More on Part 3 of our information on crews that auditioned for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 in Los Angeles:
No Label from Los Angeles also auditioned for ABDC 4. According to an interview in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, No Label opened for 50 Cent on tour. They stand out from other auditioners with their integration of contemporary and hip hop styles. Here's a recent rehearsal:
Pandora's Myth, from San Jose, is part of SoulNation. They were interviewed by Pacific Rim at the ABDC5 auditions. They are "fierce with a twist." Here's their group's debut (with a few extra members) at World of Dance San Mateo 2009:
Poreotics, from California, were formed in 2007. Since then, they've performed extensively including World of Dance 2008, Fusion X, and Body Rock 2009. We interviewed the crew at the ABDC 5 auditions. Poreotics won the US division of Hip Hop International 2009 with this routine:
Rumba-Ta, from Las Vegas,with members from Cuba. They differ from Afroborike by incorporating rumba and other Cuban dances into the mix. Here's an interview (with a few demonstrated moves) with Pacific Rim at the auditions.You can watch an short interview and part of their audition on this Talk of Fame video (starting at 0:58).
Sheroes is an all-girl group from Los Angeles, and they used that name long before "We Are Heroes" appeared on ABD4. Members have danced with Team Millennia & TM 7, CADC, Breed, GRV, BMOD and Common Ground. Here is our video of their audition for ABDC 5 and our interview with the crew. And, here's a recent CultureShock workshop:
More information and videos on the Los Angeles crews auditioning for America's Best Dance Crew Season 5:
Klaamation from Los Angeles, was interviewed by Pacific Rim at the LA auditions. When I spoke to Shane Sparks at the NY auditions, he singled out Klaamation as a 'crew to watch'. They appear in the Boogie Town trailer.Talk of Fame interviewed them and has a short clip of their audition (starting at 1:39). A number of videos featuring members can be found at YoungFree00's Youtube Channel, including this session that shows off individual members' skills:
L2D (Live to Dance) are 'out of the box' as shown on their interview with Pacific Rim Video at the ABDC5 auditions. I haven't yet found a performance video for them.
Loyal Citizens of Zamunda dances a hybrid between West African and Modern. Here's a Pacific Rim interview with them at the auditions. We haven't yet found a performance video.
Here's the rest of the write-up on the America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 auditions.
"FIRST DAY: Noted Crews were:
True 2 Form- out of Boulder, Colorado. They had a funky old school hip hop vibe, i think consisting of mostly females. Great dancing, and intense passion for hip hop- but i'm not sure if they are ready for the competition just yet.
Motion Underground of the Denver area. Showing up to the audition with silver hair, and theatrical makeup that turned everyone's heads. Their hip hop choreography was clean and unlike most crews, their 4 girls were the strongest assets to the team. Their routine was different, the visuals were nice- and like i said.. those girls are rising stars.
Electrolytes, driving across the Rocky's from Arizona. I believe i saw them last year in Los Angeles, and they are back again this year in Colorado for another run. They're style was intricate. Popping mostly... reminded me of Poreotics. Great routine- very entertaining.
The Bandits- (i think that was their name) another tight 'choreo' crew with a specialty bboy. They came representing their small town in Texas. 7 Young guys- no one over the age of 20 i believe. They have a lot of talent and potential.
BreakEFX- the hometown heroes out of Denver were also there. They tried out last year as well i believe (found a video on Pacific Rim) in Los Angeles, and are back in Their city to represent again...this time bringing their Panda Mascots to cheer them on....yes, pandas.. and they even got down in the circle. They're routine blew my mind. It wasn't as clean as the other crews, but their charisma and tricks made up for the lack of cleanliness. I see great potential.
Illmatic Krew- a bboy crew from Miami representing the South. I watched the Breakefx guys and girls practice with the Illmatic crew- going back and forth on tricks and movement. I didn't get a chance to see their routine... but I can tell they are strictly bboys. Though one member was technically trained... shocking everyone in the room with 4 pirouettes into perfect splits! This crew has potential, but there was so much talent in the room, it was hard to see who would be a favorite.
