America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 WILL move to Sunday nights, starting early August

Several official sources at America's Best Dance Crew have confirmed to us that the show will move to Sunday nights for Season 4. They also stated that it will begin in early August, though the specific date is not yet confirmed.

LA Choreography callbacks, featuring Inside the Box and Beast Mode

The Yuri and Taeko show attended the America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 auditions in Los Angeles. Their first video contains an interview with one of the casting directors who mentions that ABDC will air on Sunday nights, and mentions that there might (or might not) be a casting show). This video has great footage of multiple crews preparing for the choreography callbacks, and shows the entire choreography callback performance by Inside the Box. The second video has an interview with Beast Mode, and their full callback dance. And, you can also watch their interviews (with no dancing) with Lost Kids and Knucklehead Zoo.

Beat Freaks and Michael Jackson - they were about to start rehearsing together this week

Several America's Best Dance Crew alums (including Beat Freaks and Ringmasters) had told us how watching Michael Jackson inspired them to take up dancing.In this first video (which aired on the Today Show) Rino and Maryss say that they were set to begin rehearsing with Michael Jackson, and Rino describes his influence on her life.Thanks to Skylerz on the MTV discussion boards for the link. Pacific Rim Video Press also prepared a montage of clips of the Beat Freaks talking about Michael Jackson, showing some Michael Jackson moves, and performing to Beat It.

Mailbox: Kaba Modern, Status Quo, Wrush, Pinoy Dance Competition

• MTV's Made - Hip Hop Battle debuting today (June 27) will feature E-Knock from Status Quo (America's Best Dance Crew finalist for Season 1) and Marcos Aguirre (co-choreographer of Wrush, a Boston crew that did an awesome job in their NY audition for America's Best Dance Crew Season 4).
• Thebeatworx.com danced with Kaba Modern and deejayed for the crew. This blog reminisces about his experiences and includes a soundfile with his first mix for them
• The search is on for Pinoy's Best Dance Crew. The contest is open to hip hop dance crews where at least 4 members are of Philippine descent, and where all are legal residents of the US or Canada. Click here for details.
  

Another LA Audition highlight: Inside the Box

Field reporter Salima Koroma attended part of the America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 auditions in Los Angeles, and sent in videos of some of her favorites. Crucial disclaimer: this site has NO inside information or influence with MTV or the America's Best Dance Crew judges. Our only qualification is that we are major fans of ABDC!

Today's featured crew: Inside the Box from Pomona California. What's in the name: Toybox (aka Jonathan Bronner) is the crew choreographer and the dance comes from inside Toybox's mind, through the talents of his crew, and out to us. The crew mixes housing (a style that has not been featured yet on ABDC) with hip hop choreography. Click here to watch an interview with Inside the Box conducted by Pacific Rim Video. Click here for Toybox's Youtube Channel to see more dance videos.

Inside the Box Audition for ABDC Season 4 on Vimeo.

Strikers Allstars performance at House of Blues

Strikers All-stars (minus Money Mike) appeared at the House of Blues in San Diego over Memorial Day Weekend. Video is courtesy of Tallielb's Youtube Channel.

Upcoming events - week of June 26

• Beat Freaks: June 26: Blue Label Lounge in Houston; June 27: 2 shows at Verizon Wireless Lounge in Houston
• JabbaWockeeZ continue on their tour with New Kids on the Block
• June 27: Mega Moves Dance Fest, with Ringmasters, Status Quo and some of the ABDC4 auditioning crews. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Super Cr3w will be unable to appear at this event. St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, NY. This is a benefit for the Cancer Center for Stony Brook University Medical Center. Click here for details and tickets.
• June 28: Super Cr3w's Mike Murda at Face Off II in Ft. Worth, TX
  

RIP: Michael Jackson

We just learned that Michael Jackson has died. We are sad that he died at such a young age, especially as he was preparing for a comeback tour. His contributions to dancing and pop culture will be remembered, admired, and emulated for a very long time.

NY ABDC Audition highlights: Point Blank

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting videos and information about some (not all) of our favorite crews from the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 4. In some (but not all) cases, we will include video of their choreography callback performance. Reminder: this website has absolutely no insider information or impact on MTV or the ABDC judges. We just know what we like.

Today's featured crew: Point Blank, from Philadelphia, PA. We liked their Season 3 audition, and think they've upped the energy while maintaining their humor and cool prop use. The audition video comes from Semitastysushi's Youtube channel (the girls who also bring you Supercr3w.com). The choreography callback video is all ours.

Beat Freaks Lindsey on SYTYCD tonight!

Lindsey (aka Out There) from Beat Freaks will perform with the Veronicas on So You Think You Can Dance on Thursday June 25-- tonight. Tune in to watch and to see if Karla (Boogie Bots) and Phillip (Marvelous Motion) make it through to the next round.

Super Cr3w featured in French Hip Hop Culture Magazine

Super Cr3w is profiled in the latest issue of Be Street, a French magazine devoted to hip hop culture. The article is only available in the newstand edition, not on-line. Thanks for the tip, SuperCr3w.com!

Click on the graphic above to expand and read the first page of the article. Then, click here to read page 2 (it's in both English and French) to learn how America's Best Dance Crew for Season 2 met, their favorite styles other than b-boying, the one word that describes each of them (guess which one is 'samurai'!), information about the girl in their crew.

