Week 3 Recaps: Saturday Edition

• America's Best Dance Crew Fans United rates the performance, and starts giving love to Ringmasters
• NY Daily News loves Quest and says that Strikers remind them of a routine with Sarah Jessica Parker, Helen Hunt, and Shannon Doherty. Erm, okay....
• GUnitVer1's World thinks thinks that Team Millennia's elimination might cause ABDC fans to turn off the TV
• Spoil the Ending loves Strikers and Quest, and compares Fly Khicks to Pussycat Dolls
  

Backstage Interview with Quest Dance Crew

Field reporter Salima Koroma -- assisted by Michelle Lee and Vanessa Labi -- interviewed Quest Dance Crew backstage at America's Best Dance Crew on January 27 before the Britney Spears Challenge taping. She used questions submitted by our blog's readers (with shoutouts to the submitters), getting answers on how Quest crew members were chosen for ABDC, their reactions to Boxcuttuhz' elimination, their favorite movies, and the issue of Asian parents disapproving of dance as a career.

How to Use ABDC as a Christian Recruiting Tool

The Christian Post runs an editorial called "How to Share Your Faith Using America's Best Dance Crew." Really. They analyze why crews want to win (1 Corinthians 9:21 "Run in such a way as to get the prize" and how to turn conversations about ABDC to spiritual topics (hints: talk about striving, fairness, and being part of a team).

This article really sent shivers down my spine. Please read and comment!

JC Chasez and Beat Freaks talk about Britney

BritneySpears.com talked to J C Chasez and Beat Freaks' Rino and Teresa (who used to be members of the Britney Spears backup dancer team. I love the insider perspective on why Britney continues to capture America's imagination and attention.

Mailbox: Backstage Crew Reports from all over

• Yahoo TV posted an exit interview with Boxcuttuhz, talking about their crew name, image, and opinions on their early exit
• Zap2It spoke to Shane Sparks before the Week 3 taping. Favorite quote: "The only thing I'm sad about is the fact that Britney's not gonna be on the stage with us. [leans toward the recorder for comedic emphasis] Britney, I hate you for that."
• Pacific Rim posts backstage pre-Britney Challenge interviews with Strikers, Team Millennia, Fly Khicks, and Dynamic Edition. Here's their DE interview -- it's all about the hair.
  

Another chance: Enter Week 3 of our Top 4 Contest

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.

At the end of the season, I'll post who won, and who else got the right combination (and in which week). So, even if your choice has already been taken, you can enter a new one now and get some bragging rights. And, there are still some combinations that haven't been picked, if you want to place a bet on some dark horses.

Click here for contest rules and prize. Good luck!

Exclusive Podcast with Team Millennia AFTER the Week 3 Eliminations

I spoke by phone with Team Millennia on Wednesday January 28, after the Britney Spears Challenge, in which they were eliminated from America's Best Dance Crew Season 3.

Listen in as we talk about their experience in Seasons 2 and 3, what inspired them to become dancers, why the West Coast has so many good dancers, their ABDC friends, what's next for TM, and much more. One highlight of the interview for me: when asked what they'd change about the show (thanks for the question, Mike!), they posit an intriguing different system to determine the ABDC winner-- a non-elimination point system that allows viewers to see the full range of the crews' capabilities and talents.

We'll have a pre-elimination video with Team Millennia posted soon, where they answer ABDC fan questions. And for more on TM, tune into Extra this weekend.

MTV Detox - CONFUSION?! at the Britney Spears Challenge

Jim Cantiello got his hands America's Best Dance Crew Week 3, and it will never be the same. Remember Britney's show Chaotic...uh, remember? Well, Jim's found the common theme in tonight's show -- CHAOS and CONFUSION! Gender confusion, verbal confusion, identity confusion -- you name it, Jim's confused. Don't take my word for it -- watch here!

Detox - MTV Shows

And thanks for the shoutout, Jim!

Enter Round 3 of the ABDC Elimination Challenge Contest!

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 3 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, two people (Emily and Jeff) got all three points. But the top cumulative score after 2 weeks is ONLY 3 points (achieved by only 4 people - Andrew, Emily, Jeff, and Eddie). And, the season goes on for 6 more weeks, so it's anybody's game. Enter NOW -- here are the rules and details. Entries for this week will be accepted until midnight, Monday February 2.

