Field Report from VIBE XIV, including ABDC Crew news

More of Beverly, Angela, and Ashley's report on VIBE XIV:

Every year Lambda Theta Delta hosts, VIBE, one of the largest hip-hop dancing competitions on the West Coast. Held at the Brens Event Center at UC Irvine, VIBE brings together street and collegiate dance teams from all over California. Out of about 40 teams that apply and send in videos, ten teams are chosen to compete, handpicked based on consistency, recent improvements, and entertainment value. An additional three pre-show teams and nine exhibition teams perform throughout the event as well, allowing aspiring dancers to showcase their talent and hard work.

Members from JabbaWockeeZ, Kaba Modern, Team Millennia, Boxcuttuhz, Beat Freaks, and Quest Crew all have competed in VIBE. This year, Yuri, Tony, and Mike from Kaba Modern danced for KM Legacy, which is the dance team for the KM alumni, while Mike also danced on the Kallusive team directed by Arnel Calvario, the current president of Culture Shock LA and the founder of Kaba Modern. Among the crowd, we also spotted Ben Chung from JabbaWockeeZ, CJ "Pharside" Jennings from Supreme Sould, Rocko Luciano and Brian "Bam" Martin from Boxcuttuhz.

When asked if he was following the current season of ABDC, Arnel told us, "We're rooting for Quest and Beat Freaks. They're really good friends of ours...the first season was interesting because JabbaWockeeZ are actually our close friends. So every season we were so fortunate because there are so many dance crews from our dance community here in Southern California, who have danced together, performed together and choreographed together. And now we can really come together and support each other on the show...We're really grateful for all the opportunities that have come since the show." All the dance teams know each other and have friend on different teams on the current season of ABDC. Many of the dancers we talked to were cheering for Quest Crew, Beat Freaks, and Boxcuttuhz. In fact, Mike Song from KM revealed that two of his roommates are dancing for Quest Crew.

We watched Kallusive Dance Crew practice for their performance when Mike slowly glided to the center for his part. He kept an expressionless face as he popped his chest and moved like a robot, isolating each individual part of his body. We also had the opportunity for an exclusive interview with Mike behind the scenes. Asked about what life was like on ABDC, he answered, 'It was crazy, obviously...it was life changing...it just...completely shifted my life path in another way that I didn't think was possible. I totally thought I was going to get a normal job and quit dancing and then the show happened and it completedly rerouted my future plans and what I felt like I was going to do with my life. In a nutshell, it changed my life...Basically, the show made it possible for dance to be my career for now...It's been really cool and just a blessing...only as a result from the show."

To all you aspiring dancers out there, Lawrence from Kaba Modern said, "Keep dancing...be open and humble about what you're trying to do and you'll get there." "Practice! Patience" Tony added. Similarly Bam from Boxcuttuhz encouraged, "Don't give up! what ever happens, keep your head up...Stay hungry, stay hungry!"

As for us, we'll be staying hungry for the next episode of ABDC and other opportunities for us to get more inside scoops on ABDC!

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Super Cr3w after ABDC -- becoming 'more than a household name'

Here's the second part of the Super Cr3w interview Click here to return to home page.

Week 2 Taping: Exclusive field report

Salima with Boxcuttuhz

Here's the rest of Salima Koroma's field report:

"In addition to the colorful behind-the-scenes experience, I was also able to ask a few of the crews about their different styles. They all looked amazing. I really like the "nerdy" style of Boxcuttuhz, so I asked them about it. Group member Lando Wilkins said, "It's just 'get your hands nerdy.' It's like the gritty version of being hood but still keeping to your roots, If you got something dorky to do, do it. Don't be afraid."

Don't be afraid indeed. I would definitely be a bit scared of the judges however. But when I asked Lil Mama if they would be judging harder this season, she said, "I don't know about harder. I always keep it official, like what comes from my heart. And as a real person, sometimes I feel a little under pressure because it's like, I don't want to come across in the wrong way. I don't want to be the 'bad' person or the 'good' guy. Just be real."

I asked Shane Sparks how he's going to judge these groups when there's so much diversity, and he answered, "We just judge based off of what we see. Ir the group is hot, we let them know. If they do something different, we let them know...If it sucks and it's wack, we let them know. That's the bottom line.""

Michelle and Salima with the (very) Fly Khicks

Ringmasters looking spiffy in their prison gear

Dynamic Edition and Salima

Thanks Salima for the great write-up and photos!

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Quest Dance Crew Discussion Thread

This is a discussion thread on Quest. Please leave opinions, news, love, hate, speculation, etc. If you want us to include info about your fan site, email the details to BloggingBestDanceCrew@gmail.com and we'll include it here in the post for everyone to see. Rules:

• No obscenity. If need be, add some asterisks, misspellings, or !?%*
  
• No links. Either refer to a site and a date or a Youtube channel without the URL. If you have something you'd like to feature, send an email to BloggingBestDanceCrew@gmail.com
• Once your opinion is stated, you don't have to continue to reaffirm. If someone else has a different opinion, just let it be.

