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!

 

Video: Quest bowling headspin

Quest member Ryan Conferido shows off his mad bboy skills in an unlikely setting: the bowling alley.

Spotlight on ABDC5 Southern auditioners, Part II - Atlanta

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  We don't know! 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: crews that auditioned in Atlanta. Note: our information on the Atlanta auditions is extremely sparse. PLEASE leave a comment if you have a video, photos, or information on these groups. Tomorrow: more Southern crews who auditioned for ABDC5.

• Detroit Danz'Zone specializes in hip hop and j-sette. Click here to watch a recent video and here to read more about the crew
• N3m3s!s from Huntsville, Alabama are all students at Alabama A&M University. Their founder Jay Battle was a member of ABDC4's Southern Movement. Some of their dancers have performed with Flo Rida and Wade Robson, as well as appearing in music videos. Here's a performance at their annual Spring Showcase and a performance just weeks before the ABDC5 auditions:

• Royal Flush from Atlanta auditioned for ABDC4 (click here for earlier post) and ABDC5. Here's some recent work, some freestyling, and a performance in Atlanta at a benefit for breast cancer research.  

  

• StilletoZ hails from Atlanta.  Members have performed on the Soul Train Music Awards, for Dream and Fabolous at the BET Hip Hop Music Awards, and at the GlamRockSoul Christmas Show.
• Swagger Crew from Atlanta auditioned for ABDC4 (click here for earlier post) and ABDC5.  Here's a more recent performance (starting at 2:07)
  

• U4ria from Southern Florida competed on America's Got Talent in 2009. Click here to watch a recent performance.
• Vixenz from Detroit also auditioned in Atlanta. Here's a video of them rehearsing with R&B artist Vina Mills. Thanks for the info, KeepinitReal!
• Xternal Technique from Florida also auditioned for ABDC4 and ABDC5. Click here to watch their recent performance at Crossroads 2009
• Atlanta auditioners for which we need information: Jungle Boogie Crew, Motion Sickness
  

 

Video: Sleep Sweepers starring Phillip Chbeeb, Andrew Baterina (SoReal Cru), Jordan Kolar

From HDK Productions, a concept choreography starring Andrew Baterina (SoReal Cru), Phillip Chbeeb (Marvelous Motion member who also was in top 20 for So You Think You Can Dance) and Jordan Kolar (master popper who also teaches at SoReal Cru Studio). Thanks for the tip, Dominique!

Spotlight on Southern ABDC 5 auditioning crews: Part. 1 - Houston

Who will compete on America's Best Dance Crew Season 5?  We don't know! 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: crews that auditioned in Houston. Note: our information on the Houston and Atlanta is sketchy at best. PLEASE leave a comment if you have a video, photos, or information on these groups. Tomorrow: more Southern crews who auditioned for ABDC5 in Atlanta 

• Austin City Dance Crew. Styles - Ballet, tap, Latin, cheerleading. Members come from Austin City Showgirls. Click here for a recent Austin City Showgirl routine.
• Brown Bag Special, from Dallas TX. Many performance videos up at BrownBagSpecialTV. Click here to watch their  performance at the Move To Groove Ball October 2009 (actual performance begins at 2:27)
• Coalition, consisting of members from SoReal Cru, Marvelous Motion, and Distorted X. Click here to watch their performance at the Houston Carnival 2009
• Final Phaze from Chicago (though a commenter thought the auditioners were from Dayton, Ohio). Not sure if they auditioned in Houston either! Here's a video of the Chicago group.
• FootSoulgerZ (Dallas, TX) style: krump, tutting, breaking, and pop. Here's their performance at Move to Groove Ball (thanks for the link, Stigmatic!)

• Ghost Crew from Houston. Click here for their 2009 Dance Houston Performance. The video on this page shows them at a recent choreographer's carnival
• Second to None from San Antonio. Members are from Street Beatz. Style:hip hop, voguing, breaking, trick and pop. Here's a researsal of their audition for ABDC5:

• Shhh! auditioned in Houston. They appeared on ABDC Season 2 but were eliminated in an audition special. Click here to watch their audition and choreography callback for ABDC 4
• Soraya and La Zambra (Houston) styles: Latin-fused belly dancing and gypsy fusion. Here's a recent video of Soraya performing with the Gypsy Dance Theater
• X-treme Motion is a Houston Based Crew from "The Motion of the Ocean" Majorettes at Texas Southern University.. They have their own dance form called 'bucking' and also specialize in Hip-Hop, Jazz, Ballet, Funky Jazz, and Modern. Here's a video from their XtremeMotionTV Channel:

• We need more information or videos on these Houston auditioners: Dirty South (Tyler, TX) style: sexy hip hop; Extreme Dance Level (Houston); Impulse (from Katy, TX)
  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Wishing all my readers a relaxing, rewarding, and dance-filled holiday season!

