Saturday, February 4, 2012

ABDC audition coverage w/ Chachi: interviews, dance demos- Elektrolytes, Fortissimo, Heart Stopperz, Floorteenth St.

Chris Trondsen, Chachi (of ABDC6's IaMmE), and Scott Yoshimoto (MOVeMEDIAProductions.com) stayed almost all day at the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 7, and we've got a LOT of crews for you to meet. In all cases, they demonstrate part of their audition routine or do some free-style, so you can see what they might bring to ABDC, as well as talking and showing their personalities. Here's our next set:
Elektrolytes (USA winners for 2011 Hip Hop International) and click here to watch  Floorteenth Street, Fortissimo, and Heart Stopperz. 

More new videos from auditioners: Elevation, Mix'd Elements

Several of the crews who auditioned for America's Best Dance Crew Season 7 followed up with videos showing their recent work (demo reels), their audition routines, or their 'road to ABDC'. I have no inside information, but most of these crews did make callbacks at the recent auditions. Today's featured crews: Mix'd Elements and Elevation.
Mix'd Elements

Elevation: Leave a comment if you have others for crews that have not already been covered.

Video: Academy of Villains - Dubsidia-Elekktroshockk

Straight from their strong showing at VIBE XVII, Academy of Villains made a powerful new video called 'Dubsidia-Elekktroshock'. The dance is choreographed and led by AOV's founder Chris 'Pharside' Jennings (member of ABDC2's Supreme Soul) . On Pharside Youtube

Friday, February 3, 2012

Guidelines for Commenting during Auditions

Hi guys,
School may have claimed me over the last semester, but I'm back, and I'm ready for ABDC 7. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Ninjaboi, and I'm supposedly one of the moderators of this site. I've been MIA with real life, but hopefully I'll be around more during the season!

Anyway, I'd just like to take some time to review site policy for commenters, especially as audition season ramps up for ABDC 7.
-Spamming. We know you guys are excited about the crews you love and that you want to hype up. At the same time, there are fans who take it to the extreme, and cause everyone else to hate their crew with their spamming of links and comments that don't add anything new to the conversation. There is a smart way and a bad way to market your crew to everyone else. Also, if no one's mentioning a particular topic and you randomly bring it up with no relationship at all (or even a stretched connection), you're not going to be well recevied and seen as annoying.
-Ad hominem attacks. We like to create an atmosphere here on BBDC where everyone is welcome to share their opinions. Discussion and debate are wonderful things we like to have going on. At the same time, if debate turns to mudslinging and insult trading, we'll promptly show you the door.
-Aliases. You're perfectly welcome to be anonymous. It is the internet after all. Just be aware that moderators can see your IP addresses, so you're not fooling anyone if you change your name to make spam look like many people supporting one idea when it's just you.
-Common courtesy. Be polite. Crews do read this site, and so while you may have something negative to say about them, keep it reasonable, the more encouraging them to get better and come back, the better. The less OMG YOU'RE SO WACK GO DIE IN A PIT, the better.
-Try to keep it readable. Your comment is more likely to be well received if it's well written, with good spelling, capitalization, punctuation, etc. Keeping it concise also helps.

That's it for now. Hopefully we don't have any problems with trolls or other issues this season!

If you want to read a more comprehensive list of rules from last season, click here.

NAOTV Episode 13: Competition Week

Ayo, it's NAOTV! And this week, we're (and by we, I mean I) bringing you the best from two major dance competitions from this past weekend. First up, we have Choreo Cookies' winning performance from Vibe XVII. Always facing increasingly stiffer competition every year, Choreo Cookies seem to be forever a cut above the rest as they won yet another incredible competition. Their incredible choreography mixed together with creative concepts and masterful staging result in showcases that never cease to amaze.




Next we head on over to the East Coast, where FUSiON hosted Elements XII. Here, we see another first place finish by UFP, who continue to establish themselves as a dominant force in the East Coast dance scene.




All in all, it was a great weekend for dance competitions. For other dope videos from this week, check out this playlist here or follow me after the break.