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Backstage with the Crews, an exclusive report

Continuing with the report:

Nearby, we approached a group of rehearsing guys for an introduction: "We are the Striker All Stars from Tallahassee, Florida. We are coming with a down South flavor that includes stepping, hip hop and anything else you throw at us." When asked what sets them apart, they told me, "well, first of all there hasn't been a stepping aspect that's been introduced to the show, but more importantly, we think that all the other things we're adding with stepping -- our appearance, our themes, our creativity -- it's just gonna be over the top for anyone to compete with."
Right across was another crew from the South, and one that I'm sure many of you have never heard of. Consisting of members from Georgia and Alabama, Dynamic Edition will showcase something never seen on ABDC: Clogging. The crew explained clogging as "a mixture between tap and Irish step dancing. It's a big melting pot of tap dances.We have hip hop and jazz incorporated into it as well." When asked they they are bringing this year that's different apart from their style, they replied, "Of course our clogging is totally different from anything everyone else does,but we also offer tight precision. We are completely together on everything and we hope that's going to help us go a long way in this competition."

Toward the end of the crew space, we encounter yet another new and different crew, the Ringmasters from Brooklyn. Their style is flex dancing. "It's gliding, popping,pausing, hat tricks, everything -- punch lines, bone breaks, it's crazy. We are bringing what hasn't been seen" As the only group from the East Coast,they are here to represent. I asked them what they'd do with the prize money and they affirmed, "It's really not about the money, it's about getting our style here. We've got a lot to prove. By being here, we feel like we won. So, by winning, it's gonna make it even better."

Another surprise was running into the familiar faces from last season: Team Millennia. Their wardrobe choices said a lot. "If we were going to come back this season and approach it differently than we did last season, we might as well go all out. We had a lot of aggressive feelings from last season, not making it, being eliminated, so we decided to portray it and what better way than rockers, aggressive." As to their style: "We don't really have our own particular style. We like to keep our options open, buy most people say we do a lot of intricate,isolating type movement. We just dance, we like to groove too." What makes them different: "We have a theme. We have a show. We're not just dancing. We have the whole production going on. You'll see more than just dancing...you'll see character,you'll see personality, you'll see everything. We're just trying to keep the judges and the audience entertained. That's our goal."

Thanks for this in-depth view of the crews!
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Field Report from the ABDC Tapings: Shane Sparks, Randy Jackson, Mario Lopez, Layla Kayleigh

More  coverage of the America's Best Dance Crew Tapings:

The show's host Mario Lopez was on hand to express his opinion on the new crop: "I think the crews are very different from seasons past. We got everything from cloggers, contortionists, girl break dancers...and a lot of stories and backgrounds are different. We went to cities we hadn't gone to. These kids are really passionate. Every season it has stepped up."

MTV host Layla Kayleigh spared a few minutes to tell me that "There's a lot more versatility. It's like we've got cloggers that dance to hip hop music, we've got an all-guy group from Puerto Rico, we've got Miami Heat dancers. There's just a lot of different styles,so it's gonna be interesting who America favors."

Finally, the man himself, the producer, and the brains behind the operation -- Randy Jackson -- joined his judges and hosts in sharing his thoughts about ABDC at this point in time. "There's a lot of new dance styles I didn't know were going to happen. This show just gets fresher and fresher over time...it amazes me every time. It's just gonna be a lot of fun."

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Season 3 Crew: Ringmasters (aka Main Eventt)

Ringmasters is the name that will be used for this crew during America's Best Dance Crew Season 3, but they've been dancing together as Main Eventt for almost a decade. Here's a trailer for their DVD "The Takeover": Here are some older performances and battles, including more of the 106th and Park footage:

From BadFam, here's a recent video of the individual crew members' styles.


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Season 3 Crew: Quest

Quest Performance at LA Best, from lilchibi's Youtube Channel


Quest Dance Crew on American Idol Gives Back, from Steve Terada:


At the Lunar New Year Show, from JaeYoungKim:


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Season 3 Crew: Dynamic Edition

Dynamic Edition YA at the 2007 SC Clogging Championships:


This is a 2006 video from Courtney that I think is closer to what they'll show on ABDC.



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Season 3 Crew: Team Millennia (aka TM)

Here's TM's Vibe Performance for 2008, from eloretardo.

Here's the America's Best Dance Crew Audition Special. To see Team Millenia, go to Segment 11 (watch or fast forward through the first 10 segments); the TM interview starts at 5:13 and the performance is at 6:49.

Here's a recent TM performance -- The Prelude Norcal 2008 in November 2008. Video is made by Solitek.

Finally, here's the Body Rock 2008 performance, from bootlegshaboobs.

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Season 3 Crew: The Strikers

More videos of the Strikers in Action:
The Strikers Spring Excursion in 2008, from MTV's Dance Channel.




And a demo tape made by Cunning Creations:


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