Upcoming Events: 12/25/09-1/3/10

• 12/25: Strikers in Disney Christmas Parade to air on ABC TV, 10 am ET/PT
  
• 12/26-27: Super Cr3w on Latination TV. Check local listings.
  
• 12/28: Beat Freaks appear on Comedy Central's Anjelah Johnson show 11pm ET/PT
• 12/31: Fanny Pak and Adam Lambert will be among the performers at the Gridlock New Years Eve Party in Los Angeles
• 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!
  

Exclusive video from NY ABDC 5 auditions: Next Level

We attended part of the auditions and callbacks for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 in New York on December 12-13, 2009, and were allowed to film a few of the performances. IMPORTANT: We have no inside information or influence with the decision makers for MTV and ABDC. 
Here's Next Level, from Brooklyn NY. They are friends with Ringmasters (ABDC 3), but show their OWN approach and style incorporating bonebreaking with hip hop. 

Poreotics Interview at ABDC5 LA auditions: "We're like watching the Office Popping Style"

Chris Trondsen and Fanny Pak's Glenda Morales talked to Poreotics at the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 on December 5, 2009. They introduce themselves, talk about their desire to be on the show, how they'd like to bring humor to ABDC, how their rehearsals are like Disneyland, Kanye West, and other gems. You'll have to turn up your sound -- there's a lot of background noise (sorry). Much thanks to dancetag.tv -- we will be partnering with them again to cover Season 5.

Miss ABDC Season 3? Try Chipmunks Squeakuel for Quest and Beat Freaks

Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakuel opened December 23, 2009. I went to see it opening day to check out what Quest Crew  does in the show (what I do for this site!). Quest appears in the last half hour of the film billed as Lil Rosero, a high school dance team competing for a $25,000 prize. They only dance for about a minute, but the guys are  also on-camera in the ending crowd scenes. Hok fans will be especially pleased with his prominent stage position behind the winning rodents. 


Bonus: TheBeatFreaks.com reports that Shorty was the dancer for Chipette Eleanor (the one in green) in the dance sequences. They didn't take advantage of her talent or give her credit (at least in IMDB), but congratulations! And thanks for the tip, Ravoo!

Strikers will perform on ABC Christmas Parade

According to Rattler Nation , the FAMU Strikers (the group from which America's Best Dance Crew Strikers All-Stars emerged) will perform in the Walt Disney World Annual Christmas Day Parade which will air on ABC on Christmas, reaching 16 million viewers worldwide.  The Strikers will be featured in the opening performance with the Jonas Brothers, and the group will also give a special step performance. Congratulations!
Photocredit: MTV

Mailbox: Super Cr3w on TV Christmas weekend; We Are Heroes in new video

• We are Heroes have a cameo role in Skyline's upcoming music video "Not the Only One". You can see the ABDC champions briefly in this Youtube making-of-the-video 
  
• On the weekend of Dec 26-27, Latination will rerun Episode 605, where Super Cr3w shows off their  bboy skills in the studio. Go to AmericanLatinotv or TVGuide.com for local listings.
• 
  

Exclusive video from NY ABDC 5 auditions: Smash!

We attended part of the auditions and callbacks for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 in New York on December 12-13, 2009, and were allowed to film a few of the performances. IMPORTANT: We have no inside information or influence with the decision makers for MTV and ABDC. 

Here's Smash, from Puerto Rico. This video is a splice of two different audition performances that the crew gave on the first day of NY auditions. The first time they performed for the audition judges, my view was obstructed until near the end.  They performed the routine again immediately afterwards and I moved to the other side of the room where I had an unobstructed view. During that second performances, one of the crew members pulled a hamstring toward the end of the routine, and had to be taken to the hospital. (He was fine by the next day).  I did not want to show his injury, so I spliced together the two videos even though they show very different angles. No matter -- Smash is a crew to watch!

For new ABDC 5 contest - help me make an auditioners' list, check it twice!

In the next few days, we will start a new contest -- 'CAST AMERICA'S BEST DANCE CREW SEASON 5'. The object: see if you can predict the final 9 crews that will compete on ABDC5.  To help you choose, we will find and link recent videos of the auditioning crews, and present them by January 8. There will be prizes!

In order to start this process, I need a comprehensive list of auditioning crews. The biggest gaps in my lists are for the Southern auditions (Atlanta and Houston), but I know there are others missing from other cities too. So, please leave a comment listing any crews that you KNOW auditioned for ABDC5 and where they're from. 

