I just returned from watching some of the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5. I'll have a lot more for you over the next few days, but here are some notes:
I was able to film about an hour's worth of auditions, including three crews that received callbacks.Tomorrow, I will be allowed to film 3 call-back auditions. I will share these with you in the next few weeks, along with audition footage that we got in Los Angeles. Just be patient!
Yes, L0st Kids IS auditioning in NY. FYI -- I will not be able to film them. You'll just have to wait.
I also got an interview with Executive Producer Karen Schwartz, who gave me some preview information about Season 5.
I don't know how many crews will audition in NY, but I felt sorry for them standing outside in the bitter cold waiting for their time in the practice room and audition. Among the crews I met or watched: E3, Tha Truth, XPose, Majestic Crew, DaEmperorz, Special Delivery, II an Extreme,Fynul Destination, Erafusion, Cosmic Swagga, Unstoppables, Saltare (shown above -- a crew composed of East Coast college students using a jump rope as a prop, who received a callback), Part Time Models, Smash, Lb 4 Pound, Next Level, Members Only, DV8, and Blueprint.
The callback challenge: as in other cities, the crews who got to the callback stage were given a CD with music. They have to create a dance for the first 35 seconds using a prop that they didn't use in their auditions. Then, each member must freestyle for 2 eight-counts, with commando changes
First day judges were Karen Schwartz and choreographer Chonique (pictured below). Callback judges will include JabbaWockeeZ Kevin Brewer, Lil Mama, and Shane Sparks
Beat Freaks are the cover story for the January 2010 issue of Dance Spirit Magazine (available on newsstands, with some content at Dancespirit.com). The issue is not yet available, but here's the cover, promising stories on "How the Beat Freaks Made it Big" and "How to Start Your Own Crew".Click here to watch the cover photoshoot, posted at Dance Media. Thanks for the tips, Ravoo and Jessica!
U4ria is a girl crew from Southern Florida that did fairly well on America's Got Talent. They aren't attending any of the live auditions, but let me know that they submitted an audition tape to the America's Best Dance Crew audition judges.
DancePlug.com talked to Klaamation, Beat Squad, Asylum, Heavy Hitters, Molodi 5 and Beast Mode at the Los Angeles ABDC 5 callbacks. Watch it starting at 4:51.
Over the past year, we've heard ABDC crew members cite favorite movies as their impetus to take up dancing. Inspirations have ranged from the Hollywood classic 'Singin in the Rain' to the bboy section of 'FlashDance' to 'Beat Street' to the documentary 'Planet Bboy'.
What's your favorite dance movie? Leave a comment below. I'll compile the results and put together a reader survey. Thanks for the idea, Savage!
If you attend the America's Best Dance Crew auditions in Boston or New York this weekend as a dancer or supporter, please let us know about it! Share your impressions, photos, videos, ABDC-themed poetry, whatever. And good luck!
After a BoogieZone workshop in Germany, Lando Wilkins (Boxcuttuhz) and Mike Song (Kaba Modern) showed off their free-style skills. Video courtesy of OutTheBoxTV Youtube Channel, home of several other good videos with Lando. Thanks for the tip Fanny Box Fan!
Snoop Dogg is having a dance contest on DanceJam. Upload a video for prizes, including a customized Snoop Dogg skate deck, Wii, DDR and much, much more! Read more about the contest here and enter the contest here. Thanks for the tip, Dominique!
YAKFilms has two excellent videos with WE Are Heroes. The first gives some background into We Are Heroes member Nichelle Thrower, then shows her teaching a workshop at New Style Motherlode in Oakland, CA. The second covers their 94.9 Holiday performance, including preparation, interview, and afterparty.
At the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5, Talk of Fame talked to Klaamation, Poreotics, Destined 2 Be, Rumba-ta, Beat Squad and One Nation Crew. The video includes parts of the callback routines for three of the crews.
Lady Jules (Beat Freaks), Emily Dell (writer), and Elizabeth Dell (director) talk about what makes "B-Girl" special -- how it differs from other dance movies and the creation of the film. Interspersed in this video are scenes from the movie.
Legacy was eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance last night. He made it into the top 8, further than any other bboy except Dominic (Quest). Along the way, he surprised the judges and the audience with his skills in contemporary, paso doble, and even Viennese waltz. His sincerity and enthusiasm will be missed, and I hope we see him again soon on TV and the dance stage.
More interviews and introductions to crews that auditioned for America's Best Dance Crew 5 in Los Angeles, from Pacific Rim Video. Interviews include Beast Mode, Pandoras Myth, L2D, and Loyal Citizens of Zamunda. Two bonuses: rapping from Beast Mode and a cute member introduction from Neverland.
