We received over 1000 votes for our surveys on the best and worst performances for ABDC 4 Week 1. You can see the detailed results for the top here and the bottom here. Some interesting results:
There was one clear favorite for the top performance - Rhythm City with 42% of the vote. The next highest here Massive Monkees (15%) and We are Heroes (13%)
There were 2 clear choices for the bottom 2 - Afroborike (33%), Beat Ya Feet Kings (31%).
There were very few bottom votes for the other two crews in the Bottom 3 last week - Fr3sh (8%) and Southern Movement (5%)
Will our results match the MTV votes? Our survey software makes it difficult to vote more than once -- no auto-voting here! Tune in tomorrow and find out!
Several readers attended the tapings and emailed or commented on the experience. Thanks to all!
TimetoFlytotheCheese: ANOTHER CRAZY NIGHT!! Most of the crews absolutely delivered, and it was one of the best bottom two battles EVER. Once again I was shocked at the bottom 2 and the elimination, but I do believe it was the right choice considering the circumstances. AMAZING EPISODE!! Fanny Pak, Supreme Soul, Boogie Bots, Strikers All-Stars, Beat Freaks, and Quest in the House!!! BEYONCE WAS NOT AT THE TAPING! [Note from Nancy -- though they weren't in the audience, ASIID was also in the house! Della and Meme helped interview for us backstage this week and they were fabulous!]
Drewski: It was good but not as good as any other season but I had fun going on the stage without being called out lmao...The crew that went home was actually really good today. Gotta love Heroe popping at the end of the show. Shes so sick!!
Czar: All of the crews brought it, although a couple had more energy in their routines. The bottom two crews shouldn't have been in the bottom, because they both had better performances than some of the crews that got saved. The judges had a tough decision to make, but I agree with their choice.
Our interviewer Chris Trondsen talked to Artistry in Motion after the Week 1 taping of America's Best Dance Crew 4. They introduce themselves and talk about their devotion to dance, how it could be time for an all-girl crew to win, the ups and downs of being on the show and give love to Fr3sh, and shoutouts to everyone! Thanks to Dancetag.tv for working with us this season on ABDC interviews!
AfterElton.com talked to all the members of Vogue Evolution on such varied topics as how the group formed, how MTV has been supportive of their style and personalities, their strategy for the competition, what they'd do with the prize money, Vogue Evolution's ultimate goals, their role models, and how they came out. Their responses are candid and extremely sincere.
My favorite quote is from Pony: "We're not your average cheerleader from Kansas. We have a whole community on our shoulders, and it's a lot of pressure. It's a thin line between what's been done and what can be proven."
MTV Remote Control posted a video on the wardrobe choices for the Beyonce Challenge. We are Heroes are given silver booty shorts. But does this work for WAH or against them? Quoting reader ThePrez:"Poor taste in style could end up stereotyping WAH as "selling out with sex appeal" or being "hooches". This could possibly pigeon hole them tremendously and result in an unexpected cut due to decreased votes... I spent all last season defending Fly Khicks because I knew that they disagreed with the wardrobe selections...This is very unfortunate..these are such powerful, skilled and beautiful dancers...[the wardrobe choice] is ruining the show."
Do you agree? While it might be good TV to employ sexy costumes for eye candy and to differentiate between the girl crews, does it hurt the credibility and chances of the scantier clad crew? Thanks for bringing this up, ThePrez!
Before we move on to the Week 2 interviews, I wanted to remind you about the pressure on the two crews that were in the bottom two during Week 1 but stayed in the competition at America's Best Dance Crew. Our interviewer Chris Trondsen talked to Beat Ya Feet Kings and Southern Movement right after the Week 1 Crew Choice Challenge on what they need to do differently for the future.
Thanks to Dancetag.tv, who is collaborating with us this season on ABDC backstage tapings
Yet another reason to go to this weekend's Monsters show in Hollywood: I read twitters confirming that all the America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 crews will be there!