Atlanta and Houston auditioners: Coalition, Jungle Boogies, Motion Sickness, Royal Flush, StillettoZ, Swagger Crew, U4ria, Xternal Technique
Denver auditioners: Bandits, Boom Unit, BreakeFX, Elektrolytes, Ground Zero, Illmatic Krew, Motion Underground,Rocky Mtn. Rockstars, Ricochet,True 2 Form
Los Angeles Auditioners/LA crews: Beast Mode, Capital Iggz, Flex Flav, Inside the Box,King Breakers, Klaamation, Knucklehead Zoo, L2D, Lost Kids, Loyal Citizens of Zamunda, Mixd Elements, Neverland, No Label, Pandora's Myth, Poreotics, Sheroes, Soul Project, The Detail, The Hype, Tripl3 Threat, VIP San Jose, Xposed Dance
Boston auditioners: Blackout, Boston Tap, Dance Hall, Darkside, Geek Chic, N-10-City, NIA, Phunk Phenomenon,Ridonkulous, Street Legends, Wrush
New York auditioners: Blueprint, Bollywood Funk, Cosmic Swagga, Counter Rhythm, Da Emperorz, DV8, E3, Erafusion, Fynul Destination, II an Extreme, Illmatic, Kick Rocks, Lb 4 Pound, Majestic Crew, Members Only, Momz-N-Da Hood, Next Level, Part Time Models, Round One, Saltare, Smash, Special Delivery, Tha Truth, Unstoppables, Xpose

Videos - We Are Heroes Performance at Celebration Party

On December 17 2009, Shane Sparks hosted a belated celebration party for We Are Heroes in Los Angeles.  Here's the only online video (so far) of their performance. The sound and video quality aren't wonderful, but there is some new choreo in their routine. Thanks for the tip abdc!
 

LA ABDC5 audition interviews: Inside the Box, Tripl3 Threat, Sheroes, Capital Iggz

Chris Trondsen and Glenda Morales (taking a break from studying and Fanny Pak) attended the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 and were able to interview many of the auditioning crews for this BloggingBestDanceCrew.com  and dancetag.tv. Here's the first batch: Inside the Box, Capital IggZ, Tripl3 Threat, and Sheroes.

ABDC Feature Film in 2010!

The Dance Spirit article on Beat Freaks contained an intriguing tidbit: "Next up? A feature film co-starring several “ABDC” crews, which is due for release in late 2010."

This was news to me. If you know something about this, please comment. Otherwise, please comment on what you'd like to see in this movie. I just hope the filmmakers learned lessons in what not to do from American Idol's attempt at movie-making - "From Justin to Kelly."

Beat Freaks cover story: - The Road to ABDC -how they prepared for success

Beat Freaks are the cover story in the January 2010 Dance Spirit Magazine. The story provides fresh insights for becoming a successful ABDC crew, including how they prepared for the audition and the show, how they built fan awareness, appreciation and voting base, and how they've leveraged their ABDC experience to further their careers. The magazine also profiles Beat Freak including info on dance credentials, signature moves and "freaky facts.

Favorite quote: "The ABDC thing was miraculous the way it came together,” Jules says. “The timing was perfect, and we knew that if we didn’t do it, nothing would ever happen with the Beat Freaks. We would always be an underground crew, but we wouldn’t have anything to put our energy into and make us focus. It was now or never."



Photocredit: Jacob Pritchard at Dancespirit.com

Video: SoReal Cru on tour in Germany

The latest installment of SoRealCruTV shows their trip to Germany, including candid discussions, performances, and strange sleep behaviors. Thanks for the link Dominique!

Exclusive video from NY ABDC 5 auditions: Illmatic

We attended part of the auditions and callbacks for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 in New York on December 12-13, 2009, and were allowed to film a few of the performances. IMPORTANT: We have no inside information or influence with the decision makers for MTV and ABDC. Here's Illmatic, from New York. 

Vote: What's Your Favorite Dance Movie?

Our readers nominated 17 films as their favorite dance movie. Now, let's take a vote on it. Please choose UP TO 3 on this list. The survey will be open just after Christmas.

 

Video: GOP Workshop

GOP was the first Puerto Rican crew to appear on America's Best Dance Crew, and might have gone further in the competition had they not incurred several injuries the first week of competition in Season 3. GOP members are still dancing and teaching -- here's a recent workshop video, shown on the GOPDance Youtube Channel:

Shane Sparks Free on Bail and fighting charges

According to E! Online, America's Best Dance Crew judge Shane Sparks posted bail on Saturday December 19 and is now "solely focused on clearing his name." He has been charged with child molestation.  

According to his lawyer Steve Meister, "It's a bogus accusation that reeks of opportunism and exploitation. The timing is beyond suspicious, and this whole thing stinks to high heaven.  We are going to fight to clear his name, and we are going to succeed."

Lady Gaga Parody - Christmas Album

In that ABDC 3 declared Lady Gaga 'an icon of dance', this video is fair game for our site: the Lady Gaga Christmas album, featuring such favorites as 'Ho-Ho-Hoker Face' and 'Bad Snowmans'.

Exclusive video from NY ABDC 5 auditions: E3

We attended part of the auditions and callbacks for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 in New York on December 12-13, 2009, and were allowed to film a few of the performances. IMPORTANT: We have no inside information or influence with the decision makers for MTV and ABDC. 


Here's E3, from Connecticut. They also auditioned for Season 4. Click here to watch their season 4 audition and here for their Season 4 callback.

