Monday, February 14, 2011

Teldon's ABDC Rewatch - Season 3, Episode 2 - Fit Test Challenge

This is Teldon's Rewatch review of America's Best Dance Crew Season 3's Fit Test Challenge. Thanks Teldon!
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SAFE CREWS:

Quest Crew dancing to "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne   
Fit Test Move: Kickboxing

Was it clean? For the most part it was.  The hard parts of doing all the punches and kicks together was in sync with each other and no mistimed moves either.  The only real screw up I saw was the head glide flip where one of them was just a second or two off. 9 pts
Was it well thought out? Again I think this is just me and my tastes here, but if felt like three distinct pieces that were thrown together and not that well.  If the transitions would have been better it really could have popped into place. 7 pts
How well did they do the challenge?  I think they did a good job incorporating the moves into their routine.  I do feel they could have hit them just a tad harder though.  I know the moves given to them are difficult and have a lot of variety to them but they could have chosen just a few harder one to put in there. 7 pts
What were the highlights?  Steve was definitely the MVP with his butterfly kick and his bicycle kick (which was on beat mind you).  He turned this from a good performance to a damn good performance.
What, if anything, took away from the performance? The transitions should have been better.
Total points-  23 pts

Fly Khicks dancing to "Krazy" by Pitbull featuring Lil Jon     
Fit Test Move: Spring Back
mini rant-OK first off I just wanna say this.  Kara Saun comes up with some great costumes and clothes for all the crews to wear, but what the heck was she smoking when she came up with those outfits?
Was it clean? Oy Vey!!  Girls you make it hard at time for me to support you when you screw up like this.  No it was not clean at all.  EVERYONE was off point or out of sync at one point or another.  From the misstep of trying to get back into formation with the back flip or the one dancer who fell there was alot of noticeable errors.  I will give props on the level of difficulty and togetherness at the end.  It is not easy to jump like that, stay in sync and have precise lines. 4 pts
Was it well thought out? Not so much.  They had a weird concept that just did not come across well in the beginning and then felt like it was just thrown away afterwords.  I did like how they tried to
show they could do well thought out athletics but that bit them in the butt. 3 pts
How well did they do the challenge?  They did do the challenge well and that was the only shining spot to this routine.  The screw-ups did take away from the parts that were well done. 7 pts
What were the highlights? The last 12 seconds were the best.  Again they nailed the really hard part.
What, if anything, took away from the performance? The other 30 seconds of the routine.
Total points- 14 pts

Strikers All-Stars dancing to "Move (If You Wanna) by Mims     
Fit Test Move: Monkey Roll
Was it clean? From beginning to end it was clean.  No screw-ups were apparent throughout the routine and they came harder than the previous week and made their moves exciting! 10 pts

Was it well thought out? Yes, everything made sense in this routine.  The transitions were strong and not forced.  They listen to the criticism from the previous week and improved on what they were lacking. My only thing was the beginning could have been a touch better.  10 pts
How well did they do the challenge?  They were the first crew tonight that did the challenge almost form beginning to end mixing it seamlessly into their normal moves.  Whether they were all in
one line doing the monkey roll or doing it in place. 10 pts
What were the highlights?  The horizontal line where they all did the move back to back was the best part of this one.
What, if anything, took away from the performance? Nothing took away from this routine.
Total points-  30 pts

Beat Freaks dancing to "Independent" by Webbie featuring Lil' Boosie     
Fit Test Move: Side Plank
Was it clean? Like with Strikers Allstars, it was a flawlessly clean routine.  Good transitions and framing helped them stand out from the others tonight. 10 pts
Was it well thought out? Again very much so.  They were clever in how they presented their moves and Incorporated the challenge into their normal move set. 10 pts
How well did they do the challenge?  Again they were creative in how they executed the challenge and how they presented it to the viewing audience. Whether it was the basic side plank or doing it in pairs. 9 pts
What were the highlights?  One of the things I love most with any crew is when one dancer starts a move and the other members start to join in one or two at a time.  That part towards the end was the highlight for me.
What, if anything, took away from the performance? nothing took away from the routine.
Total points-  29 pts