Fr3sh may have left ABDC, but they are busy as ever on the East Coast dance scene. On August 15, Fr3sh will host their annual FR3SH Summer Intensive at AIM Dance Academy. Each Fr3sch instructor will collaborate members of other crews including Rhythmology, Project D, and AIM. Classes are only $5 each, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to cancer treatment for one of their company's members. Click here for more details.
1iota.com (the group that distributes tickets for America's Best Dance Crew) is casting for audience members for the MTV Video Music Awards show in New York on Sunday September 13. This is a true casting call-- you have to be between 16-25, submit a picture and a description of why you want to appear. The opportunities include: pit fans (down in front of the stage), super fans (great seats if you promise to go nuts every time an act appears), stage fans (will sit on stage), seat fillers (fill in places when stars get up), preshow fans, and fans to appear with Taylor Swift and The Muse.
If you're interested and fit the demographic, click here ASAP. And, if you do get a ticket, let us know about it! FYI -- earlier this month I was told by an MTV insider that ABDC will probably air just before the VMAs that night.
TVGuide.com shows listings for America's Best Dance Crew Week 3 as The Martial Arts Challenge and Week 4 as The Bollywood Challenge. Do you think either of these will pose a significant disadvantage for any particular crew? Thanks for the tip, Kendrick!
What would you suggest for upcoming ABDC challenges?
The Beyonce Challenge on America's Best Dance Crew tapes tonight -- August 13. If you are lucky enough to attend, please leave a comment or email us at BloggingBestDanceCrew@gmail about your experiences! We'd love to hear what it was like! BUT PLEASE NO SPOILERS ABOUT WHO WAS IN THE BOTTOM AND WHO WENT HOME!Thanks! If you feel a need to leave a spoiler -- GO SOMEWHERE ELSE TO DO IT!
Supreme Soul's Pharside and dancetag.tv's Chris Trondsen talked to We are Heroes just before America's Best Dance Crew's Week 1 was taped. They talked about how to balance sexiness with dance, their international background, their style of bringing it hard but sexy, and which judges they most fear. Pharside and WAH members also joke about their dance connections in the Bay area.
New Zealand Crew Sweet & Sour was one of the standouts at the 2009 Hip Hop International World Dance Championships. Two days later they performed for the audience at the America's Best Dance Crew Week 1 taping, though their performance wasn't shown on TV.
FYI -- though many people don't think of New Zealand as a hip hop hub, their crews really represented at HHI. Six crews made it to the finals (2 each in the Junior, Varsity, and Adult divisions) out of 31 crews total -- more than any other of the 30 countries at the event. Sweet & Sour won the Varsity Division in 2008 and NZ crew Request won Varsity this year.
MOVMNT Magazine recently interviewed Quest, asking them for interesting facts about themselves, the differences between competing on So You Think You Can Dance vs. America's Best Dance Crew, how they feel about the judges. Afterwards, they talked to Fanny Pak's Beau Fournier about the judges, and he shows his 'grandpa' dance move.Thanks to the Quest Street Team for the tip!
On August 14-15, Monsters of Hip Hop presents their annual theater event -- The Monsters Show -- at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, CA. It will feature the professional debut of over 16 dancers directed by America's Best Dance Crew choreographers Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo (aka Nappytabs) as well as performances by The Beat Freaks and Quest. It will also feature choreography by Beat Freak Teresa Espinosa and about a dozen other well-known hip hop choreographers. Click here for more information; click here for tickets
The Monsters Show brings together the dance industry's finest choreographers with up and coming dancers for a professionally produced, Broadway-caliber show. The show gives the dancers an opportunity to showcase for both the public and industry representatives.
Supreme Soul's Pharside and Dancetag.tv's Chris Trondsen snuck up on Rhythm City just before they were ready to go onstage for the taping of the Crew's Choice Challenge on America's Best Dance Crew. This interview is light on news but heavy on crew personality!