Team Millennia, Kaba Modern, Pac Modern Collaboration at the Bridge

From the Pacific Rim Video Channel: Team Millennia, Kaba Modern and Pac Modern collaborate at The Bridge Competition in Whittier, CA on Saturday, December 12, 2009.

Video: Vogue Evolution at The Bowery Electric

Reader Erica Nicole attended Vogue Evolution's show at The Bowery Electric in New York on December 16, 2009, where VE members Pony Zion, Dashaun Evisu,and Prince Milan performed. Here's the video, courtesy of her  Dancing4Ever Youtube Channel  Thanks Erica Nicole!
 

Recent Shane Sparks Interview # 2: We Are Heroes Party the night before arrest

We've been asked if we (or other press people) were given any indication that ABDC judge Shane Sparks was going to be arrested this week. Answer: NO. Chris Trondsen was the only press invited to the We Are Heroes celebration party hosted by Shane on December 17, 2009 (just hours before Shane was arrested), and Chris covered the event for BloggingBestDanceCrew, Dancetag, and Pacific Rim. Here's the interview with Shane and We Are Heroes. As you can see, the mood at the party was totally upbeat and happy. Chris told me that after the arrest, he communicated with some of the We Are Heroes members, and they were totally shocked and saddened by the recent news.

Recent Shane Sparks Interview #1: at NY ABDC auditions 12/13/09

We've been asked if we knew of any signs of Shane Spark's impending arrest this week on child molestation charges. Answer: no. Evidence -- we and Dancetag.tv interviewed him twice this past week. I conducted this first interview at the New York America's Best Dance Crew callback auditions. He talks about how he's glad that the ABDC show judges are finally involved in picking the crews for the show, about Afroborike's influence on ABDC, and names a crew to watch out for. 


There is no official information yet on the impact of Shane's arrest on ABDC 5.

UPDATE on Shane Sparks arrest -- alleged victim was 14 or 15

More on the arrest of ABDC judge Shane Sparks on charges of alleged rape of a minor: According to this news video from News 11 in Los Angeles, the alleged victim was 14 or 15 years old and involve multiple incidents between 1994 and 1997. The girl making the allegations was one of Spark's students at the Millennium Dance Studio in North Hollywood.

Shane Sparks arrested for child molestation

Shane Sparks, judge on America's Best Dance Crew, has been arrested for alleged child molestation. Officials with the Los Angeles Police Department say they arrested him in North Hollywood, CA December 18, 2009 on a felony warrant charging him with 8 counts of molestation. The alleged molestation took place in 1994, according to a criminal complaint. The charges all relate to one alleged victim, an underaged girl. He is being held on $590,000 bail.

We will post updates as they become available.

Shane Sparks interview: Who I wanted to win ABDC Season 4

Stuff Fly People Like was back at the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew. They talked to Shane Sparks and Lil Mama just before the judges started viewing the crew callbacks. Lil Mama talks mostly about her upcoming music releases. Shane talks about who he wanted to win ABDC Season 4, why he likes diverse teams, and what he's seen so far at the callbacks. We'll have our own interviews (different questions, of course) with the ABDC callback judges on-line for you very soon.

 

Apology to No Label: BloggingABDC screwed up

Earlier this week, we posted a video showing a performance from the LA auditions for ABDC 5. The crew was mislabelled as No Label. It's been confirmed that we were wrong and we've removed the video from Youtube until we can give proper credit to the performers. In the meantime, we apologize to No Label, the other crew that has not yet been given credit, and our readers.

Video: Quest Crew in Baby Bash's "Outta Control"

Quest Crew is featured in the new Baby Bash (featuring Pitbull) video "Outta Control". Thanks for the link, Shiny Brazilian!

Watch: Shoutout to ABDC on Saturday Night Live Christmas Special

NBC aired a holiday clip show called "SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas" on December 17, 2009. On it, Steve Martin introduces his "A Holiday Wish" sketch,  which was first shown on Saturday Night Live in 1991. Watch the full segment here, including the shoutout to America's Best Dance Crew.

Upcoming Events: December 18- January 3

The calendar is expanded this week so you can plan your dance activities through the Christmas and New Year Season. Please leave a comment if you know of other events that should be added

• 12/18-1/3: Do-Knock (Super Cr3w) in Groovaloo Freestyle in New York City
  
• 12/19: Bionic (Supreme Soul) and Eddie (JabbaWockeeZ) teaching, judging and performing at Mighty 4 Vancouver
• 12/19: Phresh Select performing at Philadelphia's Running of the Santas!
• 12/20: Fr3sh's Adrian Causing workshop at AIM Academy in Matawan, NJ. FREE if you donate $5 or bring 5 cans for NJ Community Foodbank
• 12/21: Quest free performance in Los Angeles  
• 12/23: Beat Ya Feet Kings Perform at Bounce Beat in Forestville, MD
  
• 12/23: Quest free performance in Tacoma, WA
• 12/28: Beat Freaks appear on Comedy Central's Anjelah Johnson show 11pm ET/PT
• 12/31: Fanny Pak and Adam Lambert will be among the performers at the Gridlock New Years Eve Party in Los Angeles
• 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 
  

Exclusive video from NY Auditions: Blueprint

Last weekend at the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5, MTV allowed us to tape about an hour of the first day competition and 3 of the callback performances. IMPORTANT: we have NO inside information or influence about how MTV will choose the crews to appear on the show.

