Video: Fanny Pak at Gridlock New Year's Eve Party

From the ILike2TapDance Youtube Channel:

Spotlight on Boston ABDC5 auditioners Part I: BlackOut, Draztik, N-10-City, Geek Chic & more!

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  Early in January, we will run a contest to let you 'cast' which of the crews you think should make it to ABDC5 Top 9.  To help you choose and give these crews some exposure, we'll spotlight each of them and show any recent performance videos we can find. We know of 13 crews that auditioned in Boston on December 11, 2009, so we've covered them (in alphabetical order) over 2 days. If you have further information, links or videos to share for auditioning crews, please leave a comment or email us at BloggingBestDanceCrew@gmail.com

•  We have no reliable information yet on Beat Connectionz, Dancehall (photo here), or Darkside. Please comment or email us if you have information, links, or videos on these crews.
• BlackOut Pro is part of an all-male crew from Tufts University specializing in percussive and step dancing. They are undefeated in their last three years of competition. Keith Frankel (Captain) was featured as an assistant coach on MADE (the same episode with Marcos Aguirre, leader of Wrush, Suzette Sagisi, leader of Static Noyze, and E-knock (from Street Legends.)Here's a performance at Elements X:
  

• Boston Tap Company: a larger group than the ABDC auditioners performed this piece at the 2009 Peace Hip Hop Festival 
• Draztik hails from Rhode Island. Draztik member Kelvin Fabian's dance credits include freestyling on Showtime at the Apollo; more available at Kelvint2123 Youtube Channel. Here's a Draztik performance:

• Geek Chic is composed of MIT and Harvard students. Photo here; no video available!
• N-10-City comes from Milwaukee, WI. Learn about the crew and watch their part of ABDC audition rehearsal (starting at 3:05) here:

ABDC 5 promo with We Are Heroes now airing on MTV

MTV just unveiled their Season 5 promo for America's Best Dance Crew. It features ABDC 4 winners We Are Heroes popping and tutting using old-style Japanese phone booths, playing off the superhero theme. We'll post photos or videos as soon as available. Thanks, Word and FiredUp!

Exclusive from NY auditions: Lb for Pound

We were invited to watch a few hours of the auditions and callbacks for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 in New York. IMPORTANT: we have no inside information or influence with the MTV decision makers.


Here's Lb for Pound, from New York. Obviously, their gimmick is their weight, but that physical attribute doesn't stop the crew members from some intense and impressive dancing.
 

Latest SoReal Cru: New Dances, new Youtube Channel

SoReal Cru has been busy with touring, new choreography, and videos. They have a new Youtube Channel called SoRealStudioTV, and the first episode is a performance by Phillip Geniza. The latest in their SoReal Cru TV series is an intricate solo by Andrew Baterina called "Panty Droppa". And, here's a dance by Geniza with several SoReal Cru members called "Papers". Thanks for all the info, Dominique!

Spotlight on LA ABDC5 auditioners: Asylum, The Hype, Tripl3 Threat, Z-train, Xposed Dance, Waackers, The Detail, Soulidified Project

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  Early in January, we will run a contest to let you 'cast' which of the crews you think should make it to ABDC5 Top 9.  To help you choose and give these crews some exposure, we'll spotlight each of them and show any recent performance videos we can find. We know of 32 crews that auditioned in Los Angeles on December 5, 2009, so we've covered them (in alphabetical order) over 4 days. If you have further information, links or videos to share for auditioning crews, please leave a comment or email us at BloggingBestDanceCrew@gmail.com

• Soulidified Project from Fremont, CA. Their style is R&B/soul but incorporates housing and technical choreography. The larger group debuted at World of Dance 2008, and have also performed at Collaboration 2009 and SoulNation. Pacific Rim interviewed the auditioning group.
  
