Strikers All Stars Master Class in Hollywood April 24

Strikers All-Stars will be back in Los Angeles soon! The group from America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 will teach a master class at the International Dance Academy (IDA) in Hollywood on April 24. Go to IDAHollywood.com for more details.

Quest performances and rehearsals from World of Dance Post-Celebration

On April 17, Level 3 Club held a post-World of Dance Celebration party. Since Quest was there, so was Pacific Rim Video. They've got 4 new videos up: the boys of Quest rehearsing for the show with Lando from Boxcuttuhz, Dtrix fooling around with a dancer pole, Victor being interviewed with his friend and fellow dancer Lizzy Richardson, and the performance itself which includes Lydia Paek (who danced with Boxcuttuhz during America's Best Dance Crew Season 3):

Straight information about ABDC Season 4

I emailed my contact at MTV/Warner Bros. to see if there was any more information about Season 4 of America's Best Dance Crew. The answer: "no news to share." And, there is no legitimate basis to the Wikipedia entry that Season 4 will begin in August 2009.

Sorry to disappoint all of you. As soon as we learn ANYTHING, we'll let you know.

New GOP Dance Crew Video!

We barely got to see what GOP Dance Crew could do during Season 3 of America's Best Dance Crew. Here's another chance: GOP Crew member Michael " AV Caribbean Heat" Aviles stars in the video called "AV is Coming." And the GOP Video channel has other group and individual GOP perfomances..

West Coast weekend events -- Supreme Soul, Team Millennia

• April 18: ABDC Season 2 crew Supreme Soul will perform"throughout the night" at the Street Fighter IV US National Championship Finals in at Fort Mason in San Francisco. The event will also feature 16 national "SFIV" finalists, who will battle it out for the Grand Prize, before moving on to the International Exhibition to represent the US against champs from Japan and Korea. Click here for details
• April 19: Team Millennia will be one of the competitors at the 10th annual FUSION Hip-Hop Dance Competition. The event will be held at UCSD's RIMAC Arena at 6 p.m. Other competitors include Choreo Cookies and NSU Modern. Here are the details from La Jolla Light.
• April 20: Team Millennia will judge the first dance competition at Cal State Fullerton. The competition is at noon, and TM will sell merchandise and hold a meet and greet afterwards. Here's the full story from The Daily Titan (CSUF's student newspaper).
  

ABDC Winners Mug - a collectible for the ABDC fanatic

This America's Best Dance Crew Winners mug was shown on the blog for Attic stores. It shows a caricature of JabbaWockeeZ, Super Cr3w, and Quest, the winners for Seasons 1,2, and 3. I checked with Attic (a great clothing and shoe store) to see if it's available for sale. No luck -- it was a gift from Kara Saun, the wardrobe director for ABDC (and finalist on the first season of Project Runway).

If you know where someone can buy this mug (or other merchandise that uses this image), let us know!

Supreme Soul performance at API: Smash Show

Supreme Soul performed during the API: S.M.A.S.H. concert showcase hosted by San Francisco State University's Asian Student Union and Manalo Movement on April 13, 2009. Here's the video from BlazingOneVo1ce's channel:

MTV India Dance Crew: More Bollywood steps for Singh is KinngMoves part III

MTV India ran a 3-part series to teach some Bollywood dance moves from the movie Singh is Kinng. We've posted part II here. Part I is not available online but is summarized in Part II. So, here's the conclusion, in 6 videos:

• In Part I, Anusha introduces Uma, who will teach some Bollywood footwork, including a cheat move and a cool move
• Part II suggests that you give your moves fun names to help you remember them
• Part III shows clips of Shahid Kapur (an India movie and dance star) as well as more lessons
• Part IV is the trial run
• Part V shows dance video along with kick moves and a reverse googly action
• Part VI puts it all together and suggests you sing along

A Day in the Life of Kaba Modern

New University (the student paper for UC Irvine) publishes a photo essay about the full Kaba Modern (not just the group that competed on America's Best Dance Crew. It includes shots of the auditions, rehearsals, fundraising, and the full group.

Report from the Clearasil Pimple Blocker Battle

On April 7, five teenage crews danced on the stage of Planet Hollywood in Times Square in the Clearasil Pimple Blocker Battle. Their mission: Fame (becoming representatives for Clearasil and getting a chance to show their skills), Fortune ($10,000 prize), and a day off from school. One of the dancers from Spot Stompers (pictured above) was definitely too young to need Clearasil (not to mention the crotch grab move).

All five of the crews adapted their names and styles to the challenge with names like Complexion Cru, Spot Stompers, Beat Blockerz, and Cheerasil, and props like glowing red 'spots' and mirrors. The dance styles were mixed, with hip hop predominating, but with cheerleading, stepping, and ballet thrown in. The judges included GEO from ICONic (America's Best Dance Crew Season 1), Drew Lachey (winner of Dancing with the Stars Season 2) and Alyson Stoner (a teen who has danced with Missy Elliot). Good clean fun and a cool idea to promote the product.

Go to the Clearasil Pimple Blocker Battle to vote for your favorite of the 3 crews who made it to the finals. The site also has a link to their Youtube channel containing HUNDREDS of videos of the crews preparing, talking, and dancing.

Click here to see more photos and our own video of the dance-off battle. And may the best crew win -- you be the judge on whether 'best' means best dancers or best product representatives.