The Rocky Mountain Rockstars also came to audition. Most of the girls danced together with the NBA Nuggets, and have a strong bond between them. Their good looks, and high kicks could get them pretty far... I'm not sure what MTV is looking for this year, but if they want sex appeal, and jazz technique these girls are the way to go.
Boom Unit, out of Boulder Colorado. a group created within a local dance studio called Streetside. Ages ranging from young 16 year old, to a mother of 2- these girls were hard hitting and sexy all in one. They had an afro hip hop style, and you can tell they were trained in many styles. I loved their energy.There was a few other teams that I couldn't get the names of.
A contemporary company i believe were called the Damsels were there. A twisted look with a bright pink mohawk, dark shadow eyes, and ripped up clothing. They're choreography was also dark and twisted- but different. If MTV wants contemporary, my vote is for this company. Look out No Label!
Two other bboy teams came through (i did not see their routines or get their names..sorry) as well as a clogging team. I apologize i couldn't get the names of the last crews... I was only in the practice room... I only noted the routines that were practiced in the room when I was there.... it was a long day, i needed some fresh air sometimes!! :)
The day ended as the dancers packed up their things either disappointed and empty handed, or looking very focused, and nervous with a CD of music and their Callback Challenge.Note: the challenge was to use a prop... and the music sounded like it belonged to a high school cheerleading team....eww!!!
DAY TWO: Bright and early back in the studio, interviews were conducted outside in the freezing cold weather, and crews were finishing up the routines they spent the entire night making up for the call backs. First crew up was Electrolytes... using light sabers as their prop. Creative prop...visually stimulating. Simple choreography. Bandits Crew- a giant stick was their prop.. utilizing members of their team with black belts in some sort of martial art- made the piece entertaining. Motion Underground- sticking to their over the top theatrical effects- they created a bar scene with cigars and a table as their prop. Table seemed almost too easy- but i liked the creativity, and the story line. Illmatic Krew- magazine. I didn't get a chance to see the whole routine, but I'll be honest... they didn't look happy coming out of the audition room. The Rocky Mountain Rockstars- a pink remote. More Jazz choreography than hip hop this time... cute costumes... the prop confused me. BreakEFX- chairs. Though it seems that chairs were too obvious. But they utilized them creatively, and completely showed us a different side of BreakEFX using a mind blowing finger tut routine, and intricate choreography instead of just bboy blow ups. very impressive. Boom Unit arrived fashionably late, and unfortunately, i didn't get a chance to see them practice their routine before they went in front of the judges... so I'm unsure what their prop was. They were wearing hoodies- so I'm assuming hoods? I love their style- so what ever they did, it must have been great. The Damsels contemporary crew was called back as well... but unfortunately one of their dancers, previously sick before the audition caught pneumonia while standing outside, and was unable to come audition. Our prayers are still with her to return home from the hospital.
Shane Sparks arrived that afternoon, as well as Nichelle from We Are Heroes. JC Chasez could not make it. Through the paper thin walls i could hear cheers or tears coming from the teams... It's unsure who they will pick, but I expect you won't see the end of Breakefx, Motion Underground, Electrolytes, The Cloggers, or Boom Unit.
Here's the rest of the field report by Melissa of SuperCr3w.com.
HONORABLE MENTION goes to Lil Phunk in my opinion. They are so young (6-13yr olds) and so talented. I’m GLAD they weren’t allowed to compete cause they would’ve stolen first place. I especially enjoyed the MJ tribute and watching one of the kids moonwalk. They brought the house down and received a standing ovation. I guess they’re the future abdc champions! Though, I wonder if they understand all the words to some of the songs they dance to…
FIRST PLACE winners were Static Noyze, who was extremely original. They played the story of a murder investigation and there’s a nice twist at the end when you find out who did it and who the next victim is.