Here's Blueprint, from Canada. The crew impressed me with their high skill, and teamwork, and intensity. The crew (with different members) won Monsters of Hip Hop 2008 -click here for a video of the winning choreography.  If the crew is chosen, they will need to obtain US work visas. And, I wonder what region they would represent.  NOTE: any comments for this post that are ONLY about another crew will be deleted!

Last Day to Nominate Your Favorite Dance Movie

Starting tomorrow, we plan to survey our reader's favorite dance movies. Today is the deadline to get in a nomination, so leave a comment below or check out the earlier nominations here. And come back tomorrow to vote!

Congratulations Russell Ferguson - SYTYCD6's Favorite Dancer!

Boston Krumper Russell Ferguson won So You Think You Can Dance Season 6. He was noteworthy for many reasons: the first krumper to make the top 10, his ability to quickly learn new styles, and his infectious exuberance. After a near brush with elimination in Week 1, Russell's popularity grew as he tackled jazz, foxtrot, samba, contemporary, jive, and even Bollywood. Here's his SYTYCD profile: 

Video: Southern Movement Perform at Step Show

Here's a new performance by Southern Movement at the NPHC Step Show (America's Best Dance Crew Season 4), from Jairusb's Youtube Channel

Groovaloos on Tonights SYTYCD Finale Show; Krumper Russell forecasted to win!

Tonight is the Finale for Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance. There are two reasons that America's Best Dance Crew fans might watch the two-hour show:

1. Groovaloos will be performing, along with Adam Lambert, Leona Lewis, Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Lopez
2. DialIdol.com predicts that Russell, a Krumper, will win the competition, and that it's not even a close race! DialIdol has had a good track record in their forecasts for winners of past seasons of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. If Russell wins, this will be the second time that a hip hop-style dancer has taken the prize.
   

Interview with ABDC Audition judge Chonique: "I would have liked to have seen more innovation"

LA Times reporter Jevon Phillips spoke to ABDC 5 audition judge Chonique Sneed at the Los Angeles auditions (the video below), and again the day after the NY auditions when the 6-city tryouts were completed. In the video, she talks about the challenge of giving feedback and something she would like to see at the auditions: an ethnic crew with enough versatility to maintain their identity but keep it interesting.

Read the post-auditions interview with Chonique, where she describes how she became involved with the auditions, the role of women choreographers, and her disappointment about many of the auditioners: "There's definitely a format, a method to the madness, so people who have watched the show, they see what wins, they see what's competitive. A lot of crews, I felt, stuck to the format so much that they lost who they were as locals...it almost started to become a little monotonous...There was definitely some [crews showing something new] but I would've liked to have seen more".

And Jevon Phillips gives his personal Top Ten from the LA auditions based on watching (but not taping) the first day performances: Heavy Hitters, Knucklehead Zoo, Poreotics, The Hype, Neverland, Molodi 5, Destined 2 Be, Karmography, One Nation Crew, and Klaamation.
  

UPDATE: the Video from ABDC5 LA Auditions is NOT No Label

At the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5, our team (Chris Trondsen, Glenda Morales, and our partner dancetag.tv) were able to film about an hour of the Day 1 performances. We had a video posted here and mislabelled as No Label, a crew from LA that specializes in a contemporary dance form with hip hop touches.  It's been verified that WE WERE WRONG and this is NOT No Label.  Once we can verify the name of the crew that auditioned, we will repost the video with proper attribution.  I apologize both to No Label and to the crew in this video!

Ronnie & Rockadile (Super Cr3w) interview: ABDC's crew selection strategy

Super Cr3w's Ronnie and Rockadile were interviewed by Portrait Magazine several months ago, during a trip to Greece. They talk about a range of subjects including injuries, favorite moves, failure, favorite foods, what cartoon character they'd like to be, and whether they could work 9-5 jobs. Thanks, supercr3w.com!

What they said about the ABDC crew selection process: "We had actually tried out for the first season of “America’s Best Dance Crew.. Exactly, so we got rejected the first season.. It was between us and JabbaWockeeZ and they were just like 'JabbaWockeeZ’s you’re fire' and they were our friends so we were just like you guys better win and they won, so we were happy for them... Second season they encouraged us to audition again and some guys from the crew didn’t want to; just because they thought it was a slap in the face that we didn’t get in first season, but we ended up being chosen to do second season and we went all the way. And I think that’s how ABDC is too, I think if they know they’re doing a certain amount of seasons, they want to split up the crews, and they wouldn’t want to put them all in one season, so they kind of split them up. So if a certain crew auditions for say third season and they know there’s going to be a fourth, then they won’t have them on third, but on fourth."