Quest & Beat Freaks in NY area: even more appearances, workshops, meet & greet

Here's the latest information on the Quest and Beat Freaks appearance in New York and New Jersey from May 1-3. They are now scheduled to appear:

• May 1: nightclub appearance in New York (location to be announced, probably 18+)
• May 2: Benefit for Childrens Chance Foundation on May 2 at the Ritz Theater in Elizabeth, NJ (all ages)
• May 3: workshops and meet & greet sessions at St. Paul's Elementary School in Jersey City (all ages)
  

Go to scatproductionsnyc.com to buy tickets for the benefit and sign up in advance for the workshops.
We'll be there and hope to meet some of our readers too!

This week's ABDC events: Quest, Super Cr3w, Boxcuttuhz, Fanny Pak, SoReal Cru

• Quest-- April 15: Dtrix will be guest teaching at the Quest Learning Center. Click here for details. April 16: performance at Level 3 Nightclub in Hollywood (18+).
• Super Cr3w-- April 17: LAVSH fashion show in Las Vegas.
  
• Super Cr3w, Supreme Soul, Boxcuttuhz, Fanny Pak, Ringmasters-- April 18: Ken-Ya Dream Dance Show in San Jose, CA
• SoReal Cru-- April 18: University of Colorado. April 19: Heartbreakers Showcase in Katy, TX.
• Kaba Modern (the full group, not just the America's Best Dance Crew dancers) -- April 18, UC Irvine. Click here for details.
  

Boxcuttuhz Lando Wilkins in Brazil: interview and dancing

From a pre-America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 event, but just released on Youtube: Lando Wilkins -- Boxcuttuhz dancer and choreographer -- at the Festival International de Hip Hop in Brazil. The video (from Oocctavio's Youtube channel) shows Lando dancing and teaching in a large workshop, and being interviewed. You can hear his answers (in English) to questions (in Portuguese) about his style and goals. Thanks for the tip, Fannyboxfan!

Boogie Bots to teach workshop in Boston April 19

Boogie Bots members Mike Arellano, Miguel Almario, Bryan East, and Karla Garcia will teach at a workshop in Boston on April 19. This event is sponsored by Fusion, a Boston University Hip Hop Dance Troupe. The poster has the details.

Beat Freaks and Quest Dance at She Cares Benefit

Quest Crew and Beat Freaks performed at She Cares Celebrity Basketball Event at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA on April 11, 2009. Pacific Rim Youtube Channel caught the action. What do you think about these performances?

World of Dance Pomona Highlight: Knucklehead Zoo vs. Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kicks

While World of Dance Pomona had more than its share of exhibition dancing from America's Best Dance Crew alums, that was not nearly the only game in town.

Here's video from Snowflakemizu of the semifinal battle between Knucklehead Zoo (one of the three crews whose members who formed Super Cr3w) and Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kicks (made up of members of Skill Methodz and Havikoro). Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kicks won this battle. Skill Methodz was the final winner at WOD, but I've been unable to find video of the final battle. Hat tip: Samson#2 on the MTV discussion boards.

Beat Freaks and...Avril Lavigne? Michael Jackson?

Beat Freaks members can be famous in their own right, but have or want some other celebrity connections:

• Just Jared runs a photo of Avril Lavigne with Beat Freaks member LindseyB "Outthere" taken at Myhouse nightclub in Los Angeles.Thanks for the tip XOJaded720OX!
• In this SolefulGrooversENT video, the America's Best Dance Crew runners up talk about their Beatfreaks.ning petition to work with Michael Jackson

Beat Freaks and Quest interviews at She Cares Foundation event

Pacific Rim is back in force, posting 8 new interview videos (so far!) with Quest and Beat Freaks America's Best Dance Crew Season 3. I am running several Beat Freaks items today and tomorrow, so some equal time for the guys: here's one of the Quest interviews, where they talk about including Aris in their half-time show and when Lydia Paek will perform with Quest again.

New Beat Freaks Social Network Site - Beatfreaksfans.ning.com

As noted last month, Beat Freaks have done better than any other ABDC crew in connecting to their fans using social networking tools. Well, they've added another one: beatfreaksfans.ning.com. I've just joined and I recommend it to all Beat Freaks fans -- it's got a dynamic calendar, ALL the latest videos and photos, a forum, and a groups page for fans and Beat Freaks causes. Check it out.

The LXD: Dance + Comic Book Superheroes!

LXD dance crew announced a partnership with Agility Studios to create an original narrative web series dubbed The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (LXD). John Chu (the director of Step Up 2) will direct the online series which is scheduled to launch early this summer.

The show will chronicle the formation of “the most elite dance crew in the world,” tracing the origins of the seven schools of dance that make up the famed crew. Chu blends comic-book style characters with a fictional cinematic narrative. The story begins with the modern day regrouping of a 1930’s era dance troupe birthed out of the traveling circus circuit.

Kaba Modern Interview Part II -- Unique Talents and What's on their IPODs

We interviewed Kaba Modern at the Wuzzup Cafe in Bergenfield NJ on April 5, 2009. Sorry for the sound quality -- this was filmed in a noisy restaurant and I definitely need better equipment!

In this last part of our interview, they talk more about how life has changed since America's Best Dance Crew, advice for people who want to become professional dancers, their unique talents, and what's on their IPODs.