Season 3 Auditioners -- Has MTV Contacted You Yet?

We've heard that MTV has started contacted auditioning crews as to whether they made it to Season 3. For those of you who get bad news -- try out next season! We know that the competition was fierce and many many great crews won't make the cut. Feel free to comment here if you were contacted by MTV, to let us know what they said and what you think. We welcome comments from anyone who auditioned for Season 3. IMPORTANT:

• Do not write anything that would violate your legal signed agreement with MTV. For example, if MTV told the Season 3 crews not to identify themselves publicly, leave a comment but don't give your name or your crew name.
• Don't lie or misrepresent yourself.
  

Stage View of ABDC Live's Last Show

DJ Virman provides the backstage view of ABDC Live's final show, showing the crews taking their bows:


Don't forget to tune in to FM TV next week --November 25 at 9pm West Coast time -- for the live streaming release party for Animal, the new album for DJ Virman's group Far East Movement.

Bay Area Hip Hop Weekend -- SoReal Cru, DanceFest with BreakSk8

1. SoReal Cru appears for shows and meet and greets in the Bay Area this weekend.

• San Francisco: meet the Cru in San Francisco at Fatlace (1630 Post Street) from on Saturday 11/22 from3-5pm.
• San Jose: watch SoReal perform at Club Vivid on Saturday 11/22. Call 408-279-4444 for details. Then meet them at Sole on Ice (475 W. San Carlos St.) on Sunday 11/23 from 3-5pm

2. This weekend is also the 10th Annual San Francisco Hip-Hop Dance Fest, featuring 22 crews from around the world performing, holding master classes, and partying. Break Sk8 will perform along with notable crews like Soul Sector, OTI, Flawless, and Plaque. Click here for details and tickets.

ABDC Audition Judge Napoleon D'umo : Rock the Reception!

America's Best Dance Crew fans may know Napoleon D'umo mainly as one of the audition judges for ABDC, appearing on the MTV audition specials. But he and his wife Tabitha are involved in much much much more, including handling auditions, choreography and judging for So You Think You Can Dance; teaching for Masters of Hip Hop; choreographing special events; selling their own line of street wear called NappyTabs; and appearing in their own TLC program called "Rock the Reception" (helping engaged couples prepare for the first dance at their wedding receptions).

You can read all about it in this article in Movment Magazine. And you can catch up and watch Rock the Reception on TLC or the TLC website.

Super Cr3w Video -- Florida Performance

On November 15, Super Cr3w performed in Arlington, FL at the Aqua Nightclub. We love Jabbawockeez904's video -- almost feels like we're at the show.

More Favorite Crews from ABDC 3 LA Auditions: Trendsetters

We have videos and interviews for two more favorite crews from the LA auditions. Remember that the Blogging America's Best Dance Crew field reporters Rebecca and Brooke were not able to watch all the crews and that our blog has no insider information or influence on the ABDC judges.

Today's video and interview: Trendsetters from North Hollywood

• Why the name Trendsetters: Because they ARE trendsetters, especially the choreographer Brooklyn Jai
• Crew members: Angel, Brooklyn Jai, Todd Flanagan, Trevor Kent, Anja, Melissa Miles, and Deidre Maldanado
• How long performing as a group: 7 years
• Style of dance: Hip Pop
• Why they're auditioning: they feel it's their year to shine, they are talented fresh and new, and all have individual talents
• Favorite crew from past seasons: Fanny Pak
• What they'd do if they won the $100,000: they want to produce their own show and invest the money in their careers.

Here's the video and interview from Talk of Fame:

Mailbox: Olsen Twins go Jabbawockeez, plus Boogie Bots & Live In Color

• Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (and friends) donned JabbaWockeeZ masks to conceal their identies at a friend's wedding. Somehow I don't think they busted any major moves at the reception. Read the report here.

• The Lantern (the student newspaper for Ohio State) covered Boogies Bots and Live In Color's performance at "Step it Up and Dance"

More JC Chasez Videos: JC and Justin Timberlake at TFL, Advice for Season 3

JC Chasez made the rounds during Total Finale Live. First, he and Justin Timberlake appeared with Carson Daly, reminiscing about their odd hair, outfits and behavior during the early years of TRL:

Next, he spoke to MTV Remote Control, with his guidance for Season 3's crews:

ABDC Crew Shirts -- sale on Jabbawockeez & Super Cr3w, or buy the latest JBWZ styles

• Armory Survival Gear is holding a Holiday sale on all merchandise purchased on-line, including JabbaWockeeZ shirts, Super Cr3w shirts and lots more. Click here to start shopping. The discount code is ARMORYHOLIDAY.
  
• JabbaWockeeZ added some new shirts styles. Things tend to sell out fast, so get that holiday present NOW for your favorite JabbaWockeeZ fan (or for yourself). You can get them at Shiekh stores or Shiekhshoes.com. They're also available at fancasa.com.

Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak, and Boogie Bots in Guam - Interview and Make-A-Wish!

Saipan Tribune provides some novel coverage of the Music, Dance & Wishes II show in Guam:

• They interviewed Kaba Modern when the crew served as judges for CNMI's best dance crew competition. The crew had such an outstanding reception that they've promised to return to Saipan sometime in the future.
• They went backstage as Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak, and Boogie Bots greeted Franklin Ebuen. Franklin is a 13-year old with a life-threatening condition whose request to Make-A-Wish was to attend the concert and meet the crews. Each crew gave Franklin a special gift. That's Franklin in the picture during his private meet-and-greet.
  