Dynamic Edition dancing to "Shake That" by Eminem featuring Nate Dogg     
Fit Test Move: High Knees
Was it clean? Again yet another flawlessly clean routine.  Like Strikers, they brought hard hitting energy and swag to their formations and dance moves. 10 pts
Was it well thought out? Yes it was.  I hate to keep using SaS as the benchmark tonight, but this crew also listened well to the criticism they got last week and improved dramatically taking the time to show they could do hip hop and mix it in with a style that doesn't have those elements. 10 pts
How well did they do the challenge?  Again as with Strikers and Beat Freaks, they did an outstanding job.  Out of the three they made it look the most natural in my opinion.  With that said, it really was hard to tell when they were doing the challenge and when they weren't. 8 pts
What were the highlights? Their formations are always the highlight of their routines.  They are so well done and natural it is just a joy to watch.
What, if anything, took away from the performance?  nothing took away.
Total points-  28 pts

Ringmasters dancing to "Put On" by Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West     
Fit test Move: Soldier Crawl
Was it clean? To a degree it was clean, but I think it was because the dancing they did was very grade school.  The beginning and the middle were a hot mess with out of sync moments.  3 pts
Was it well thought out? Lord no.  Unlike other "bad" crews I could not tell what they were doing with this routine.  Nothing in it made sense whatsoever. 1 pt
How well did they do the challenge?  What challenge?  I really could not tell they were trying to do anything special in it at all. 1 pt
What were the highlights? The fact it ended and was over was the highlight.
What, if anything, took away from the performance? Is everything in it an acceptable answer?
Total points-  5 pts
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THE BOTTOM TWO

Did America get it right? Halfway right. I agree with Team Millennia needing a redemption but Ringmasters needed to be in there as well.

Team Millennia dancing to "Disturbia" by Rihanna     
Fit Test Move: Leap Frog
mini rant- OK I know in the original video for this song there was a supernatural element to it but damn.  It has been done to death when this song is chosen for a routine for any show.  From this performance to the two times it was used on America's Got Talent.  Lay the zombies, vampires, and nightmares to rest and  think outside the box or re-imagine it.  Look at how Thriller turned out when it was given a Sci-fi edge.
Was it clean? For the most part.  The girls were out of formation in the beginning and towards the middle.  Small timing errors occurred towards the end as well. 7 pts
Was it well thought out? Mostly, there were distinct parts to the performance and they were blended well together but they kinda felt out of place. 7 pts
How well did they do the challenge?  They did do the challenge well and creatively.  They also fit it into the theme quite. 8 pts
What were the highlights? The leapfrogging was what really stood out for me.
What, if anything, took away from the performance?  Nothing really took away for me.
Total points-  22 pts

Boxcuttuhz dancing to "Everyone Nose" by N.E.R.D.     
Fit Test Move: Mountain Climber
Was it clean? One thing I am noticing about this season is that the majority of the crews are clean.  This performance is no exception. While clean, it was not that exciting.  9 pts
Was it well thought out? It was the only routine all night that tried to tell a story.  All parts of it made sense but lacked oomph.  They could have gone harder. 7 pts
How well did they do the challenge?  The part that hurt them the most was that they spent too much time on the challenge and it took away from their dancing.  Granted what they did
was very creative. 9 pts

What were the highlights? The beginning and the end very well thought out and creative.
What, if anything, took away from the performance? They spent too much time on the challenge.
Total points- 25 pts

Did the judges get it right? Honestly, I think Boxcuttuhz should have stayed over Team Millennia.  Boxcuttuhz had shown more creativity in their two performances than Team Millennia did.  Again I think Team Millennia was saved because of the S2 audition.
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Thoughts on the eliminated crew- A good crew cut too early.  I really think the mistake they made during week one is what killed them.

Tonight's Rankings (based on tonight's score)
1. Strikers All-Stars 30 pts
2. Beat Freaks 29 pts
3. Dynamic Edition 28 pts
4. Boxcuttahs 25 pts
5. Quest Crew 23 pts
6. Team Millennia 22 pts
7. Fly Khicks 14 pts
8. Ringmasters 5 pts

Power rankings (based on placement average)
1. Beat Freaks (8.5)
2. Dynamic Edition (7)
2. Strikers All-Stars (7)
4. Quest Crew (6.5)
5. Boxcuttahs (6) Eliminated
6. Fly Khicks (3.5)
7. Team Millennia (3.5)
8. G.O.P. Dance (1.5) 9th Place
9. Ringmasters (1.5)
9. Ringmasters (1.5)

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