• The Asylum, from Los Angeles, was formed in 2008. Their style (according to their MySpace profile: "house, jazz funk, isolations, hip-hop, theatrical, old school, sass, fusion, wacking, tutting, breaking, popping and maybe some ballroom if there ever comes a point." The larger group includes members of ASIID, Fr3sh, Femme 5, Fanny Pak, Funkanometry SF, Mix'd Elements, Expressive Doubt, and Automatic Response. Automatic Responseand Fanny Pak, and here's an Asylum performance at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts that features members of ASIID and Fanny Pak.  Several good videos of the larger group are available at AsylumDanceTV.   Update: here's a performance of Asylum's ABDC5 audition routine:
  

• The Detail from Portland, Oregon have performed together since 2000. Styles supplementing hip hop include African, Tap, contemporary/Modern, jazz and Ballet. Members have performed in music videos with Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Black Eyed Peas, and Janet Jackson. Crew members have also opened for live shows for Snoop Dogg, Ciara, Ashanti, and Fabolous. Click here to watch their audition for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5.
• The Hype, from Hawaii, also auditioned for ABDC Season 3 and Season 4. Here's their interview with Pacific Rim at the ABDC 5 auditions.  Here's their latest video (thanks TheEmp!)

BUT WAIT --THERE'S MORE!! CLICK HERE to read and watch performance videos for The Waackers, Tripl3 Threat, VIP San Jose, Xposed Dance, and Ztrain.

Video: Phillip Chbeeb (Marvelous Motion), Brandon Harrell (Coalition) in "Rise and Fall"

From Pacman's Youtube Channel: "The Rise and Fall". This is a must-watch video, with powerful choreography by Brandon Harrell (Coalition) and Phillip Chbeeb (Marvelous Motion, SYTYCD veteran) as well as great freestyling by Jordan Kolar (sifu)  and others.

Upcoming Events: Week of January 1-14, 2010

Happy New Year! Here are some things to look forward to the next two weeks. I am expanding the calendar to two weeks at a time to give enough advance notice for some events. Let me know if you have events to add here or upcoming events you'd like to publicize.

• 1/2: Rainen (JabbaWockeeZ),Ronnie (Super Cr3w), and Hong 10 (former RedBull BC One Champion) will be judges at Deuces Wild competition in Las Vegas. 
  
• 1/2: Fr3sh is throwing a semi-formal Masquerade with food, drink and performances in Piscataway, NJ. For tickets, call (732) 221-2110 or email Fr3shDanceTroupeLLC@gmail.com 
• Quest Crew and Beat Freaks Shorty in Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakuel, in theaters everywhere!
• 1/7: B-Girl Screening in New York including Q&A with Lady Jules
  
• 1/8: Massive Monkees host Vancouver's Best Dance Crews
• 1/9: SoReal Cru workshop in Chicago with Brian Puspos and Ailyn Isidro
• 1/10: Quest performs at Praying for Abbey, an event to raise funds for a young leukemia fighter, in Canton, OH
• 1/14: Leiomy of Vogue Evolution featured at National Talent Search in Atlanta
  

We Are Heroes Interview and Performance at their Celebration Party

The Yuri and Taeko Show attended the We Are Heroes celebration in December. They interview the ABDC4 winners and show their performance. Thanks, Jessica!

Spotlight on LA ABDC5 Auditions: Neverland, Poreotics, Mixd Elements, Molodi 5, Sheroes, No Label, Pandora's Myth, more

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  Don't ask us! But we DO know names for most of the crews that auditioned.  Early in January, we will run a contest to let you 'cast' which of the crews you think should make it to ABDC5 Top 9.  To help you choose and give these crews some exposure, we'll spotlight each of them and show any recent performance videos we can find. We know of 32 crews that auditioned in Los Angeles on December 5, 2009, so we're covering them (in alphabetical order) over 4 days. If you have further information, links or videos to share for auditioning crews, please leave a comment or email us at BloggingBestDanceCrew@gmail.com

• Mix'd Elements from California is another auditioning crew with a loyal following. Here's a Pacific Rim interview with them in September 2009. They won 1st place at a KIIS FM contest and came in second at World of Dance San Diego with this routine:

• Molodi 5, from Las Vegas, incorporates body percussion, as well as step and tap in their hip hop. Pacific Rim interviewed them at the ABDC5 auditions, with a demo. Here's a demo reel for Molodi  from 2008:

• Neverland, from California, is affiliated with L0st Kids. They made their debut at Elements X in November 2009; click here for a workshop video of "Might Like You Better" featuring many of the crew members.  Their audition differed from most other crews in that they tried out with 9 members, and will probably field 10 if they are chosen for ABDC5. 
• One Nation Crew came together from all over the world. Talk of Fame briefly interviewed them at the auditions (starting at 2:07). I didn't find a performance video for them.
  