Exclusive video: Inside the Box audition for ABDC 5

MTV allowed us to watch and tape a few of the crews auditioning for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 during their stops in Los Angeles and New York. We'll show our favorites of the lot over the next few weeks. IMPORTANT: we have absolutely no inside knowledge or influence over who will be picked for America's Best Dance Crew, though in some cases we do know if the crew will NOT be on this season.


Here's the audition from Inside the Box. a crew from Pomona, CA whose primary style is housing with hip hop choreography. We loved their audition for ABDC Season 4 and their winning performance at Maxt Out 2009. Unfortunately, Inside the Box has been told that they will not appear on Season 5.

Mailbox: Shane Sparks Theater, Rhythm City workshops, Chonique Videos

• The Baltimore Sun interviewed ABDC judge Shane Sparks about his work on Dream Girls. Thearticle also mentions that Shane is looking for backers for a full-length dance musical about the 2006 murder of children in Darfur called "The Rise of the Crown."
• Rhythm City fans: The crew will be holding classes every Saturday from 5-7pm at Pearl Studios, New York City 
  
• Chonique Sneed is one of the choreographers for ABDC and an audition judge for Season 5. For those of you not already familiar, here's her 'Snap, Crackle, Pop' music video from the ChoniqueSneed Youtube Channel (which also has some good videos of her workshops, including this video with Beat Freaks Rino, Lindsey, and Marys). To keep up with her, visit her on MySpace or follow ChoSneed on Twitter
  

Video: D-trix Lyrical Solo

Quest's Dominic combined lyrical and bboy at Shock The Intensive in November 2009. Video courtesy of pixieskies Youtube Channel. Thanks for the tip, We are Queroes.

ABDC Season 5 selection process -- new and improved over past seasons!

At the NY auditions, I spoke to many of the producers and production staff members for ABDC and learned much more about the changes to America's Best Dance Crew's process for selecting their Top 9 crews to compete. The steps are:

• Step 1: Auditions or videos.Crews became eligible to compete through live auditions in six cities (Atlanta, Houston, LA, Denver, Boston, NY) or submission of an audition video. For both, the crews prepare an original 'crew choice' dance lasting 1-2 minutes
  
• Step 2: Callbacks. At the live auditions, the audition judges picked several the auditioning crews for callbacks, and gave them an overnight 'challenge' - the crews were handed music and told to choreograph a short group dance using a new prop, followed by short individual freestyles. The next day, these crews performed the 'crew choice' and the 'challenge' in front of audition judges. Afterwards, the callback crews got to perform only the 'crew choice' in front of a 3 member ABDC celebrity panel composed of two ABDC judges (Lil Mama, JC Chasez, Shane Sparks) and a member of a past ABDC Champion crew (Kevin from JabbaWockeeZ, Nichelle from We Are Heroes, Hok from Quest). These 3 'celebrity judges' decided whether a crew would move on to "Regionals." There was probably an equivalent private process for the crews that submitted audition videos but didn't attend a live audition.
  
• Step 3: Regionals selections. There are three regions, representing South (Atlanta + Houston), West (LA + Denver), and East (Boston + New York). The MTV producers and ABDC team will screen all the information and video footage for the crews that made it to Regionals. There may be some additional information gathering.
  
• Step 4: Regional audition TV episodes. The first three shows for ABDC 5 will feature footage from the auditions, focusing on regions. The shows will also feature a live audition with 5 of the crews who made it to Regionals. Each week, 2 of the 5 will be eliminated from competition. The first episode airs on Thursday January 28.
• Step 5: The top 9 compete! After the three regional audition episodes, ABDC is down to 9 competing crews, 3 from each region. And, we're back to the regular show format!

What do you think?

Interview with Executive Producer Karen Schwartz on auditions and Season 5

At the New York try-outs for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 on December 12 2009, I spoke with ABDC co-creator and Executive Producer Karen Schwartz about her impressions of the auditioning crews and regional differences. In the interview, she mentions that Season 5 will begin with three audition shows -- one for each audition region (East, South, West).

Beat Ya Feet Kings in Tabi Bonney's latest music Video

Beat Ya Feet Kings are featured in Tabi Bonney's video "Duhhh".

Mailbox: Layla Kayleigh, Beat Freaks, XTreme Dance Force

• Celebrity Pregnancy posted a photo of Layla Kayleigh's baby Melody Rain, along with a description of Layla's life as a new mother
• Beat Freak Teresa Espinosa started her own blog WhatIsHipHopDance for anyone who loves dance and hip hop. The site will discuss how hip hop has evolved and people's positive reactions.
  