Send some love to Team Millennia

Thousands of fans petitioned MTV when Team Millennia were eliminated during the Season 2 Live Auditions, and were thrilled to see Team Millennia return to America's Best Dance Crew for Season 3. We're going to miss their choreography and their ability to reinvent to fit the theme and the music. We'll post our podcast with TM soon; during that interview, we also became impressed with the team's spirit and good humor.

This post is only for positive comments about Team Millennia. If you want to negative comments about them or about other aspects of ABDC, please leave them in our Party Room.

Poll: Which crew gave the worst performance for the Britney Spears Challenge?

Poll: Which crew gave the best performance for the Britney Spears Challenge?

VOTE!!

The voting is now open for The Britney Spears Challenge, from now until 6am Eastern time. If you want to protect your favorite crew, act now!

You can vote on-line here. Performance videos will probably be online by 11pm West Coast time, to aid in your choices.

The Party Room is NOW OPEN -- Join us!

The party room for America's Best Dance Crew Week 3 is now open! Share your predictions, impressions, frustrations, hates and loves. TBone will moderate this reader forum, while NancyT live-blogs and does play-by-play in a separate BABDC post (just below this post). So, if you want to share your comments with other viewers, leave them here.

After the show is over: Give us your reactions and don't hold back, b*tch.

Live play-by-play blogging of ABDC's Britney Spears Challenge

At 10pm, I'll be watching America's Best Dance Crew and live blogging the facts as I see them. So tune in at 10 and feel free to read along!

Even though this software gives readers the option of sending me comments, please post most of them on the separate Party Room post instead (unless you REALLY want me to see your message real-time). Reason: with this software, reader comments must be manually inserted by me and I'll be busy enough between the TV and the keyboard.

Last minute Sneak Peak - Beat Freaks in Britney Spears Challenge

Can't wait a few hours for ABDC to start? Here's a last minute sneak peak -- Beat Freaks and the Britney Spears challenge. Hope to see all of you in the Party Room and Play by Play soon!


Watch "ABDC 3" -- Beat Freaks, Week 3 in Entertainment Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Week 2 BABDC Poll results - best and worst performances

Results from our surveys on the best and worst performances for the Fit Challenge:

• For best performance: top vote getters were Quest (34%) and Strikers (27%)
• For worst performance: 46% of our respondents thought Ringmasters was the worst, followed by Fly Khicks with a 28% disapproval rating.

Here's a clip of Quest's winning performance, from Fanscape Videos.

Preview - Week 3 ABDC and backstage report!

Field reporter Salima previews tonight's ABDC and her backstage reports:

Tuesday night's taping of America's Best Dance Crew was Britney-riffic! The theme this week was to perform to a selected song by Ms. Spears. That means that tonight's episode will be chock-full of tunes like "Gimme More", "Toxic", and "Circus.' But of course, this being ABDC, that's not where the fun ends. The crews also had to complete odd, difficult, and sometimes dangerous challenges. Be prepared to see dancers performing with canes, blindfolds, and even stilts!

As usual, backstage was pretty crazy. Members of Fanny Pak stopped by to hang out with us and the rest of the crews. I even spotted Taboo Nawasha of the Black Eyed Peas! I also got to talk to Quest (since you all love 'em so much!) and I asked them the questions that YOU readers wanted the answers to. Look out for the video later this week. You'll find out what Quest thinks about Lydia and Boxcuttuhz going home last week, and also their favorite dance moves!
Thanks Salima! I can't wait!

The Real Britney Spears Challenge - ABDC Alumna as backup dancers!

Just in time for tonight's Britney Spears' challenge, here's are group pictures of Britney and her dancers, featuring Jia Huang (from Kaba Modern) and Laura Edwards (from Fysh N Chicks). Congratulations to both for this prestigious and highly visible gig (though we're sorry we couldn't find photos with greater visibility of the girls!) Thanks for the tip, Michael!

TONIGHT -- Join us for live blogging,The Party Room, and polls

Thank God it's Thursday! Watch America's Best Dance Crew and the Britney Spears Challenge with us tonight! The Party Room (aka Critics Corner) opens at 9:30 ET and stays open as long as you want, so that everyone can comment on the moves, clothes, judges, celebrities, you name it. Did you like the challenge? Was it b*tch-worthy? Did America vote right? Who should go home? Get Chaotic!