NOW ABOUT THOSE ABDC CREWS…FR3SH I GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU….. Even though it was advertised, Fr3sh 7 didn’t perform at all! Not sure why, but I guess it’s all forgivable when the Fr3sh Dance Company was able to perform and members of Fr3sh 7 was in that routine!! (I gotta a feeling that Fr3sh 7 also was responsible for majority of the choreography in the Fr3sh Dance Co. routine) I thought it was really smart how they started with some weird version of Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi and then end it again with Paparazzi. Nice complete circle. By the way, how do you wake up Lady Gaga? Give up?? Well, You Pokee-her- face! [/end lame joke that I love to throw in whenever Lady Gaga is mentioned]
RHYTHM CITY… you surprised me. I was expecting to see a lot of abdc routines, but for the most part I thought a lot of it was new. There were a lot of solos in this routine and some of the solos really shocked me. Bone breaking? I think that’s what it’s called… and I did NOT know you can do that…
SO REAL CRU received applauses all around. I also feel like they sold out all their shirts they were selling cause it was so crowded by their table. Nuff said.
OVERALL it was a great show. Not really a show I would bring the younger kids too cause there were some pretty “mature” moments. (I actually saw a mother of one of the Lil Phunk kids cover the ears of her child at one point!) A little long, but that means you really get your money’s worth and the DJ was great at keeping us entertained in between sets.
OH AND DID I MENTION THERE WAS A RANDOM CYPHER DURING INTERMISSION? Well, there was! I love spontaneous stuff like that; keeping things fr3sh and so real! [/end pun]Thanks Melissa!
Here are the dates for the Far East Movement Tour. FM is looking for crews to dance with them onstage for "Girls on the Dance Floor". Details to sign up here.
11/05/09 Reno, NV @ Pearl at Grand Sierra 11/06/09 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues 11/07/09 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Paladium - QUEST CREW 11/09/09 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre 11/10/09 Vancouver, Canada @ Gossip 11/12/09 Seattle, WA @ Showbox at The Market 11/14/09 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory 11/17/09 Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre 11/18/09 Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre 11/19/09 Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater 11/20/09 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant 11/21/09 Party Rock Tour @ The Rave 11/22/09 Chicago, IL @ Congress Theatre 11/24/09 Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court 11/27/09 Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargos 11/28/09 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues 11/29/09 Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel 11/30/09 State College, PA @ The Cell Block 12/01/09 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts 12/03/09 New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place 12/04/09 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza 12/06/09 Farmingdale, NY @ Crazy Donkey 12/08/09 Richmond, VA @ The National 12/09/09 Norfolk, VA @ The Norva 12/10/09 Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore 12/11/09 Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues 12/14/09 Orlando, FL @ Firestone 12/17/09 Houston, TX @ House of Blues 12/18/09 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues 12/19/09 San Antonio, TX @ The White Rabbit 12/20/09 McAllen, TX @ Las Palmas Event Center
Thanks to everyone for entering. Here are some more of the entries to our contest:From Ashton: Logo for E3From Austin: Logos for Poreotics, Lost Kidz, Point Blank, Electrolytes
From Ben10: Xternal Technique (His crew) From Everardo: Syringe Crew More From Karen Chu: Lost Kids, Poreotics, Royal Flush, Gamblers, BloggingBestDanceCrew
From Michael: Kaba Modern Legacy From Shahin, who chose to embellish existing logos for Afroborike, Fanny Pak, and Quest to better illustrate the character of the crews: From Troy: Laughin Soulz (his crew): Click here to return to the home page. Click here to leave comments.
Here's the rest of Zatzz's recap -- be sure to read to the end for her far-reaching insights:
"The show started on a rough note. I can imagine how many people at home had their jaw dropped on the ground. Even the audience and the other two crews seemed skeptical to hear Mario Lopez announce that the crew with the most votes and that would go directly to the finals was AfroBorike.Nonetheless, they performed their Decades Challenge performance first. I, personally, was rather amused by their performance. Although the sloppiness, out of sync moments and more, I still enjoyed it. Their opening was probably the best part, although once again, it’s because they were in their element… It’s already down to the end, and AfroBorike have yet to shown versatility.