• Anjelah Johnson was on The Bonnie Hunt Show promoting her stand-up special "That's How We Do It" on Comedy Central airing December 28th. On the show, Anjelah gave a shout out to the Beat Freaks: "It's women empowerment basically. Like, I'm a female in the game of stand-up comedy, which is mainly a man's world, like a man's game. I incorporate the Beat Freaks. They're an all-girl breakdancing crew. Breakdancing is for the boys but they're out there killing it." Thanks for the Beat Freaks tips, Ravoo!
• Dance Teacher Magazine profiles Sam Renzetti, founder of Xtreme Dance Force (ABDC Season 2). He didn't appear ABDC because he was busy filming an episode of MTV's 'Made'.
  

Notes from the ABDC New York Auditions Day 2, Part I

It's been a very long day, and the callbacks are still going on. I'll have more info and pictures tomorrow, but here are some notes:

• Out of over 30 crews that auditioned the first day, 20 made it to callbacks. Far fewer will go on to the Regionals.
• I didn't see all the crews that were called back, but the ones I met or watched included: Majestic Crew, Next Level, E3, Erafusion, Kick Rocks, Bollywood Funk, Da Emperorz, Smash, Round One, Illmatic, Momz-N-Da Hood, Unstoppable, Special Delivery, Saltare, Lb 4 Pound, and L0st Kids

• I talked with L0st Kids (pictured above). The reason they are competing on the East Coast and Neverland competed on the West Coast is relatively simple and not at all nefarious, based on a misunderstanding and costs: When L0st Kids/Neverland first learned about the auditions, they thought that there was an 8-person limit for auditioning crews. Ellen Kim also had a small scheduling conflict (teaching in Europe) that made it easier for her to audition with L0st Kids in New York. So they decided to field both crews in different cities, gained permission from the producers, and purchased non-refundable tickets to New York. Afterward, they learned that the full 10-person group could have auditioned together, but by then it was too expensive to change tickets. If Neverland is selected for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5, Ellen will be permitted to perform with them.
• The challenge performances were fun. Crews chose props as varied as fingertip fire, brooms, cameras, resistance cords, and a wheel-shaped stand found on the street. These challenges were performed in the morning for audition judges and not for Lil Mama, Shane Sparks or Kevin Brewer.
• I'll have much more in the next few days. including interviews with Lil Mama, Shane, and Kevin, more comments and photos, and some performance videos. If you were also at the auditions as a performer or bystander, feel free to give us your impressions -- leave a comment or an email, and share any photos or videos. PLEASE: if you made it to the Regionals, DO NOT write about it -- it could violate your contract with MTV!
  

Exclusive Video from LA Auditions: Sheroes

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 performance by Sheroes, an all-girl crew from Southern California. Members have danced with Team Millennia & TM 7, CADC, Breed, GRV, BMOD and Common Ground.

Reports from the Boston ABDC auditions

• David -- a member of NIA -- reports that his crew did VERY WELL at the Boston auditions for America's Best Dance Crew, even getting a standing ovation from judges at one point in the try-outs. The judges loved their ethnic style and that they were also able to "kill" hip hop. He reports that other crews he saw at the callbacks included Phunk Phenomenon, Static Noyze, Geek Chic (a crew of Harvard and MIT students that may include Ridonkulous members), Wrush, and Street Legends (the new name for Status Quo). He also provided these photos of NIA and the Boston auditions

• We've heard from various reports that ABDC Boston auditioners also included: Ridonkulous (who had to forfeit their spot because two members left that night), N-10-City, Blackout (a step team), Darkside, Dancehall, and Boston Tap Company.
  

Video: Brand New Quest Set

Quest Crew introduced a new set for the T-Mobile Behold II and are performing it on their Five-City tour this week. Here's a video of the performance in Chicago, from MexicanChika9190's Youtube Channel. Thanks for the tip, Desteny and Stevie's Terada.

Notes from ABDC New York auditions, Day One

I just returned from watching some of the New York auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5. I'll have a lot more for you over the next few days, but here are some notes:

• I was able to film about an hour's worth of auditions, including three crews that received callbacks.Tomorrow, I will be allowed to film 3 call-back auditions. I will share these with you in the next few weeks, along with audition footage that we got in Los Angeles. Just be patient!
• Yes, L0st Kids IS auditioning in NY. FYI -- I will not be able to film them. You'll just have to wait.
  
• I also got an interview with Executive Producer Karen Schwartz, who gave me some preview information about Season 5.

