks will actually win
• Seattle PI is predicting a final 2 of Beat Freaks vs. Quest and includes Pacific Rim video backstage interviews

Photocredit: MTV

Beat Freaks on Being called "America's Best Dance Crew"

Pacific Rim talked to judges and crews AFTER the America's Best Dance Crew Week 6 taping (we've already posted about the 9 interviews before - they are determined to document this season!). Here's their talk with Beat Freaks on their reaction to Shane's calling them America's Best Dance crew and demonstrating their robot skills.

Exclusive Podcast with Strikers All-Stars - ABDC is like summer camp!

I spoke with Strikers All-stars on Wednesday, after their elimination on America's Best Dance Crew's Battle of the Sexes Challenge.

After having each member introduce himself, Tallie Brinson talked to me about how going to school together helped the crew work together, what it was like to hear that they were picked for the show, their extensive preparation (think skipping holiday family time for classes and choreography strategizing), how the ABDC experience compares to being on 106th and Park (with Ringmasters!), straightening up some misconceptions about the crew, how far they expected to go, their plans, favorite memories, and much more.

I was bowled over by the insight and planning that Strikers puts into all their actions -- they are clearly the role model for what it takes to succeed on America' Best Dance Crew. Listen in:

The End is even nearer -- Enter Week 6 of our Elimination Challenge contest!

There are only two more weeks for America's Best Dance Crew Season 3, but there's still time to win our Elimination Challenge contest. Enter your votes to predict next week's results: Which crews will be in the bottom 2? Who will be eliminated? Enter each week and the person with the highest cumulative score for Season 3 will win an ABDC crew shirt of their choice and size (up to $35 retail). In case of a tie, we will have a tie-breaker question, to be posted the last week of the contest.

Last week, only 2 people got all 3 points. The current contest leaders are Eddie and Jeff. But given the twists and turns this season, almost anyone could still win. Enter NOW -- here are the rules and details. Entries for this week will be accepted until midnight, Monday February 23.

Week 6 Elimination -- Ironies and interviews

MTV Remote Control reports some irony in the taping of Striker's performance in Week 6: "After Strikers performed and the judges ripped into Money Mike for getting lost in his routine, producers asked Mario to reintroduce the crew because apparently they had experienced a technical issue during the initial take. So once again Mario called the Strikers onto the stage and they started to do their thing … and you better believe Mike was dead on point this time! But alas, the producers only needed to catch the first 15 seconds of the routine. The music stopped abruptly. The reality hit. Mike had nailed it on the second try, but there are no do-overs in dance."

They also run backstage interviews with Fly Khicks and Strikers after the elimination. I think Striker's grace and perspective shows major class.

MTV - Music Videos - MTV Shows - Celebrity News

Send some love to Strikers All-Stars!

Strikers did a phenomenal job of melding their stepping style with hip hop. They rose to each challenge with originality and humor. Their mirror trick in the Britney Spears challenge was a work of art, and their monkey rolls in the Fitness Challenge were amazing! Every week, I looked forward to seeing what they'd bring next.

Tune in later for my podcast with Strikers, taped after the elimination.
This post is only for positive comments about Strikers. If you want to post negative comments about them or about other aspects of ABDC, please leave them in the Party Room/Critics Corner.

Photocredit: MTV

Survey: Which Crew gave the Best Performance in the Battle of the Sexes Magic Challenge?

poll by twiigs.com

Survey: Which Crew gave the Worst Performance in the Battle of the Sexes Challenge?

poll by twiigs.com

VOTE NOW for your favorite Week 6 Crew!

The voting is now open for Week 6: The Battle of the Sexes Challenge, from now until 6am Eastern time. If you want to protect your favorite crew, act now! You can click here to vote. Performance videos will probably be online by 11pm West Coast time, to aid in your choices. You can vote HERE.

Then, please come back to our Critic's Corner! We need you!

What did you think about this week's show? Weigh in at The Party Room/Critics Corner

The party room for America's Best Dance Crew Week 6 is now open! Share your predictions, impressions, frustrations, hates and loves. Guest blogger JD will moderate this reader forum (thanks JD!), while NancyT live-blogs and does play-by-play in a separate BABDC post (just below this post). So, if you want to share your comments with other viewers, leave them here.

After the show is over: Give us your reactions to Week 6 and to the season in general. We'll leave this post open and prominent, so you can comment all the way through to next week!

Live play-by-play blogging of ABDC's Battle of the Sexes Challenge

At 10pm, I'll be watching America's Best Dance Crew and live blogging the facts as I see them. So tune in at 10 and feel free to read along!

Even though this software gives readers the option of sending me comments, please post most of them on the separate Party Room post instead (unless you REALLY want me to see your message real-time). Reason: with this software, reader comments must be manually inserted by me and I'll be busy enough between the TV and the keyboard.