---Other Dope Videos from This Week---

Pat Lam "Beat It Up" - The Alpha Beta Ninjas recently filmed a video featuring Pat Lam's choreo to "Beat It Up" by J. Valentine. Their smooth rnb moves are followed up by some goofing around at the end. Check it.

Empire The Crew Audition Routine - Guam's Empire gave its second shot at the ABDC stage with another high intensity routine to "Why Stop Now" by Busta Rhymes featuring Chris Brown. In my opinion, this crew should be a heavy favorite for the upcoming season.

"We're All Biters" - This video by B-boy ManOfGod shows how breaking has been historically inspired by other dance styles. It is one of a few videos StrifeTV has uploaded recently on the subject of biting in the bboy world. It's interesting to see the roots of the original and purest form of hip hop dance.

More Chachi/Chris at LA audition w/ Instant Bun, Goodfellas, SHMOB Squad, Wrecking Clowns (great dance demos!)

Chris Trondsen, Chachi (of ABDC6's IaMmE), and Scott Yoshimoto (MOVeMEDIAProductions.com) stayed almost all day at the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 7, and we've got a LOT of crews for you to meet. In all cases, they demonstrate part of their audition routine or do some free-style, so you can see what they might bring to ABDC, as well as talking and showing their personalities. Here's our next set:
Instant Bun from Australia (Chachi clearly loves the Aussies!); and click here to watch Goodfellas, SHMOB Squad and Wrecking Clowns. Many of these crews moved on to callbacks, so you might be seeing them on MTV in April.

Chachi & Chris' LA audition interviews: 9-1 Pact, Mix'd Elements - 2 incredible free-style demos!

More of our coverage from the Los Angeles ABDC auditions: Chachi (from IaMmE) and Chris Trondsen talk to 9-1 Pact from France and Mix'd Elements. Both crews show outstanding free-style demos along with their interviews. And Chachi shows Chris how to communicate with the French crew! Thanks to MOVeMEDIAproductions.com for all the tech help!

LA Times' coverage of ABDC7 auditions, with video interviews of D-trix and Rosario McCoy

LA Times visited the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 7. The story includes interviews with audition judge Rosario McCoy who talks about judging almost all the auditions since the beginning and his favorite audition ever -- Quest Crew. They also talked to D-trix (ex-Quest Crew, now an ABDC judge) who talks about what it's like to move "across the table" after having danced on the show, and mentions that this season has the potential to "Not just America's Best Dance Crew" but the World's Best dance Crew, with people of all ages.

Favorite line from the article was a quote from Randy Jackson: "When asked if he could ever see the day when "ABDC" might somehow merge or cross paths with "American  Idol," he said "You never know, man. Stranger things have happened.""

Video: Feng (Quest) and Moon (IaMmE) "It's On"

An unusual and well-matched pairiing: Feng (from ABDC3's Quest Crew) dances with Moon (ABDC6's IaMmE) to "It's On". From QuestDanceCrew Youtube.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Chachi & Chris' LA audition interviews (with dance/free-style demos): Block Rockas, Physical Poets

More video interviews from the LA auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 7: Chachi (from ABDC6 winners IaMmE) and Chris Trondsen talk to Block Rockas and Physical Poets, and get them to demonstrate free-style skills and parts of their audition routines. Thanks to MOVeMEDIAproductions.com!

ABDC auditions w/ Chachi (IaMmE) & Chris Trondsen: interviews, dance demos & freestyles from Skool Rascals, MVP

Chachi (IaMmE), Chris Trondsen, and Scott Yoshimoto covered the Los Angeles ABDC7 auditions for us. They taped a LOT of crews, and we'll get them posted in the next few days. Most of the videos will include questions from Chris and Chachi, crew introductions, an 8-count dance demonstration from the crew, and some free-style. Thanks for MOVeMEDIAproductions.com for all the camera and production help!

Video: Marquese Scott dubsteps for Audio-Technica

Audio-Technica, maker of some of the world's best headphones, tapped Marquese Scott to promote its wares with more of his incredible dancing. 