Later on the show, being saved, AfroBorike performed their Last Chance challenge, to a Tribal-like song and routine. I personally, really enjoyed it. The giant drum the girls came out of was crazy, and they did many beautiful lifts like they’re used to. Other than that, their song was terrifying. AFRO! AFRO! AFRO! AFROOOOOO! Indeed.
Seeing Afroborike move on could only mean one thing; the ladies of We Are Heroes and the bboys of Massive Monkees would have to battle it out. This means that for 3 weeks in a row now, I have only seen my original favorites battle it out. Sickening. I’d like to talk about We Are Heroes first, since they were the saved crew.WAH truly had the best Decade performance out of the three, but it certainly did not live up to the hype. The way it started with all the locking, which was amazing, I was expecting to see the saw energy and talent for the whole performance. Sadly, it didn’t work. It went downhill for me.
Overall, I really liked the part were they were all gliding, and of course the whole James Brown section.In other news, WAH have won the title of ‘wtf was that sexual move’ this week, dethroning AB who have been the kings of obscenity since Week 2. I mean, did everyone notice how they were literally grabbing ONE ANOTHER’s crotches!?? THAT WAS WEEEIRD. I didn’t get it. At all.
Saved by the judges over MM, We Are Heroes performed their Last Chance challenge, the superhero themed Ichiban (Number one) performance.Once again, overhype. Although I really did enjoy the performance and thought it it definitely in the Top 10 performances of this season, it didn’t blow my mind away. People compared it to Quest’s orQuestra. Oh well, guess it looked better in person. The chain-reaction effect near the beginning was dope, and the fire was also sort of amusing. This leaves us the eliminated crew of the week, Massive Monkees. Now, where to begin. I love these boys. But did they bring it this week? Sadly, no. I was quite disappointed, because since the past 3 weeks they had the best performances of the week in my opinion, and from the start they had always went uphill, always improving and adding something new to their performance. Sadly, it was probably a case of tiredness, and MM didn’t live up to my expectations. Being Bboys, they should have killed the James Brown and Rock Steady Crew parts. Did they? Not so much. Irony how I enjoyed the Usher, Lady Gaga and Paula Abdul sections of their performance more.
The worst thing about MM having been eliminated right away is that we will never get to see their Last Chance challenge, not on TV at least. Sad, as I am almost sure they would have killed it, hearing their Mastermix on District78’s site reminded me of OrQuestra… Perhaps MM would’ve performed one of the best routines of ABDC of all time? Who knows.
NOW, I KNOW YA’LL WANT TO KNOW. WHAT I THOUGH OF THEM BEING SHIRTLESS. ALL OF THEM. FINALLY. Well, are words really needed? I just wept of joy and giggled. I can now die a happy person. The important thing is that they went shirtless before getting eliminated. I am grateful. HAHAHA!
And now, we only have the ladies of We Are Heroes and the latinos of AfroBorike left in the running. A deception? Yes. I did not and will not vote. I like both crews, but there isn’t one of them that I want to see win more than the other. AB or WAH’s name next to JabbaWockeeZ, Super Cr3w and Quest Crew sounds extremely wrong to me. Whoever will take the title next week, congratulations. But you have not won my heart.Seeing MM’s banner drop was a let down to me. I was devastated. The goodbye package didn’t help neither. I hate that song, it makes me cry. For the first time in the history of ABDC, I do not have any crew I LOVE left in the running. It will be the first time I do not see one of my favorites win.
But on a positive note, when I realized how far MM have gone, that they have stayed on this show for as long as Kaba Modern and Fanny Pak have, I guess the rest doesn’t matter so much. The guys really took the elimination well, and they give a respectful speech, and it made me smile to hear Twixx mention the honor it was for them to have shared the stage with Super Cr3w, Beat Freaks and Quest. MM then walked off the stage in their own style--by freestyling. In the end, this was just an experience in the life of Massive Monkees crew, which has been around for 10 years and will be around for many decades to come.