THERE'S STILL MORE TODAY -- Click here for the rest of this 'spotlight', including info and performance videos for Poreotics, Sheroes, No Label, Rumba Ta, and Pandora's Myth.

Update on ABDC auditioners: Illmatik Phlo Crew

When we profiled the Denver auditions, we had no information about Illmatik Phlo from Miami. Update on the crew: Members come from 4 different crews: Ground Zero Crew, IllMoves Crew, ThunderCatz, and mystikal. Their MySpace page has videos for each of the 4 crews, but nothing for the Illmatik Phlo crew itself. Given the crew's pedigree and b-boy skills, they could be strong contenders for ABDC5.

Remembering 2009: United State of Pop

For your New Years Eve reminiscence: a mash-up of 25 top tunes and videos, created by DJ Earworm. 

Video from LA ABDC auditions: The Detail

At the Los Angeles ABDC 5 auditions, our Los Angeles team (Chris Trondsen and Glenda Morales) were allowed to film about an hour of Day 1 performances and a few of the callbacks. 
Here's The Detail, from Portland, Oregon. The group has performed together since 2000.  Members have perfomed in music videos with Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Black Eyed Peas, and Janet Jackson. Crew members have also opened for live shows for Snoop Dogg, Ciara, Ashanti, and Fabolous. NOTE: we posted this video earlier, but erred in identifying the crew.

Spotlight - LA Auditions Pt. 2: Klaamation, L0st Kids, Inside the Box, Instant Noodles, L2D,KHZ, Sac. Kings Breakers,Loyal Citizens of Zamunda

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  We have no idea! But we DO know names for most of the crews that auditioned.  Early in January, we will run a contest to let you 'cast' which of the crews you think should make it to ABDC5 Top 9.  To help you choose and give these crews some exposure, we'll spotlight each of them and show any recent performance videos we can find. We know of 32 crews that auditioned in Los Angeles on December 5, 2009, so we're covering them (in alphabetical order) over 4 days. If you have further information, links or videos to share for auditioning crews, please leave a comment or email us at BloggingBestDanceCrew@gmail.com

• Inside the Box from Pomona, CA also auditioned for ABDC Season 4.  More: watch their winning performance at Maxt Out, an interview with the crew at the Season 5 auditions, and here to see their Season 5 audition.
• Instant Noodles from California (whose members are originally from Taiwan) was interviewed by Pacific Rim at the ABDC5 auditions. Here's their performance at World of Dance San Mateo in October 2009:

• Sacramento Kings Breakers perform regularly at the Sacramento Kings half-time shows and were interviewed by Pacific Rim at the ABDC5 auditions.  KingsVideo Youtube Channel has several videos showing individual members' breaking skills, and this group performance:
  

THERE'S STILL MORE TODAY -- CLICK HERE for more Los Angeles auditioner information and videos, including Klaamation, Knucklehead Zoo, L2D, L0st Kids, and Loyal Citizens of Zamunda.

Mailbox: AXXENT- We Are Heroes connection, JC Chasez, Fan-made ABDC5 Teaser

• AXXENT is one of the crews that auditioned in Los Angeles for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5. Since we first profiled AXXENT yesterday, we learned that Hiro from We Are Heroes (ABDC4) was a long-time member of the crew. Click here for a video of AXXENT with Hiro dancing. The crew also peformed at the We Are Heroes celebration party hosted by Shane Sparks on December 17, 2009. 
  