Video from Blueprint Cru workshops, including Chachi (IaMmE), Jet Li (Poreotics), Janik (Irratik/BP)

Blueprint Cru (runners-up in America's Best Dance Crew Season 5) hold regular workshops in Quebec, taught by members of Blueprint and some guest dance instructors. This video shows highlights from some of the workshops, including sessions taught by Chachi (ABDC6's IaMmE), Jet Li (ABDC5's Poreotics) and Janik (member of Blueprint and ABDC7 auditioning crew Irratik. From 8CountDance Youtube.

More Crew ABDC audition routine videos: Funk Beyond Control, Skool Rascals

Every day, more crews are posting videos of their America's Best Dance Crew Season 7 audition routines in practice. Today's batch:
- Funk Beyond Control from San Francisco, who received a callback
- Skool Rascals from Hawaii (part of the Hype dynasty), who also received a callback
Click here to watch. Leave a comment if you know of other ABDC7 audition videos that we haven't yet posted.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Video: Russell Ferguson (SYTYCD6 winner) - Krump Fu

Russell Ferguson, winner of So You Think You Can Dance Season 6, demonstrates his krumping skills in a new video called "Krump Fu - The Drunken Master". 

Videos from Elements XII: winners UFP, Project D, Static Noyze; exhibition crews Rhythm City, Mischief Makers

Elements XII, one of the biggest dance competitions on the East Coast.  was held at Boston University on January 28, 2011. The winners of the event: 1st Place: UFP, 2nd Place: Project D, Third Place: Static Noyze. Click here to watch the performances from Project D and Static Noyze, as well as Rhythm City and Mischief Makers (both of which performed in exhibition). All videos from BUFusion Youtube.

TiVO Alert: Nappytabs, FORMALity on MOBBED tonight (video preview)

Tonight's episode of MOBBED has the usual components: overwrought emotional story and great dancing. FORMALity is featured this week. The episode airs on Fox at 9pm ET/PT. This video is a preview of the dance action; click here to watch another clip on the hazards of open calls for flash mob dances.

More ABDC auditioner videos: Funkdation, MVP, All-Star Crew, Persona, Blank Canvas

The auditions for ABDC Season 7 have ended, but we have some more looks at segments of the audition routines for several crews:
- Funkdation from Mexico, on FunkdationTV Youtube
- MVP from San Jose, CA, on vipsj Youtube.
-All-Star Crew from Puerto Rico.
-Persona from Las Vegas made callbacks at the LA auditions
-Blank Canvas showed some of their routine outside the LA auditions, taped by Dancer21 Youtube.
Click here to watch the routines. 

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Step Up 4: Exclusive Announcement Trailer

Straight from the DanceOn Youtube channel, we have our first Official Trailer for Step Up 4. We already know this movie is going to be packed full of famous dance stars, including members of IaMmE, Poreotics, Phunk Phenomenon, Street Kingdom, and Kaba Modern. Stay tuned for more information:

More video of cyphers at Chicago ABDC auditions

Dance Grind TV released a video taken at the Chicago auditions for ABDC Season 7 that focuses on the cyphers, and introducing a few crews from the day -- Stereo Junkies, Vhital, Fatally Unique, Third Dimension, DeadPool, and R'sin.

Vibe XVII: Choreo Cookies, AOV & Kaori Alive Performances

This past Sunday, Vibe 17 Dance Competition took place. These are the results for the Top 3:
1st Place - Choreo Cookies, 2nd Place - Academy of Villains, 3rd Place - Kaori Alive. Shoutout to all the other crews that performed! More videos will be posted here, as soon as we can get a hold of them. Click here to read a review of the acts from the Daily Princetonian.
Click here to watch the performances from Academy of Villains and Kaori Alive.

More LA ABDC audition coverage from DanceOn: Dtrix, judges, crews, cyphers!