At 10pm ET, I'll be doing live play-by-play for those of you from the West Coast/Canada/India or other ABDC-deprived zones (or people who just want to keep me company!).

Tomorrow morning, please vote in our polls on the best and worst performances. Plus, Week 3 of our Elimination Contest and Top 4 Contest will be on-line. Join us!

Field Report from VIBE XIV, including ABDC Crew news

Field reporters Beverly, Ashley, and Angela covered VIBE XIV for us. They got backstage and talked to Arnel Calvario (president of Culture Shock LA, founder of Kaba Modern and Kallusive Dance Crew), Mike Song, Lawrence Kao, and Tony Tran (from ABDC Season 1 Kaba Modern), and Bam from Boxcuttuhz, and taped a practice session and some performances. We'll share all their videos over the next few days. In the meantime, here's their field report. Thanks!

"As we were driving up to the Brens Center, multiple teams were scattered throughout the parking lot, practicing intricate routines and refining their every move. Surrounded by hunders of talented dancesr, we stood in amazement as they prepared for one of the biggest dance competitions of the year. We were at a loss for words until our friend exclaimed, "Look, look! Over there! There's Ben from JabbaWockeeZ! Oh, and Yuri from Kaba Modern." Little did we know that we would be able to see so many stars from ABDC; apparently VIBE is the place to be."

Click here to read the rest of this in-depth inside report, which includes advice from Arnel's observations on Season 3, Mike's reflection on how ABDC changed his life, and advice for dancers from Kaba and Boxcuttuhz. And, here's a Kallusive Dance Crew practice session featuring Kaba Modern's Mike Song:

Congratulations to Team Millennia for 3rd Place at VIBE XIV

Team Millennia (the larger group, probably not including the members competing on America's Best Dance Crew this season) came in third in the dance competition at VIBE XIV. We've got a field report, videos of Kallusive Dance Crew (which includes members of Kaba Modern), and some amazing backstage interviews which we'll post soon. But, in the meantime, here's Lillostguy's video of the TM performance.

Interview with Boxcuttuhz' Bam

On January 25, Field reporters Ashley, Angela, and Beverly attended VIBE XIV, a dance exhibition and competition featuring some of the best hip hop choreography around. We'll have their field report, along with interview and a performance video soon. To warm up, here's their interview with Bam from Boxcuttuhz, talking about the America's Best Dance Crew experience and giving advice to aspiring dancers:

Groovaloos win on Superstars of Dance

On the Superstars of Dance finale, The Groovaloos -- representing the U.S. for group performance-- took the trophy. To watch, click here, watch the commercial, then choose Chapter 6.
Photcredit: TV Guide

Choreographers Carnival featuring ABDC crews, Shane Sparks, and more

Tonight, The Choreographers Carnival will be held in Los Angeles (where else?). Expected performers include the Groovaloos, Super Cr3w, Fanny Pak, Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Beat Freaks, Shane Sparks, Phlex, Eddie Garcia, Andre Fuentes, and more. For ticket information, call (310) 770-7445 or click here.

Keeping it Real - ABDC MySpace and OFFICIAL videos

The problem with bootleg America's Best Dance Crew videos taken off somebody's TV set are: 1. they're illegal, 2. they'll get pulled from Youtube soon enough 3. the quality is marginal. So, don't use them in your blogs, Facebook, or other web pages.

The best alternative (besides watching the full episode videos on MTV.com): Fanscape has a Youtube channel that captures ALMOST the whole video, is authorized by MTV and has highest quality. You can access them at the official ABDC MySpace page or the Fanscape channel on Youtube.

Here's a sample: last week's Strikers All-Stars performance in the Fit Test Challenge.