Next week, tune into the live finale, and see who of the wonderful AfroBorike and amazing We Are Heroes will take home the Golden BBOY trophy! (I love this.) Might I add that the most (if not only) exciting part about next week is that ALL the crews are coming back on the stage? Personally, I can’t contain my joy of seeing amazing crews back on the show--MM and VE, but also other crews that definitely had more in store for us--Fr3sh and Southern Movement.No matter who wins on September 27, all I know is that I take away from Season 4 an average season with only two crews that will stand right there in my heart besides my favorites from the past season.
Who’re you looking forward to seeing again at the finale?Which crew do you think had more in store or us?Twixx or Jerome?Zoeth or Domo?Did MM deserve to go home?
One last thing… or two…KANYE INTERUPTS WE ARE HEROES! HOW DISRESPECTFUL!And… THE TRUE REASON WHY MM WERE ELIMINATED. EVIL LIL MAMA. Thank you for reading, and feel free to leave me any feedback or opinions!" Click here to leave comments. Click here to return to the home page.
Here's the rest of Chris' preview. It's a little more spoiler-y than usual, but that's almost impossible to avoid in the penultimate week of the season.
"I don’t think anyone saw this finale coming. I know I didn’t. And the other people I speak with each week in press sure didn’t. If you would’ve asked any of us earlier on which two crews were going to be in the finale next week, maybe one of the two crews that made it would be mentioned but probably not both.
When they announced the crew that was safe based on last week’s votes, most people in press were shocked. I always know how everyone else in press feels, not only by the comments following the decision, but by everyone gasping in unison. It means that the two crews most people thought were going to be in the finale now have to go head to head and one is going to have to go home getting crowned third place and will not compete at being called this season’s America’s Best Dance Crew.
The three crews remaining start off the night by having the decade challenge where they all have to dance to music from five different decades of music and the choreography has to reflect it. The crew that was voted safe by the voters and automatically is in the finale does just okay.
All eyes are on the remaining two crews because this performance will decide who goes on to the finale. The first crew that is up for elimination gets mediocre reviews. The crew really couldn’t seem to excel in this multi-song and longer format. The second crew up for elimination kills it to nothing but positive feedback from the judges and response from the crowd. They end up moving on to the finale.
That’s when they have their strongest performance of the entire season. It’s clear in most people’s minds that if voting is based on performance, this crew should win this season. One judge says they’ve “never seen anything like it.” I agree.
So we will see if America agrees with that night’s crowd, the judges, and everyone in the press box (including dancers from past seasons) and votes for the crew that clearly had the stronger of the two final performances (like the voters did last season), or if voting will be based on something else.
But one thing is clear, the crew that the judges saved had their best performance of their life and no one can take that away from them."
Continuation of 'Groovaloo' review: The show consists of solo dances, choreographed circles and battles, and group routines, with a balance of choreography and bboy tricks. The battles and circles were fun, but may disappoint audiences used to the spontaneity and urgency of a competition. But some of the group routines are a wonder. Among my favorites --Lindsey's robot routine called 'Once Upon a Time' where she struggles with being unconventional; Keeley's tribute to The Lockers, and Julie's battles with three black-clad figures representing mental illness. Unfortunately, there is no one over-the-top dance like the ones done by Groovaloos on 'Superstars of Dance'. I think the inclusion of a show-stopper could help bring more 'word-of-mouth' to the show, which was not sold out the night I attended. Each of the bios were compelling, though there were so many that the subtle ones might have been lost to the audience the night I attended the show. Interestingly, all the women dealt with internal issues (body image, depression, lack of confidence, loss of faith, nonconformity), while the men dealt with external problems (poverty, family violence, street violence, parental and societal expectations). In all cases -- the dancers started with different needs and problems, but could find acceptance, excitement, and challenge in the hip hop and bboy dance community. Fortunately for us, Groovaloos brought the words and the moves to allow us non-dancers a brief tantalizing look into their home.