DanceOn posted a video with dozens of short clips from their footage at the LA auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 7. They talk to the audition judges about how Los Angeles is different from other cities and how season 7 will differ from last season. They introduce several crews including Full Force, Misfits, Persona, and Neon, and show crews free-styling outside the audition studio.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Week 3: Name the ABDC7 Superstars contest - predict the musical superstars to win!

UPDATE: I'm ending the contest as of now, since there seem to be a lot of spoilers online about the superstars. The winner will be announced at the end of the season.
MTV announced that America's Best Dance Crew Season 7 will again be a "season of the superstar". Who are the musical superstars that will be featured this time? We don't know, but we want to know what you think.  So, here's a contest to let you forecast MTV's picks for the second "Season of the Superstars".  Prize: Tshirt (value up to $30) or $30 iTunes gift card/certificate.  RULES: 
  • Pick up to 8 'superstar' performers.  If you pick more, I will only count the first 8 listed
  • This is the second round of the contest: the first round of the Contest ended once auditions began. The second round begins NOW and ends once MTV announces the Superstars (probably some time before  ABDC7 starts).  For this second round: every superstar used in ABDC7 audition callback CDs or in 3 (possibly) spoiler videos is worth 1 point, and all other picks are worth 2 points (for a possible total of 12 points). The superstars worth only one point in this round: Far East Movement, JayZ, Kanye West, Chris Brown, Trey Songz. Every other correct guess is worth 2 points!
  • List your answers in the comments, or send your answers to ABDCContest@gmail.com. If you list in comments, please make sure you use a distinct name (not "guest" or just a first name).
  • Please do not enter more than once a week!
  • Please don't enter this if you work for MTV or Viacom
  • The winner is the person who accurately picked the most superstars featured on ABDC Season 7. If there is a tie, the prize will go to the entry with the earliest entry
  • The winner will be announced on this site after I am sure of the correct answer  
Good luck and start guessing!

Videos: 9 Non-US crews who might make it to ABDC Season 7

America's Best Dance Crew might want to consider changing its name. Some of the top auditioners are not from the United States, and several are not from anywhere in the Americas. Puerto Ricans -- please note that I consider Puerto Rico as an unincorporated US territory, so don't protest this post!!  Here's our short list of foreign crews to look out for:
- Canada: Irratik, a sister crew of Blueprint that has won awards in Canada and at Hip Hop International 
- Canada: Rockwell Family, a crew that has won at World of Dance and also done well at HHI
- France: 9-1 Pact, which received raves at the LA auditions and has competed on a French dance show
- France: Metamorphoz, which won awards at several European street dance competitions in 2011
- Japan: Baby-Maation (aka Baby-mation), a kid crew which was one of the favorites at the Chicago ABDC auditions
- United Kingdom: Plague  won first place at Hip Hop International twice
UPDATE: Adding more non-US crews to the list, based on commenter suggestions:
- Canada: PraiseTeam, whose megateam came in third at 2011 Hip Hop International 
- Mexico: Funkdation
- Australia: Instant Bun, who won several international competitions and were semi-finalists for Australia's Got Talent

Click here to watch recent videos of all these crews. Which would you pick? And, do you think a non-US crew can overcome problems faced by ReQuest (ABDC6) in getting US votes?

2012 World of Dance schedule: 12 cities across US and Canada

World of Dance just posted their calendar for 2012, including shows in Los Angeles, Dallas, Toronto, New York, Montreal, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, San Diego, Boston, Chicago, and Hawaii. Their events always have the best local crews and dancers in exhibition and competition, as well as nationally and internationally recognized groups. Click here for info on submitting a video audition, if you'd like to compete at their events, and click here for dates and tickets.