• ABDC judge JC Chasez just had a lien filed against him by the state of Mississippi accusing him of owing $206,965 in delinquent taxes. According to Chasez' manager Eric Podwall: The lien stems from a business dispute between 'N Sync and Mississippi over revenue from a concert about seven years ago... The lien was filed against Chasez because he was the principal member of the band's corporation, which is defunct. But the tax lien is a corporate matter, not personal...The lien is being addressed. Source: Detroit News. Thanks for the additional info, Guest!
  
•  FIREBurner created a second trailer/teaser for ABDC5 that is new, improved, and briefer

Video: Super Cr3w appearance on Latination

ABDC 2 winners Super Cr3w were featured on a recent LatiNation TV segment, with performance clips and an interview. They talk about about how America's Best Dance Crew helped bring b-boying to a greater audience and helped them become headliners. Thanks for the clip Supercr3w.com!

Spotlight on ABDC5 LA auditioners - Part I of 4

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  We have no idea! But we DO know names for most of the crews that auditioned.  Early in January, we will run a contest to let you 'cast' which of the crews you think should make it to ABDC5 Top 9.  To help you choose and give these crews some exposure, we'll spotlight each of them and show any recent performance videos we can find. We know of 32 crews that auditioned in Los Angeles on December 5, 2009, so we're covering them (in alphabetical order) over 4 days. If you have further information, links or videos to share for auditioning crews, please leave a comment or email us at BloggingBestDanceCrew@gmail.com

• AXXENT crew, from California, Axxent is both a music group and dance crew. Hiroka from We are Heroes (ABDC 4 winners) was once an AXXENT dancer.   Here is a video of the group with Hiro:

 

• Beast Mode from North Hollywood formed in 2006. They also auditioned for ABDC Season 4.Pacific Rim interviewed the crew at the ABDC5 auditions. There are several videos at the BeastModeCrew Youtube channel, including a freestyle session called 'Soul Fresh' and this performance at Blvd 3 (where unfortunately one of the members was absent):

• Blended Projekt is a crew from the Dance Effect studio in West Covina, CA.  We couldn't find any performance videos for them
• Capital Iggz are reportedly 'over the top' (shown in our interview with them at the ABDC5 auditions) but we have no performance video for them
• Destined 2 Be hails from Indianapolis, Indiana. Two videos: a demo video for Step Up 3D casting, and a performance on America's Got Talent Season 4
  

• Flex Flav from Sacramento, CA was one of our favorite auditions from the LA's ABDC4. Pacific Rim interviewed the crew at the ABDC5 auditions. And, here's a recent battle against Berzerkely:

• Heavy Hitters . They 'represent' bigger fellows with krumping, tricks, jazz, and other surprises. Pacific Rim interviewed them at the ABDC5 audition. No further info or performance videos.
  

Happy holidays from JabbaWockeeZ

From The BangerZ: JabbaWockeeZ send holiday greetings!

NY Audition Video: Unstoppables

At the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5, we were able to watch about an hour of day one and a few hours of the callbacks. We were also permitted to film a few auditioning crews during that time.  IMPORTANT: we have no inside information or influence with the ABDC decision makers.
The Unstoppables from Detroit stood out from the competition for many reasons: their being older than the typical dancer (one judge said that when they walked in she thought they were just like her uncles, but then they wowed her), their distinctive Funkateering style, and the "Unstoppables" track that they created.

Fanmade Trailer for ABDC5

FIREBurner created a trailer for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 with highlights of the past 4 seasons and some footage from ABDC5 auditioners. This may be fan-made, but it rivals all the ABDC promos that MTV produced for the past few seasons!

Spotlight on Denver Auditioners, Part II

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  We have no idea! But we DO know names for most of the crews that auditioned.  Early in January, we will run a contest to let you 'cast' which of the crews you think should make it to ABDC5 Top 9.  To help you choose and give these crews some exposure, we'll spotlight each of them and show any recent performance videos we can find. Yesterday and today: spotlight on crews that auditioned in Denver. 