Kaba Modern competed in the World Hip Hop Dance Championship for Hip Hop International in Las Vegas. Though they didn't win, they were a crowd favorite at the event.
Since ABDC tapes tomorrow, the deadline for this weeks' vote in the Elimination Challenge is TONIGHT at midnight. Click here to enter your vote in the comments section; click here for rules. Include your email address so I can track the votes.
You Love to Watch isn't loving Season 4 as much as she'd like,from the meh performances to the judge's hair to the over-use of Boom Boom Pow
Celebrity Cafe recommends this season of America's Best Dance Crew for its diversity, spotlighting Vogue Evolution, Beat Ya Feet Kings, Southern Movement, and Rhythm City
I spoke by phone with Fr3sh founder, executive director, and founder Adrian Causing (second from the left in the photo) on Monday August 10, after MTV aired the episode where Fr3sh went home. Please listen in as he talks enthusiastically and amusingly about Fr3sh's experience on the show, why they wouldn't do anything differently, advice on how to get on America's Best Dance Crew, which crews they bonded with, and their crew's plans for the future. An inspirational and class act!
BloggingBestDanceCrew.com and MTV have a new contest for you Twitter users! Log onto Twitter and tell us which crew is your early favorite to win this season of America's Best Dance Crew! Prizes include: a $150 Amazon gift card,an ABDC4 Tshirt, andan ABDC4 hoodie.Contest ends Friday August 14 at 11pm PT. Winners will be determined by a random drawing, with only one prize per person. Make sure to reply to @bloggingabdc using the hashtag #bloggingabdc so we can see all the results. For example, an entry in Season 2 might have read: @bloggingabdc I think Fanny Pak will win! #bloggingabdc
If you need more information on the Season 4 crews, click here to watch all their auditions and click here to watch Episode 1 (the Crew Choice Challenge). If you're new to this site -- please take a look around at our exclusive videos, contests, survey, play-by-play, party room, ABDC coverage and more. And, good luck!
Supreme Soul's Pharside and Dancetag's Chris Trondsen interviewed Massive Monkees before the taping of Crew Challenge at the America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 premiere. This interview is classic because you get to see the cameraderie between Pharside and MM, hear why the crew didn't get on ABDC Season 2, and why you should support MM.
At the Teen Choice Awards, Quest performed as backup dancers for Sean Kingston's "Fire Burning" and Beat Freaks Shorty did her amazing headspin during Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA". Great to see them, but it would have been so much better and more respectful had the dancers actually been credited during the show!
In an interview with the Examiner, Vogue Evolution's Leyomi talks about her relationship with her crew and her role to showcase her talent, give strength to transgender people, and to show that sexual orientation should not stop people from fulfilling their dreams.
The Ride also talks to and about Vogue Evolution about their origins, their style, and their roles as peer educators. that they got together Some of the interview highlights:
VE got together for the purpose of auditioning for America's Best Dance Crew. They auditioned for the second season and missed getting chosen by what they believed to be a "thin line. So, they decided to audition again for Season 4 to "erase the thin line."
"VEfeels that they experience 'sexism' more often than homophobia. What do they mean by sexism? "'We ‘act like girls’ and that’s the problem. They say that they don’t care if we’re gay but why we have to act like girls. [That attitude] is sexist.”"
Thanks to all of you 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. The prize goes to the first person to submit the correct answer, based on which week they submit it. If more than one person gets it right that week, we'll employ a tie-breaker rule.
Since over 90% of you predicted that Fr3sh would be in the top 4, there should be a lot of people who want to cast a new vote. Click here for contest rules and prizes. Good luck!
Groovaloos -- winners of SuperStars of Dance with members from JabbaWockeeZ and Beat Freaks -- will be on tour at the El Portal Theater in Los Angeles from August 21-30 and at the Joyce Theater in New York from September 15-27. Tickets are on sale now -- click here for more information and to buy your tickets now. Thanks for the tip, Tyreek!