Sneak Peek at Tonight's show from the audience: comebacks, headspins, audience participation, and surprises!

We're abiding by our no spoilers policy, but here's some sneak peek information on America's Best Dance Crew Battle of the Sexes from audience member Chunpreet:

"I was so glad to be apart of the audience. It was one of the best nights/episode I had ever attended out of this season. I'm lucky to get next week's tickets too, because its SOLD OUT! Ahhh!... the amazing things that happened:
- the audience becomes involved in the opening act
- Someone makes a comeback in the beginning of the show
- There's an even BETTER headspin that occurs in the night! Not only did it beat our favorite Jabba's headspin, this person put on their own pair of glasses while in the headspin!
- The elimination was also very surprising!"

Thanks, Chunpreet!

Photocredit: MTV

Field report: Sneak Peek at ABDC Week 6 - The Battle of the Sexes Challenge

Our field reporter Salima Koroma has a sneak peak at America's Best Dance Crew's Week 6, and her backstage coverage (which will be posted in the next day or two):
"Week 6 of ABDC will prove to fans just who's really the more dominant sex: males or females! Yep, get ready for Thursdays episode of Battle of the Sexes! The theme is very fitting since there are two guy groups left as well as two girl groups. The Fly Khicks and Beat Freaks team up against Strikers and Quest in an incredible dance battle that you guys surely won't forget. The episode is extremely fun whether you're rooting for the guys and the girls. And, in terms of eliminations, let's just say that everyone will be pretty surprised by tonight's outcome.

I was able to talk to the Beat Freaks this week, and they were nice enough to show us a few dance moves they'll be using on the dance floor in this week's show. And, hanging out at ABDC this time were a couple of members from last season's winning crew, Super Cr3w. It was extremely exciting to see these guys there! After crew member Vex accidentally stepped on my microphone, he apologized profusely and struck up conversation that turned into a cool, fun interview with him and fellow crew member Do-Knock. They talk about which crew they're supporting, what they did with the winnings, and if they could show me some of their favorite dance moves. Apparently, the guys are huge fans of the "Night at the Roxbury" dance moves (you'll see when you watch the video)!"

Thanks Salima for the report and pictures! I can't wait to see your Beat Freaks and Super Cr3w videos too!

Pacific Rim backstage with the 4 remaining crews - Quest sings, Beat Freaks thank!

Pacific Rim continues its entertaining in-depth backstage work at America's Best Dance Crew, with (count 'em) nine separate short videos taken before the Battle of the Sexes Challenge. Topics include: Quest on boxers vs. briefs, Strikers and Fly Khicks in separate interviews on where to party in their home towns, Quest's D-trix being punk'd. My two favorites: Beat Freaks thanking Super Cr3w and Missy Elliot's choreographer for convincing BF to audition for ABDC (they almost didn't try out this season!), and Quest singing 'A Whole New World' a capella.

TONIGHT -- Join us for live blogging,The Week 6 Critics Corner, and polls

Thank God it's Thursday! Watch America's Best Dance Crew and the Battle of the Sexes Challenge with us tonight! The Week 6 Critics Corner opens at 9:30 ET and stays open as long as you want, so that everyone can comment on anything remotely related to ABDC. Did you like the challenge? What did you think of the opening number? Were the musical choices in bad taste? Who is going to win this thing, anyway?

At 10pm ET, I'll be doing live play-by-play while watching the show, so feel free to tune in and make fun of me or get a sneak preview of the action (for those of you from the West Coast/Canada/India or other ABDC-deprived zones).

Tomorrow morning, please vote in our polls on the best and worst performances. Plus, Week 6 of our Elimination Contest and Top 4 Contest will be on-line, so get in on the action. Join us!

Survey Results for Magic Challenge: Beat Freaks break Quest's winning streak

According to our survey respondents, Beat Freaks ruled the Magic Challenge, and Fly Khicks was the weakest crew of the week. Come back early on Friday to vote in our surveys about the Week 6 'Battle of the Sexes' Challenge on America's Best Dance Crew.

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

The W3st's Midseason Report -- Shane on What It will take to get on ABDC Season 4

The W3st.com revisited America's Best Dance Crew during Magic Week, and share interviews with the judges and the crews. First up: Shane Sparks, Lil Mama, and Layla Kayleigh. Shane talks about how Season 4 will also include specialized skills like bonecrushing and clogging, but the next crews will have to step it up on the choreography. And Lil Mama describes how she's growing up on TV, assesses the crews, and gives food preferences.

ABDC JUDGES PART 2 from www.THEW3ST.com on Vimeo.

Click here to see The W3st's crew interviews, including Beat Freak's response on how they did the magic ball routine.