We Are Heroes: Madonna – “Vogue” The ladies had nice levels, musicality, and synchronization with their performance. The voguing section where Hiro and Riquel had Nichelle and Mami wrapped around their waists was pretty athletic. I also caught Ali voguing upside down on the couch which was pretty cool! The tutting and voguing section with the fans was clean. In the words of JC, WAH owned the props. The props…well, you know the rest! LOL! Although the set up for Ali’s freeze was a little unstable, she cleaned it up and held it together. Ali and Nichelle’s double back hand springs and back tucks were nice and matched the beat perfectly. I felt like WAH’s performance lacked the swagger and intensity from their two previous performances though. Overall, this routine was just okay in my opinion. AfroBorike: Britney Spears – “Slave 4 U” The opening with the guys hanging from the chains REALLY caught my eye; it was hot! I have to agree with Lil’ Mama though about Josue’s flip. *checks to see if a pig has flown outside of my window (LMAO!)* It was slightly off but athletic nonetheless. Even though people do not care for AfroBorike’s “sexy” moves, I was actually glad - for once - that the girls incorporated the belly dancing move because it was something that I remembered from the original performance. Another athletic move the group had was when the guys flipped the girls over by their ankles and dragged them backwards. Miguel tossing Zoeth in the air and having her do a clean, twirling flip was great! The entertainment value was definitely evident throughout their performance. Their routine had touches of their signature salsa style as well. This was an overall good performance for them. Massive Monkees: N*SYNC – “Tearin’ Up My Heart” Okay, MM were seriously in synch at the beginning of the routine when they were dancing in the desks. I loved how ripping up Leiomy’s picture played onto the lyrics! Although Brysen slipped up by not hopping up on the desk, he recovered with the rest of MM when it came to the choreo. Marcus’ “inverted freeze” move (if that makes sense…LOL!) and no-hands cartwheel were hot! That cartwheel was pure athleticism. The choreo that MM did while Marcus was using Lil Lazy’s foot as a mic was so funny to me, but in a good way; I was laughing with them! I guess I was somewhat surprised by it although I never doubted that MM could not do choreo. The popping section where Tim, Lil’ Lazy, and Brysen were the puppet masters and Jerome, J.D., and Marcus were the puppets was a nice MM spin on the original performance. Lil’ Lazy’s head spin was a nice touch to end the routine. However, I loved the ending when Tim and Brysen pushed off of the desks and hit a freeze and dropped down to a…whatever that b-boy position is! LOL! I don’t know what it’s called, but it was dope (especially since they hit those moves perfectly with the song)! The entertainment value and confidence that MM had made this routine their best performance on the show! P.S. – I’m sure Zatzz squealed with delight when Jerome pulled his shirt over his head. HAHAHA! Her wish for “shirtless” Monkees had somewhat been granted. LOL! Rhythm City: Chris Brown – “Wall to Wall” Once again, I appreciate RC’s clean, synchronized choreo with this performance. Denzel’s back flip over Kenny was great, considering that he had his back to the audience. One wrong move, and Denzel could have fallen off of the stage. Although I liked the Charlie Chaplin move, it was not as energetic or animated as it was in the original performance. The round lighted platforms were cool, but I think it slowed down RC’s routine especially when they were jumping around from platform to platform. I also noticed that Ashley’s ending handstand was not as precise as Domonique and Kenny’s handstands; her legs reminded me of a see-saw…LOL! They had great formations and levels throughout the performance, but their energy level kind of waned off when it got to the second half of the routine. RC’s performance was good, but a little better than WAH and AB’s performances. Honestly, I agreed with ONE crew being selected for the bottom two. If it’s true that “a crew is only as good as its last performance”, then having Rhythm City in the bottom two was correct. Their dance craze and VMA performances were okay. Not bad, not great…just okay. Yes, Rhythm City had the clean choreo, the levels, the back flips, etc. for both weeks. However, I felt that their routines for both challenges lacked that distinctive Rhythm City swagger we saw in week one. It just seemed like Rhythm City’s performances slowly plateaued as the weeks went on. When it comes to the other crew in the bottom two, Massive Monkees should NOT have been there. Period. These guys have been steadily improving since Bollywood week. In my opinion, they had one of the best performances for the dance craze and VMA challenges. Even though their challenges have been questionable, Massive Monkees seemed to take those challenges and run with them! Their last two performances had more energy than Rhythm City’s last two performances. [Side note: I’m one of those people who likes seeing a challenge infused with a crew’s signature dance style AND reflected THROUGHOUT a performance. Just seeing it appear ONE or TWO times during a routine is not enough for me. Massive Monkees were Ricky Bobby-ing and tearin’ up all kind of hearts every which way on that stage with their last two performances! LMAO! Why? Because they performed as if it were their last night on the show. Rhythm City? Not so much. Sorry.]