Video: Poreotics -- is reality TV in their future

Poreotics (ABDC5 winners) imagine what they might do for a reality show, with a little dancing in this new video on their PoreoticsHDTV Youtube Channel. Some of their possibilities: "Pimp My Guy", "Guys Gone Mild", and "Can You Dance? I Think So". I think Poreotics should go for it -- any show of theirs would be funnier and with better dancing than anything else around.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

First Round of PacRim video Interviews from LA auditions

Pacific Rim Video has always provided excellent coverage of ABDC, from auditions to finale, and this year is no exception. Here are all the interviews they've released so far, with more on the way.
-Long time auditioners Elektrolytes (ft Hazmat and Will from Hype 5-0


-Skool Rascals hailing from Hawaii (ft Hazmat, Will and Ramones from Hype 5-0)

More videos:
-World Famous Bboys Knucklehead Zoo,
Instant Bun (from Australia),  Fallen Kings, Step Boys, Krush on Arrival,  Kid KINGdom (with a 6 year old), Supreme Flow, Neon, -Artistic Drift (from Alaska)

We'll definitely update all you guys with more interview videos as they come out!

Field report from INSIDE the LA ABDC Audition Room - which crews stood out and why!

A trusted anonymous source sat in the audition room, with the judges, at the Los Angeles America's Best Dance Crew Season 7 tryouts on January 28, 2012. Here's the inside scoop:
--As expected, an awesome turn out of talented crews.
--Things started a little slow but the Elektrolytes woke up the room with their audition and got the room hyped.
--Most improved crew award goes to Street Kingdom 2.0. Tight Eyez and his new members have shown so much growth and they got a lot of compliments on how they "figured it out" and now have a version of Krump that is accessible and appealing to everyone. They blew the room away so much that even D-Trix and Riquel (HEROES) had to weigh in and they weren't even judging the competition.
--Surprising amount of kid crews showed up and we can have another Hype 5-0/Poreotix showdown with Josh's School of Rascals crew (the sweetest looking girls but they go hard) and Dumbo's Miniotics (perfect name. like the Poreotix were left in the dryer for too long and shrunk).
--Ridiculous crew from France, 9-1 Pact, insane audition!!
--Best sweat pants award goes to Flavahz Crew (click here to see their audition costumes)
--Knucklehead Zoo had a strong audition. Casting was really impressed with the level of growth and how they were still able to stay true to their b-boy roots.
--Funniest crew award goes to Step Boys, their energy and spirit had the room cracking up non stop.
--Instant Bun's audition turned into a Thunder in Down Under strip tease moment to "Its raining men."
--Lot of great crews coming back for callbacks. Will have to see which crews can make the adjustments to their audition routine as well as come up with a dope routine for the challenge music: "N*ggas in Paris" master mix by District 78
Thanks, Anonymous!!

We're still updating our ABDC audition master list- please help us improve it with additions, links, callback info

We've been compiling a list of the crews who auditioned for America's Best Dance Crew Season 7. To recognize and honor the crews, we've included recent performance videos as well as links to Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, or web pages. And, since the auditions began, we've tried to include info on who received a callback, though this information is incomplete.  Here's the list, updated as of the LA auditions.

So far, we've listed 162 crews! But we know there are more, and we know there is better info on many of them. So, please leave a comment or email us at BloggingABDC@gmail.com with information or links on any crew that auditioned for this season or sent in an audition video. Thanks!

More photos from LA ABDC auditions


- The above photo was on a Twitter link from Ro Studios with the caption: "My favorite crew at the LA auditions 2day!! From France:)!!!!! Watch out 4 these boys!!"The group: 9-1 Pact
-The motherlode of  photos from the America's Best Dance Crew Season 7 LA auditions can be found at Pacific Rim Photopress -- 65 photos in all of crews, judges, and ABDC alums
- ShanEvangeline tweeted - "Our minis got the ABDC callback -- so proud" referring to Miniotics with this photo
- Randy Jackson showed up for the auditions and for interviews. Source - Yo_Randy Jackson Twitter
- Chris Trondsen has a fierce photo of ABDC6's Street Kingdom. The krumpers made it to today's callback round.
Leave a comment and link if you want to share other photos or news about the LA auditions

Video: Beat Freaks on "Shake it Up"

Beat Freaks (America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 runners up) appeared on the latest episode of  Disney Channel's "Shake it Up". Click here to watch the full episode.