Upcoming events: JabbaWockeeZ, ASIID, Houston Hiphop festival

• On Friday, February 20, ASIID will perform in Detroit at a launch party for icandymi.com. Click here for details.
  
• JabbaWockeeZ will be performing at the Children Uniting Nations 10th Annual Awards Celebration and event in Los Angeles on February 22. Click here to learn more about this charity and Click here to buy tickets
• On February 28, there will be a hip hop festival in Houston called The Edge, with SoReal Cru among the performers. This promo video has all the details:

Which Season 3 crew will fall victim to the KABA PAK EFFECT?

Beat Freaks Crew (a fansite for Beat Freaks) is really concerned that their favorite ABDC Season 3 crew will fall victim to the KABA PAK EFFECT. What's the Kaba Pak Effect?

From their post: "The KABA PAK Effect happens when America thinks a crew is “good” and doesn’t take responsibility upon themselves to vote...The KABA PAK Effect happened in Season 1 of ABDC when KABA Modern, who were a vast crowd favorite came in a disappointing 3rd place finish. The KABA PAK Effect happened in Season 2 of ABDC when Fanny Pack, another crowd favorite came in a disappointing 3rd place finish as well... we are left with the KABA PAK Effect, a result of laziness, overconfidence, not taking the responsibility to vote, etc…pick your poison. We, America, viewers of ABDC, didn’t take it upon ourselves to vote for the BEST crews and thus we were left with KABA Modern and Fanny Pak withdrawal when viewing each respective season’s Finale."

So, fight the KABA PAK effect and VOTE right. My question is: are Beat Freaks the crew that could be Kaba-fied? Or does is that fate a risk for a different crew this season?
Photocredit: MTV

Video: The Making of Week 6's opening group dance

At last, America's Best Dance Crew stages a number with all the dance crews. MTV Insider posts this video of the making of the boys vs. girls number, featuring choreographers Napoleon Dumo, Tabitha Dumo, Rosero McCoy, and crew members describing the number while you watch rehearsals and inter-crew antics.

MTV - Music Videos - MTV Shows - Celebrity News

Gizmodo readers dissect Beat Freaks' Magic Challenge

All this week, we've been carpeted with questions on how Beat Freaks accomplished their magic ball work on the America's Best Dance Crew Magic Challenge. The gadget gurus and Gizmodo.com posed the question to their readers. Some of the suggestions: magnets (which prompted the comment "Incidentally everyone in the audience was RIPPED APART BY JEWELERY SHRAPNEL"), CGI, string theories, wires, ball substitutions, and special buoyancy materials.
Read it here and stay confused!

And, if you want to watch it one more time to assess the explanations, here's the official video from Fanscape:

New Video - ABDC Crews fooling around after hours

Outthebox is a new Youtube channel with recent Boxcuttuhz clips. My current favorite is this video taken at a farewell party for GOP.

Help Fanny Pak's Phil and his sister

From the Fanny Pak Facebook page, entitle "Phil needs a favor":

SOOOOOOOO...My amazing older sister is graduating college in a few weeks here! YAY!! She has had the same job since freshman year of high school (thats 8 or 9 years now!) and this amazing opportunity has come up in Australia (I"m sure some of you have heard about "The Best Job In The World"). ANYWAY my favor from everyone is I need you to go watch this video we put together. I shot and edited it, and she spoke from her heart! SOOOO, just click the link below and rate it if you like it! The more views and the more high ratings she gets, the better it is for her! Thank you sooooo much in advance! Can't wait to hear what you all think about it!!Much Love, Phil

http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/fMH2kd_1DQk

Nancy's comment- You have to give her a great rating -- she speaks whale!

Quest Tshirts now available

Quest is the the latest ABDC crew to issue Tshirts. Pick this up at Quest Learning Center.

Update -- I've got to cancel the shoutout contest. Sorry!

Due to a misunderstanding on my part in communications with MTV, I am not going to be able to conduct the shout-out contest as earlier posted. Sorry to all of you who already responded. I'm working on another good contest that doesn't involve the finale and will announce it soon (I hope!).

JabbaWockeeZ Part III: Unmasked at the All-stars Game

One more post for the JabbaWockeeZ fan: here they are unmasked with Dwyane Wade, courtesy of MissionG.com. As we've reported earlier, MissionG posted other JabbaWockeeZ and B-boy competition videos worht watching. And, Gatorade is donating $1 to charity for every visit you pay to the site. So, check them out again!