LA ABDC Season 4 audition highlights: Flexible Flav (Flex Flav)

Field reporter Salima Koroma attended part of the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 on June 6, 2009. She taped some of her favorite crews' auditions. IMPORTANT: the choices on this website do not represent the opinions of MTV or America's Best Dance Crew judges, and have no impact on their choices. Our only qualification is our devotion to watching ABDC. Today's featured crew: Flexible Flav from Sacramento, CA. The crew formed in 1999 has has competed internationally. They are more traditionally b-boy than other auditioners, with nice formations and some wicked power moves. Read more about them on MySpace.

On America's Got Talent -- FootworKINGS

Can America's Got Talent trump America's Best Dance Crew in spotting hip hop dance talent? Here's their first try of the AGT Season 4 -- FootworKINGz from Chicago. They range in age from 16-24. They are part of a larger group, and I don't know if they auditioned for ABDC in Chicago this year. You can watch their act by clicking here, watching an ad and fast forwarding to 14:36.
Here's AmericasgotTalentHQ's Youtube Channel post of the video (This channel appears to be recognizing the NBC copyright and cooperating with them.) What do you think?

ICONic performance at World of Dance NY

ICONic from America's Best Dance Crew Season 1 performed and to interact with fans at a meet-and-greet session. Lately, it's been a rare treat to see them performing together like this!

More favorites from ABDC Season 4 NY Auditions: Fr3sh

Over the next several weeks, I'll post videos of some of my personal favorite crews from the America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 auditions in New York. For some (but not all) of these NY crews, I will post both their auditions and their choreography callback performances (but only when I think the callback performance is noteworthy!). Important warning and disclaimer: I am NOT a judge and have absolutely NO impact on the judges or MTV. My only qualifications is being a fan of the show.

Today's featured crew: Fr3sh. This is Fr3sh's third time auditioning for America's Best Dance Crew. When they tried out for Season 3, I loved their performance, but could see why others compared them to Kaba Modern. So what I love about this audition is that I think they've worked to demonstrate how they are distinctive and different from KM in their own entertaining fashion. They've incorporated numerous dance styles and change-ups in mood and tempo, all with fr3sh humor. Click here to learn more about Fr3sh on Myspace.

Boogie Bots at World of Dance New York

Boogie Bots rocked it at 2009 World of Dance New York both on stage as an exhibition crew and at a meet-and-greet with fans.

Karelix from Fly Khicks in Sean Kingston video

Fly Khicks haven't been performing as a group much, but they are still dancing. Karelix can be seen in Sean Kingston's video for Fire Burning. She's wearing a green shirt and a hat. Thanks for the tip, ThePrez (from the MTV bulletin board)!

LA Audition Highlights: Elektrolytes

Field reporter Salima Koroma attended about 4 hours of the America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 auditions in Los Angeles. She has an-depth interview with Shane Sparks, outside action with Randy Jackson and crews, and some of her favorite auditioners. We'll be sharing this (along with coverage of the NY auditions) over the next few weeks. Important caveat about our coverage: please remember that we are totally independent of MTV and have absolutely no inside knowledge of or influence on their choices for Season 4. Our only qualification is that we are huge fans of ABDC.

Today's highlighted crew: Elektrolytes from Arizona. They have a real swagger and tightness to their style, with a little theater thrown in. Click here to watch an interview with them from Pacific Rim Video Press. And, here's a video (from Kylemanjames Youtube Channel) of the performance that won them the title of 2009 Arizona's Best Dance Crew.

SoReal Cru at Body Rock

The larger SoReal Cru troupe tore up the stage at Body Rock 2009, with a set called "Politics as Usual" choreographed by America's Best Dance Crew alums Brian Puspos, Andrew Baterina, and Jackie Lautchang. This video comes from SoRealCru.com, the prime source of new for everything SoReal.

Field Report - The Show in Dallas with Quest Crew and Marvelous Motion

Blogging Best Dance Crew field reporters Mark and Courtney recently attended The Show hosted by Quest Crew and presented by Access Dallas at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas, Texas on June 13, 2009. The event was a showcase of Southern talent aimed at bringing more attention and notoriety to acts from places other than the East and West Coast. It was also the first time that Quest Crew made an appearance in Texas.

The Show featured performances by Quest Crew, 2008's Urban Dance competition winner Marvelous Motion and all-girl crew Dallas Power House, a summer and denim fashion showcase by Diesel and live performances by Big Red Rooster, Kyndal, Peter P, and Tony Montano.

Be SURE you click here to read the rest of Mark and Courtney's report and view greatin-performance photos of Quest Crew and Marvelous Motion. We'll post their interview with Quest very soon! And here's a video at The Show of Marvelous Motion and their sub-crew The Next Level, from LdyLickem's Youtube Channel.

Video montage of NY auditioning crews

Melissa and Rachel from Supercr3w.com attended the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 4, and posted a montage of the performances on their semitoastysushi Youtube channel. Great compilation!

Hip Hop International - THE dance event for ABDC fans!

Hip Hop International will be taking over Las Vegas from July 27-August 1. Over 1700 dancers from over 30 countries will meet for workshops, hip hop dance championships, popping and locking battles, and b-boy battles. There is nothing like seeing LIVE dance and seeing it done by the best. And, if you're a dancer, there's nothing like learning from the best, including Matt Cady (Fanny Pak), Teresa Espinosa (Beat Freaks), Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo (America's Best Dance Crew choreographers), and Shane Sparks. America's Best Dance Crew alum teams Super Cr3w, Fanny Pak, and Beat Freaks will also perform in exhibition. I can't do the event justice in a short post, but I strongly urge you to go if you've got the taste for hip hop choreography. I know I'll be there! Click here for details and to buy tickets.