• Motion Underground hails from Denver. DayOneVideos posted several of their performances, including this:

• Rocky Mountain Rockstarz consists of former professional cheerleaders and dancers affiliated with LA Lakers, Denver Nuggets, and other teams. Here's a performance at a 2009 party:

•  True II Form from Denver have performed all over Colorado. They have an eclectic hip-hop based style. Many videos of them are available at WendyWut's Youtube Channel, including some bboy freestyles and this performance from Verve 2009:

 

• Illmatik Phlo Krew from Miami. Members come from 4 different crews: Ground Zero Crew, IllMoves Crew, ThunderCatz, and mystika. Their MySpace page has videos for each of the 4 crews, but nothing for the Illmatik Phlo crew itself.
  

• We lack videos for: Bandits (a bboy crew from Texas),  Ricochet (a contemporary burlesque group that was part of The Damsels Dance company from Denver)
  

Videos: Lil Mama's Birthday party, with Beat Freaks

From Hype Video  Productions: coverage of Lil Mama's 21st birthday party. Beat Freaks perform in the first video. According to the Youtube description, in early 2010 MTV will air a special with all more footage from this event. Thanks for the tip, abdc!

Updates on earlier audition posts: BreakEFX

We are trying to provide information on all of the crews that auditioned for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5. Since posting information about Atlanta, Houston, and some of the Denver crews, we've received corrections, additional information, and better videos. Please email us at BloggingBestDanceCrew.com if you want us to modify our posts about your crew. The posts have been updated with the new material, but we also make new posts to make sure you see the best work of these crews.
So, here's more of BreakEFX from Colorado. Click here  for a very recent video that highlights their breaking skills. And, here's their promo reel:

Survey results: favorite dance movies - Step Up 2, You Got Served

About 450 votes were cast in our survey on your favorite dance movies. The two on top: Step Up 2 (25%) and You Got Served (24%).

poll by twiigs.com

Spotlight on Denver Auditioners - Part I

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  We have no idea! But we DO know names for most of the crews that auditioned.  Early in January, we will run a contest to let you 'cast' which of the crews you think should make it to ABDC5 Top 9.  To help you choose and give these crews some exposure, we'll spotlight each of them and show any recent performance videos we can find.

Today and tomorrow: crews that auditioned in Denver. The auditions seem to have brought out some of the best breakers in the United States. 

• Boom Unit is composed of some members of Streetside. Here's a Streetside performance with some of the Boom Unit members at Colorado's Best Dance Crew 2009 where they took third place in Week 4. UPDATE: Here is a video of Boom Unit from a 2008 Verve competition
  

• BreakEFX from Colorado won Verve Collizionz 2009. UPDATE: Here's a recent video showing their dance and breaking skills:

 

• ElektroLytes, from Arizona, were formerly known as Fresh 2 Def. They auditioned for ABDC4 in Los Angeles (watch here).  Here's their performance at Arizona's Best Dance Crew, where they took first place:

• Ground Zero is well known on the Bboy battle scene. Click here to watch a demo video and a battle against ABDC2 winners Super Cr3w.
  

Video: Neverland members "Might Like You Better"

From Kyle Hanagami's Youtube Channel, a new workshop video with Neverland members and others dancing to Amanda Blanks "Might Like You Better."

Last Day to enter our "Favorite Dance Movie" survey

If you haven't voted yet in our survey on favorite dance movies, do it today! Click here for the survey; please pick up to 3 films.

Exclusive video from NY ABDC Auditions: Round One

We attended part of the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5, and were allowed to film a few crews during the initial auditions and the callbacks. IMPORTANT: we have no inside knowledge and no influence with the ABDC decision makers.
Here's Round One from New Jersey. They auditioned for ABDC Season 3 and Season 4 (here's some footage outside the audition space, their audition, and their callback). Round One also recently performed on 106th and Park. Note: this video is missing the very beginning of the audition; sorry about that!)

Video: Freak the Vogue trailer with Beat Freaks and Vogue Evolution

Beat Freaks Maryss, Lindsey, Rino, and Keeley learned to vogue at a class from Pony Zion and Dashaun of Vogue Evolution and learned how to vogue. This is a trailer for a documentary called “Freak the Vogue”! Thanks, guest!