Team Millennia Backstage Week 2 - from The W3st

TheW3st.com is visiting America's Best Dance Crew several times during Season 3 to give their readers a feel for the West Coast crews They've got photos and videos of crews and judges Here's their first installment pictures and videos. A sample -- their interview with Team Millennia:

UPDATED: Merchandise - ABDC, Beat Freaks & TM Shirts

People are looking for new ABDC merchandise, though it's 2 weeks into the season. We don't know about Quest shirts (the quest-ion most asked), but here are some other options:

UPDATE: Team Millennia shirts and hoodies are available at TMDance.org
Beat Freaks - Freak the Vote, available from Freakthevote.com and 5andadime.com . BTW -- Freak the Vote makes no money on the shirts -- they're making them as a way to get out the word on ABDC and their favorite crew.
Official ABDC shirts and hoodies from MTV.com, including new designs like this:
And, you can pre-order Fanny Pak sneakers from Milkshake Kicks.

Do-Knock and Phi battle during ABDC Commercial Break

During last week's tapings, SuperCr3w member Do-Knock and JabbaWockeeZ' Phi did some battling to entertain the crowd during a taping break. Here's MTV Remote Control's footage:

MTV - Music Videos - MTV Shows - Celebrity News

Dynamic Edition interview: Merging conflicting styles

The DeKalb Times Journal spoke to hometown hero Melissa Shores and the rest of Dynamic Edition. They talk about the crew's background,why they signed up for the America's Best Dance Crew audition, and the challenge of merging clogging with hip hop choreography: "“It’s really tough because it’s two conflicting styles.Clogging is really rigid, and hip-hop is really low to the ground.”

Playlist for the Britney Spears Challenge

Here's the line-up of songs for each crew on America's Best Dance Crew Britney Spears Challenge:

• Strikers All-Stars - “Gimme More”
• Fly Khicks - “Baby One More Time”
• Quest Crew - “Toxic”
• Dynamic Edition - “Stronger”
• Beat Freaks - “Womanizer”
• Ringmasters - “Circus”
• Team Millennia - “Me Against The Music”

The Ringmasters pair-up was obvious. Thematic pairings that they missed: "Hit me Baby One more Time" done by Strikers and "Oops I did it again" done by Team Millennia. MTV Remote Control also mentions that there will be an additional surprise challenge -- any guesses?

Team Millennia's Reaction after Week 2 Elimination

Pacific Rim Video talked to Team Millennia after they found out that they survived the ABDC elimination. They discuss how upset they were that Boxcuttuhz is gone and what they'll do to step up their game.

Blooper reel from ABDC backstage interviews

Pacific Rim Video has been providing exemplary backsage interviews for America's Best Dance Crew this season. Here's what you DON'T see on those videos:

Interview with Striker Edwin Bennett: ABDC as positive community influence

Tallahassee.com interviewed Striker All-Stars member Edwin Bennett after the Week 2 America's Best Dance Crew taping. Highlights:

• Why being named one of the judge's favorites is both a best case and worst case scenario
• How Bennett's success on ABDC is a positive influence for the kids from his community

Photocredit: MTV

Meet Rino of the Beat Freaks

Beat Freaks released a video interview of member Rino, talking about why she dances and her favorite entertainer:

Win a Trip to Attend the ABDC Finale from Clearasil!

Clearasil is partnering with MTV and offering a chance to attend the final showdown at the Season3 Live Finale. Click here to enter.

Exclusive backstage video - interviews, favorite moves

BABDC field reporters Salima Koroma (UCLA) and Michelle Kim (UCLA) got backstage before the Fit Challenge taping. Here's their video, showing interviews and favorite dance moves for Beat Freaks, Boxcuttuhz, Ringmasters, Dynamic Edition, Fly Khicks, Lil Mama, Shane Sparks, and Layla Kayleigh. Thanks Salima and Michelle!

Week 2 recaps - Weekend Edition

• The New York Daily News thinks that Quest showed that they are the new JabbaWockeeZ
• Spoil the Ending giggles at Dynamic Edition and yawns at Strikers and parts of Quest
• District 78 summarizes the performance and provides ITunes links for the songs
• Tiffanie at Ningin warns against the dangers of holding back
  

Super Cr3w - Life after America's Best Dance Crew

Super Cr3w sat down with Tragic Glory Clothing/Nulife Entertainment for a video interview, on JReyez' channel. Some of the questions are familiar (how the crew was formed, how does it feel to be a champion, advice for dancers), some are touching (the impact on their families), and some surprising (what it's like to run Super Cr3w the business. how they'll make SC3 'more than a household name').

Click here to watch part II.