• I don't know how many crews will audition in NY, but I felt sorry for them standing outside in the bitter cold waiting for their time in the practice room and audition. Among the crews I met or watched: E3, Tha Truth, XPose, Majestic Crew, Da Emperorz, Special Delivery, II an Extreme,Fynul Destination, Erafusion, Cosmic Swagga, Unstoppables, Saltare (shown above -- a crew composed of East Coast college students using a jump rope as a prop, who received a callback), Part Time Models, Smash, Lb 4 Pound, Next Level, Members Only, DV8, and Blueprint.
• The callback challenge: as in other cities, the crews who got to the callback stage were given a CD with music. They have to create a dance for the first 35 seconds using a prop that they didn't use in their auditions. Then, each member must freestyle for 2 eight-counts, with commando changes
• First day judges were Karen Schwartz and choreographer Chonique (pictured below). Callback judges will include JabbaWockeeZ Kevin Brewer, Lil Mama, and Shane Sparks

Beat Freaks are Cover Girls for Dance Spirit Magazine

Beat Freaks are the cover story for the January 2010 issue of Dance Spirit Magazine (available on newsstands, with some content at Dancespirit.com). The issue is not yet available, but here's the cover, promising stories on "How the Beat Freaks Made it Big" and "How to Start Your Own Crew". Click here to watch the cover photoshoot, posted at Dance Media. Thanks for the tips, Ravoo and Jessica!

Video: Afroborike performance in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico

Here's another performance from Afroborike's dance tour in Puerto Rico. Thanks for the tip abdc!

U4ria Minimovie: AGT competitors auditioning for ABDC5

U4ria is a girl crew from Southern Florida that did fairly well on America's Got Talent. They aren't attending any of the live auditions, but let me know that they submitted an audition tape to the America's Best Dance Crew audition judges.

More views of the LA Callback crews

DancePlug.com talked to Klaamation, Beat Squad, Asylum, Heavy Hitters, Molodi 5 and Beast Mode at the Los Angeles ABDC 5 callbacks. Watch it starting at 4:51.

What's Your Favorite Dance Movie?

Over the past year, we've heard ABDC crew members cite favorite movies as their impetus to take up dancing. Inspirations have ranged from the Hollywood classic 'Singin in the Rain' to the bboy section of 'FlashDance' to 'Beat Street' to the documentary 'Planet Bboy'.

What's your favorite dance movie? Leave a comment below. I'll compile the results and put together a reader survey. Thanks for the idea, Savage!

Let us know if you attend the ABDC auditions in Boston or NY!

If you attend the America's Best Dance Crew auditions in Boston or New York this weekend as a dancer or supporter, please let us know about it! Share your impressions, photos, videos, ABDC-themed poetry, whatever. And good luck!

Video: Lando Wilkins (Boxcuttuhz) + Mike Song (Kaba Modern) Freestyle

After a BoogieZone workshop in Germany, Lando Wilkins (Boxcuttuhz) and Mike Song (Kaba Modern) showed off their free-style skills. Video courtesy of OutTheBoxTV Youtube Channel, home of several other good videos with Lando. Thanks for the tip Fanny Box Fan!

Enter Snoop Dogg's I Wanna Dance Contest!

Snoop Dogg is having a dance contest on DanceJam. Upload a video for prizes, including a customized Snoop Dogg skate deck, Wii, DDR and much, much more! Read more about the contest here and enter the contest here. Thanks for the tip, Dominique!

Upcoming Events - Week of December 11

• 12/11: America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 auditions in Boston
• 12/12: America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 auditions in New York
• 12/12: Team Millennia, Sheroes, Choreo Cookies, and many more at The Bridge competition in Whittier, CA
  
• 12/12-13: Poreotics, Choreo Cookies and many other crews at Traffic 2009 in San Diego
  
• 12/13: Lady Jules (Beat Freaks) judging Outbreak 5 Bboy Competition, as well as appearing at "B-Girl Movie" screening in Orlando FL
• Quest Crew: 12/12 Chicago; 12/15 Dallas; 12/17 Long Island, NY
• 12/11-12/17: Do Knock (Super Cr3w) in Groovaloo Freestyle in New York City
• 12/17: We Are Heroes Celebratory Party in Los Angeles
  

Videos: We Are Heroes Holiday Bash, Nichelle workshop

YAKFilms has two excellent videos with WE Are Heroes. The first gives some background into We Are Heroes member Nichelle Thrower, then shows her teaching a workshop at New Style Motherlode in Oakland, CA. The second covers their 94.9 Holiday performance, including preparation, interview, and afterparty.

More LA audition interviews + some callback footage!

At the Los Angeles auditions for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5, Talk of Fame talked to Klaamation, Poreotics, Destined 2 Be, Rumba-ta, Beat Squad and One Nation Crew. The video includes parts of the callback routines for three of the crews.

More on B-Girl Movie - interviews and scenes

Lady Jules (Beat Freaks), Emily Dell (writer), and Elizabeth Dell (director) talk about what makes "B-Girl" special -- how it differs from other dance movies and the creation of the film. Interspersed in this video are scenes from the movie.

Send some love to Legacy, leaving SYTYCD

Legacy was eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance last night. He made it into the top 8, further than any other bboy except Dominic (Quest). Along the way, he surprised the judges and the audience with his skills in contemporary, paso doble, and even Viennese waltz. His sincerity and enthusiasm will be missed, and I hope we see him again soon on TV and the dance stage.