LA Times rates the crews and presents their own interview videos with Massive Monkees, We Are Heroes, Artistry in Motion, and Beat Ya Feet Kings
LA Examiner dissects ABDC Episode 1 dances and the costume color choices, and notices a lot of hair swishing going on.
ACSlater.com runs down the crews (in more ways than one) and makes his predictions for the entire season, putting Rhythm City and Massive Monkees in the final 2
Our field reporters Chris Trondsen and Supreme Soul's Pharside talked to Fr3sh just before Episode 1 of America's Best Dance Crew 4 taped. They talk to us about their style and what sets them apart. Thanks to Dancetag.tv for collaborating with us this season on the interviews.
Pacific Rim Video spoke to Fr3sh after their elimination about what they were planning to bring to ABDC had they continued to compete. Fr3sh, we'll miss you!
Time to enter your votes for The Elimination Challenge for next week: 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 4 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, the only people to score 2 points were Eddie and ILogan. I gave credit to any answer in the bottom 3, so there was credit given for Beat Ya Feet Kings, Southern Movement, and Fr3sh. But the game is young and everybody has a chance to win. So, post your votes now, and remember to include your email address in the appropriate field. Here's the rules. Voting closes midnight Wednesday August 12.
I am extremely sad to see Fr3sh leave America's Best Dance Crew so soon. I've watched them perform several times in audition and in competition, and can tell you personally that they bring more originality, choreographic diversity, and finesse than most crews that have ever appeared on ABDC. It is a shame that more people won't get to see what I've seen, and that their skills won't be around to motivate the other crews to step up their own game.
This post is only for kind words and positive thoughts about Fr3sh. If you want to post negative comments about them or other aspects of ABDC, please comment in the Party Room/Critics Corner.
The party room for America's Best Dance Crew Week 1 is now open! Share your predictions, impressions, frustrations, hates and loves. Were your impressions based on audition videos correct? What crews really stand out? Any changes you'd like to see to ABDC this season?
After the show is over: Give us your reactions. Carry on!
TBone and Nancy will try to jointly run the live play-by-play for tonight's America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 premiere. Please feel free to follow along, but leave most of your comments at the party room post above this post. It's really hard to follow the show, write about it, AND monitor the comments, so be kind!
At last America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 has arrived. Celebrate with us tonight! The Party Room (aka Critics Corner) opens at 8:30pm (East Coast time) and stays open until whenever for everyone who wants to comment about America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 Episode 1 (or any other related topic). After the show, let us know what you thought --Is this going to be the best season ever? Did they pick the right crews to compete? Sarcasm and emotional outbursts are always welcome!
At 9pm, TBone and I'll be doing live play-by-play for those of you on the West Coast or have other reasons you can't or won't watch at that time. And, early tomorrow morning, please vote in our polls on the best and worst performances of the evening. And, there will be a new contest (with prizes of course) along with our other contests, coverage, etc. Join us! Photo credit: MTV
We've teamed up with Dancetag.tv to cover the interviews at the America's Best Dance Crew tapings. We'll release 1-2 video interviews a day, starting tomorrow. In the meantime, meet our interviewers: Chris Trondsen and Supreme Soul's CJ (Pharside) Jennings. Together, we think they bring the expertise, ability, and attitude to make for some great interviews. And, as they mention, we love using reader questions at the interviews. So, feel free to leave comments here with any questions you have for the crews. If we use them, we'll try to give you the shoutout!
Rhythm City has the slickest, most entertaining promo video I've ever seen for an America's Best Dance Crew contestant. Watch it here at Scene Interactive .Thanks for the tip, Sherry and others!
MTV Remote Control has been BUSY leading up to the America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 premiere: visit their many videos and features. Our favorite from the last few days -- very brief interviews with each of the crews during their photo shoot.
We received over 1000 votes for our surveys on the best and worst performances for ABDC 4 Week 1. You can see the detailed results for the top here and the bottom here. Some interesting results: 