Ground Zero is a crew that auditioned for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 in Denver, and has attracted major attention from this site's bboy fans. So, here's some of their work -- should they make it to the next show over other great bboy groups like Knucklehead Zoo? The demo video (from pryzmab's Youtube channel)was created in 2009 from various events. The battle between Ground Zero and Super Cr3w happened in 2003 -- Super Cr3w was disqualified after Ben's move at 4:37. Thanks for the tips, Dance and Artillery!
It's official: America's Best Dance Crew will return for its fifth season on Thursday January 28, 2010. It will move back to Thursday night at 10 pm ET/PT
From the Quest website - a challenge with rewards: "In the generous spirit of the season, we here at questcrew.com want to take a minute to be grateful for all that we have. And one of the best ways to show gratitude is to share your blessings with others. And now we want to know how you share YOUR blessings!
Perform an random act of kindness (examples described in the post)
Questify it - make it creative
Document it and send the documentation to questmas@questcrew.com by December 23, 2009
Check back on Questcrew.com. The most creative and inspirational story will win a prize from Quest Crew"
Pacific Rim Video hung out with crews in Los Angeles on the first day of ABDC auditions. They posted interviews with 4 more crews that reportedly did well during their tryouts: Sacramento King Breakers, Heavy Hitters, The Hype, and Molodi 5 (who also demonstrated their stepping/percussion style):
Artistry in Motion (America's Best Dance Crew Season 4) were tapped for a photoshoot to promote Nappytabs, the clothing line for ABDC and SYTYCD choreographers Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo. Click here to see more photos and click here to buy some merchandise!
Our interviewers Chris Trondsen and Glenda Morales assured me that they had a wonderful time at the LA ABDC auditions and will have some interviews and even some audition videos to share soon! In the meantime, some news on the LA crews gathered from the internet and our comments section:
Molodi 5, a Las Vegas based "extreme band of body percussionists" did well in the callbacks
Inside the Box unfortunately had a tough time at the callbacks and will not be moving on. We'll have more on them soon anyway. Thanks for the tip, KM.
VIP SJ also is out of the running. From Krisuan in our comments: "ABDC said we looked too young for television & that our performance was so high, it didn't go anywhere. If you're already high, you can't get any higher. We took it as something good. They even said "Your Staging was AMAZING!" Haha! But we had fun auditioning and for only being out for a year, it was a good experience"
Instant Noodles, a b-boy crew from Taiwan, made it to the callbacks and were interviewed by Pacific Rim Video:
A reader who attended the Denver auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 sent in a detailed report on the two days of tryouts. It's a marvelous picture of the initial audition and the callbacks (including a challenge involving a prop and cheerleading music), as well as great information on some crews we might see on MTV soon!
"ABDC 5 Auditions in Denver were held at the beautiful facilities of the Colorado Ballet. 8Am on Friday morning dancers started lining up outside in below zero weather. Toes frozen, muscles cramping...not the best start to a long day of dancing. Lucky for the dancers... ABDC had a warm dance studio for them to warm up in and hang out in while they waited to perform for the first set of auditions. There was about 15 crews that participated this weekend."
Click here to read about Electrolytes, BreakEFX, Illmatic Krew, Bandits, Motion Underground, True 2 Form, Rocky Mountain Rockstars, Boom Unit, The Damsels, the judges (one of whom was a no-show!) and more!
ABDC4 winners We Are Heroes performed "Single Ladies" at the tree-lighting ceremony in Hercules, CA in December 2009. Afterwards, they were given the key to the city. Video courtesy of IPAUILO's Youtube Channel. Thanks for the tip abdc!
Later this week, we'll have some interviews from the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5. Right now, the best news is coming through Twitter. We found that auditioning crews included Poreotics, Knucklehead Zoo, The Hype, Neverland, Sheroes, Beast Mode, Inside the Box, Flex Flav, Pandoras Myth, Soul Project, Capital Iggz, XPosed Dance, King Breakers, Klaamation, and VIP San Jose.
The on-location twitpics were taken by aghouston86, abdcinsider, and the_real_winson, respectively.
Team Fire Fox went to the America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 auditions in Denver. Self-description on the application form: “It’s like, they’re the people I work with and our job is being popular and s**t!” Based on their description, I doubt we'll be seeing them soon on MTV, but they might look into Comedy Central.
I just returned from watching some of the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5. I'll have a lot more for you over the next few days, but here are some notes: 