Who do I think will be in the bottom two for week 7? If I keep that “a crew is only as good as its last performance” mentality, then AfroBorike and We Are Heroes could battle it out for a spot in the finale. Both crews’ last two performances were good, but We Are Heroes have a slight edge – in my opinion –for their Stanky Legg routine. Unfortunately, I think We Are Heroes will get eliminated, setting up an AfroBorike/Massive Monkees finale. Until Sunday kids!
"The show started early and on fire: With a group number where Afroborike, Massive Monkees, Rhythm City & We Are Heroes united force to pay tribute to the late King of Pop in a performance choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha D’Umo.MTV certainly didn’t limit the budget for this one! The feel of it was out of this world. Definitely sent a few shivers down my spine! My favorite part was probably when the AB, WAH & RC girls came together and danced just the 10 of them. To me the performance was amazing until… The judges came out of nowhere in that cage. (Lil Mama seems to like randomly popping up on stages recently.) Then, it was time to get serious; Mario announced that out of RC & WAH, one was in the bottom and the other would be saved. I have no doubt that WAH were expecting to be in the bottom once again, after having been down there in the past 2 weeks. Hopefully for them, the all-girl crew was saved, while everyone’s favorite crew from the Bronx had to battle for the second time this season.
We Are Heroes had to perform and pay tribute to Madonna’s “Vogue” performance at the VMAs in 1990. Talk about having a lot to live up to! Even so, I think WAH did good. To me, it felt more like watching a fashion show than an actual routine. Still, the vibe was fun and light, and the girls looked beautiful. Best part of the performance, dance-wise, was the group tutting section with the fans. If I’m not wrong, it was similar to what they had done in their audition.On the downside, I think the girls may be trying to hard to be sexy… and it may not be working so much. Did anyone even notice when two of them kissed?
Nuh-huh, you can never recreate that memorable moment from Fanny Pak’s Janet performance! And that they had HEROES spelled out on their panties… okay, sure.Finally, a personal opinion about WAH getting “Vogue” as their song & challenge: Can we say, STAB IN THE BACK by the producers? It wasn’t even a week ago that Vogue Evolution have been eliminated, and not a single mention was made about them in WAH’s package, the judge’s comment or a shout-out during WAH’s performance. Not cool. Not cool at all. Next saved crew was Afroborike; not surprising since we know a whole island and community is voting for them. Which means that unfortunately, a bboy crew that is almost considered legend in their domain in the USA, Massive Monkees, had to battle it out in the bottom. Afroborike had to recreate 2001’s “Slave 4 You” performed by Britney Spears on the VMAs.
As I expected, Zoeth was scared of the snake. But we can say the total opposite about Elisabet, who was petting Sir Snake the whole judging time.ANYWAYS, on to the routine--I was slightly disappointed, because when someone that went to the taping said the guys were hanging from the ceiling, I thought they were gonna be a few feet in the air… But anyways, that was an interesting performance, and I must say I did enjoy this performance quite a bit.