JC Chasez interview from Total Finale Live

JC Chasez was one of the guests at Total Finale Live, the last gasp of TRL. Watch the America's Best Dance Crew judge describe his experience to MTV's Buzzworthy:

Boogie Bots at Dance4Life - Watch video for chance to win computer or CDs!

On November 29, Boogie Bots will perform for Dance4Life at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.c.. Dance4Life is a nonprofit that fights AIDS through Dance Initiatives. Click here if you want register for the show or to volunteer and it for free.

And watch this video for more info on Dance4Life. BTW -- if we get the most viewers of this video on our site and win something, we'll hold a contest to give it away to one of our readers! (It loads slowly, so please be patient!)

More Favorite Crews from ABDC 3 LA Auditions: World Famous

We still have a few more audition videos to share with you. Our disclaimer: our ace Blogging America's Best Dance Crew field reporters Brooke and Rebecca only attended 4 hours of the L.A. auditions, so they did not see every crew. We also have absolutely no influence on the judges' decisions.

Another favorite of ours: World Famous. This girl group auditioned unsuccessfully for Season 2 but returned, better than ever for Season 3 auditions. Belle, one of the crew members, is the wife of Rainan Paguio of JabbaWockeeZ.

We're using Talk of Fame's video of the audition, so you can see their interview as well.

Mailbox: Why Filipino crews rule, plus cute Super Cr3w fan pix

• BakitWhy attended the NY auditions for ABDC season 3, focusing on the strength of Filipino dance crews. To quote the article and Howard Schwartz (co-Creator of America's Best Dance Crew): "I don't know what it is about Filipinos, and what comes inside you to make you dance the way you do." BakitWhy talks to and profiles the NY Filipino crews that tried out, including Sour Logic, Point Blank, and Fr3sh -- 3 crews that we highlighted as some of our favorite auditioners. Read the insightful post here.

• We see lots of fan pictures, but we thought these photos of Super Cr3w (including the one above) were especially cute. Thanks for sharing, Arianne-Izzzle!
  

Exclusive Podcast with DJ Virman, DJ on America's Best Dance Crew Live Tour!

This week, DJ Virman spoke with Blogging America's Best Dance Crew about how he got involved in the ABDC live tour, his favorite parts of the show, what they did between shows, complete with stories about crew 'drama', getting into trouble, friendships, shoe shopping, and meeting fans on the street. Here's the podcast:

As mentioned in the podcast, DJ Virman and his group Far East Movement are releasing an album called "Animal". You can join the live streaming release party on November 25 at 9pm (WestCoast time) at FarEastMovement.com. There will be performances, surprise guests, and prizes.

Randy Jackson at the ABDC Auditions - "This is what the Dawg Wanted"

Talk of Fame met with Randy Jackson at the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew. He's coy about the surprises in store but announces "This is what the Dawg wanted." And if the Dawg wants it, the Dawg's gonna get it. so stay tuned.

And stay tuned for more Talk of Fame links over the next week or so . They've got some new angles on ABDC's personalities and crews and I'm looking forward to watching and sharing.

JabbaWockeeZ in Winnipeg -- videos and pictures

Access Winnipeg attended the Reprezent show on November 11, which featured JabbaWockeeZ. They'll review the boys soon, but in the meantime, they posted lots of pictures and videos from JabbaWockeez' performance, final bows, and backstage. Click here for their JabbaWockeeZ report.
Here's my favorite of the batch, with some dances that I hadn't seen before:

Shane Sparks: ABDC's Impact, Forecasts & How ABDC can kick SYTYCD's butt

Blogging America's Best Dance Crew field reporters met with Shane Sparks at the Season 3 auditions in Los Angeles. Here's some more Sparks scoop about the new season, ABDC's impact, what it takes to win, and the differences between ABDC and So You think you Can Dance:

How will Season 3 be different from prior seasons?" I'd like to see more female groups and more break dancing groups. The Season 3 crews need to be ready to break more records each week, just like JabbaWockeeZ did, and step it up."

What do you think it takes to be a winning crew for Season 3?"The winning crew will have a bit of Fanny Pak, Super Cr3w, and JabbawockeeZ, while bringing something else completely different to the stage.

Do you think America's Best Dance Crew has had an impact on America's perception of hip hop dancing?"Yes. It's given these kids in the street the opportunity to get off the streets. It gives them something to look forward to every week. It gives them something to work on and perfect so they can try out for Season 4."

What are the main differences between So You Think You can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew? " The dance crews are more self-taught talent and offer better dances. They do their own choreography. They are totally individual."

kaba Modern on VH1's "Real Chance of Love" on Nov. 17

Kaba Modern's Cindy Minowa and Jia Huang will appear on VH1's "Real Chance of Love on November 17. They'll be splitting up the show's contestants into two crwes and serving as team captains for a dance face-off. Thanks for the tip, Michael Tran!

Here's the preview:

• VH1 TV Shows
• Music Videos
• Celebrity Photos
• News & Gossip

Upcoming Performances: Boogie Bots, Kaba Modern, Knucklehead Zoo

• Tonight (November 14), Roselle Park, NJ: Joesar Alva of Boogie Bots will be teaching and performing at the Paragon Ballroom. Click here for details.
• November 21, Los Angeles: Kaba Modern will be one of the performers at the KoreAm Journal Achievement awards. Click here for details
• November 22, 8Pm ET, everywhere!: Knucklehead Zoo will be hyping "Planet B-boy" at a Youtube Live event. Other guests include Akon, Katy Perry and Mythbusters. Here's the info.