UPDATE: Playlist & info on Week 6 Boys vs. Girls Challenge

MTV Remote Control has some details on this week's America's Best Dance Crew Challenge. The show will start off with "an amazing dance showdown between the men and women" -- so the crews will finally get a chance to dance together. The playlist is:

FLY KHICKS - “Pon De Replay” by Rihanna. Challenge - Incorporate Rihanna's moves (belly dance, island dancehall)
BEAT FREAKS - “Hot n Cold” by Katy Perry. Challenge - Incorporate baseball bats
STRIKERS ALL-STARS - “Pose” by Daddy Yankee. Challenge - Incorporate swagger, uprocking, and the groove
QUEST CREW - “Forever” by Chris Brown. Challenge - incorporate smooth moves

Watch extended version of Quest for G: Beware the Jabbawockeez

This G commercial will sure create new fans for Gatorade, Monty Python, and JabbaWockeeZ.

Shaqawockeez: JabbaWockeeZ + Shaq at All-Star Game

This is too funny -- Shaquille O'Neal joins JabbaWockeeZ to do the intros for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.

Mailbox: Win Kollaboration tickets, Lil Mama's Valentines Day, Clogging with Dynamic Edition

• Ningin has information about winning tickets to Kollaboration 9, which will include America's Best Dance Crew alums Fanny Pak, Team Millennia, and Kaba Modern as guest performers. Enter soon -- the deadline is Tuesday February 17 at 6PM Pacific Time
  
• Arizona Republic reports that Lil Mama spent part of her Valentines Day entertaining at the Phoenix Art Museum, performing to tracks from her personalized pink Apple computer
• Talk of Fame's Albert took a clogging lesson from Dynamic Edition, after talking to the crew about the perils of ABDC's Britney Spears Challenge

Pacific Rim COVERS Hollywood's Love Lockdown

21XL sponsored Love Lockdown in Hollywood, California on February 13, and it looks like it was THE dance event to attend. Pacific Rim Video covered it all, from the long waiting lines to the interviews (Fanny Pak, Team Millennia, ASIID, L0st Kids) to the performances (Supreme Soul, SoReal Cru,CADC). Visit Pacific Rim's Youtube channel for videos.

Fan Fiction - ABDC Meets the Real World

Reading matter for die-hard America's Best Dance Crew fans: Lauren has a MySpace fictional blog called Real World:ABDC . Since August 2008, she's created a Real World house inhabited by your favorite crew members and ABDC personalities. As with Real World, it helps to read earlier episodes to understand the action, but you can start anywhere and get it. One of my favorite pages contains an imaginary MTV audition contract with clauses like:

• It's not rigged (repeated in different form 4 times)
• You won't even make top 9 if you don't have an Asian
• Before you sign, remember that you will have groupies who will go to any length to find embarrassing and private videos of you

Among her MySpace page friends are Quest Crew, JabbaWockeeZ, Fanny Pak, and several other crews -- checking out their Third Life perhaps. You should check it out too.

Message from Boxcuttuhz' Lando: Thanks to fans (esp. Upland High!) for your birthday love

I love my mailbox! Yesterday, I found this note:

"Hey Nancy this is Lando of the Boxcuttuhz. i Was sent a video .. from the kids at Upland High School ( i dont know where it is sorry) kids in regards of their way of saying happy birthday to me which was on Feb 13 this past friday. so i would like to leave a message to all the fans and supporters who have sent me massive amounts of emails/myspace/facebook messages saying what they wanted to say, so here i go.."

Click here to read the rest (there's a lot and it's all good!), including personalized shoutouts to fans and a sneak preview of a contest. Thanks Lando!!

Beat Freak Maryss - memorial to her brother Hichem

Maryss of Beat Freaks shares memories and emotions about her brother Hichem, who died in an auto accident at the age of 17. The Magic Challenge was taped on the third anniversary of his death. Read her tribute here. Rest in peace, Hichem.

Recapathon :Week 5 summaries, critiques, and video-annotations

--LA Times has got the online media angle sussed, at least for coverage of America's Best Dance Crew. This week, they produce a summary of events, pithy review, and video interviews with illusionist Franz Harare (discussing his role on this week's show, how he got involved) and Fly Khicks and Dynamic Edition.
--You Love to Watch wants MTV to cut the tricks: "Alls I'm saying is that perhaps MTV needs to dig back into its bag of tricks and come up with something a little less...abstract. It's a dance show, after all. This isn't friggen' Sigfried and Roy or some other two-bit Vegas act."
--Reality Television was less than impressed with some of the magic.
--Mia from Ningin thought Quest and Beat Freaks dominated and was amazed that Fly Khicks "made their stretch like rubber challenge look like a lapdance from the movie Showgirls"
--Tiffani from Ningin thought that (with the exception of Beat Freaks), the magic got in the way of the cohesion and choreography
--Spoil the Ending has a crush on Quest's Feng, but worries that Quest hoopla is getting in the way of emotional connection and musicality