People who have been following my recaps may be surprised to hear that this was actually my second favorite performance of the night! The main reason is that they brought their technical latin dance side to the table, but they were also sexy--WITHOUT being trashy, unlike most other weeks. Hence, they’re probably the crew to have lived up to Britney’s performance the most. Might I also add that this Slave 4 You performance was pretty better than Sassx7’s, who also performed to the same song before getting eliminated? And finally, Miguel’s hair looked horrible. :) Now that we know who will be the first two crews to be in the Top 3, it was time for Rhythm City and Massive Monkees to battle it out. Surprising to most, and I think most viewers weren’t happy to see the top 2 contenders of ABDC4 having to fight for the last spot in the Top 3.
And so, Massive Monkees went first. The bboys got another tough challenge when they were assigned “Tearin’ Up My Heart” which was performed by no other than JC Chasez and his NSYNC friends in 1999. Now, I might have been the only one, but I was excited when I learned what MM’s song was. Why? Because I just KNEW they’d use this as an opportunity to go all out and show us charisma, personality and a vibe we hadn’t see on the ABDC stage since Quest Crew last season. The way I interpret it, it was MM’s way to tell the producers that no matter if they try to screw them by giving them weird songs and challenges, they would always overcome them.I hoped everyone noticed that it was Leiomy on the papers they tore at the beginning of their performance--As a shout-out of course, to THEIR BEST FRIENDS FOREVER Vogue Evolution!
And so, the only way I can summarize this performance is by saying that I was smiling ear to ear the whole time and was on the verge of tears, seeing MM push choreography down the throat of all the people saying they can only do flips and stunts… And last word; Words that the Zatzz could never forget to mention… JEROME WAS SHIRTLESS. TWICE. WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO Next up, Rhythm City had to recreate Chris Brown’s 2007 VMA performance to “Wall to Wall”.It was a good routine, the ‘big movements’ tight choreo part was real good, the ending poses were also dope, but other than that I wasn’t so entertained. Other good point may have been that we saw the guys more than the girls this week. YESSSSSS Haha, I really like the RC guys.
Other than that, many people have been talking about it, and once again, I had some Déjà vu during RC’s performance. Their flips also seem to be too much. Viewers seem to always insult crews saying ‘All they do is flips!!’ But uh, HELLO? RC have been doing more flips than Super Cr3w or Massive Monkees. Seriously.
Personally, I am open to people wanting to change my mind about this performance. Tell me WHY you liked RC’s performance. Tell me. I didn’t see anything outstanding.
Now, I will address the biggest debate of the moment: MM vs RC. Who had the best performance? Did RC deserve to leave? My answer: MM were better. RC may not have deserved to ‘lose’ over WAH & AB, but against what MM have done, yes.Now, people have to get their mind out of the gutter and understand what being in the bottom two means. I think people should realize how much the FEEL of a performance is important. Being in the Bottom 2, it is your last chance; You go all out, it's a BATTLE. You have to do your best, take risks, entertain the audience, go crazy... RC may not understand what that means, since they did nothing of that. They just danced. While MM danced but PERFORMED on top of that. I guess that’s the advantage of being bboys; You know how to battle.
After the storm settled, the Top 3 of ABDC Season 4 was revealed. Next week, we’ll see Afroborike, We Are Heroes and Massive Monkees fight for a spot in the finale.By now, it is anyone’s game. The crews will all have to bring their A-Game next week, or they’re out.Which fans have been the most dedicated voters? Was it the whole latino-american community that will send Afroborike straight to the finals? Or will Seattle and bboy appreciators stand up and keep the Monkees out of the bottom this time? Or will We Are Heroes make the finals and assure that females finally win this show?
You’ll have to watch next week to see, when every crew will perform to the same songs and have to recreate the moves of James Brown, Usher, Lady Goregaga and many more. And finally, the Finalists of ABDC 4 will be revealed.
