THE CREWS:
Jungle Boogie dancing to "Bounce" by Busta Rhymes
First Impressions- Wow, these guys are hyper with an over-the-top fashion sense. Also, Raqi is a lil spitfire. Love her.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? Not very clean at all. Throughout the entire routine, someone was off sync with someone else and there were timing issues where someone was off-beat. In addition, partner stunt work got messed up at the end. The moves, formations and transitions did feel a touch on the easy side as well. 6 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? Again, this was a fairly simple routine but at least they presented it well. Some of the highlights: being that as a six person crew they know how to do mirror sections well and they knew how to showcase Raqi, the lone female, very well. 7 pts
How well did they do the challenge (overall first impression, did they show us all they could do or give us a taste of what is to come and do it well)? Overall, it was okay. They did not come off as that strong. What they gave us was very basic and somewhat entertaining. What I did love was their amazing energy level. 7 pts
What were the highlights? They did highlight their personalities in this piece.
What, if anything, took away from the performance? The stunt work was a gamble that would have looked great had they not messed up.
Total points- 20 pts
Ghost dancing to "Android Porn" by Kraddy
First Impressions- Looks like we have our inspirational crew for the season. They seem like a nice bunch of kids.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? For the most part it was clean. The only problem -- it didn't seem like there was much dancing in this. 7 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? Transitions and formation work were great. They gave amazing visuals but that was really it. 6 pts
How well did they do the challenge (overall first impression, did they show us all they could do or give us a taste of what is to come and do it well)? They showed us something different with their formation work and came off as very creative. 8 pts
What were the highlights? Their transitions.
What, if anything, took away from the performance? While it was visually impressive, I can't really remember anything about it one minute later.
Total points- 21 pts
X-treme Motion dancing to "She Ain't Got..." by LeToya Luckett
First Impressions- Here's the thing -- when the crews were announced for Season 5, I looked for every shred of video each crew had. From what I first found of this crew, they seemed like the reincarnation of Fly Khicks (with the dance moves) and Fysh n Chicks (with the attitude). I was originally very excited for this crew.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? It started very clean and together, but as it went along things slowly fell apart. Numerous timing issues, formation errors, and they were completely out of sync with each other by the end. Difficulty was not there at all towards the end either. 4 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? This was horrible. Transitions just did not have the energy or power they needed (or showed in the past). The song was the best part of this routine and sadly they did not match the energy or theme of it at all. 2 pts
How well did they do the challenge (overall first impression, did they show us all they could do or give us a taste of what is to come and do it well)? I know when you have a new style and you are trying to showcase it you want it to be the center of attention. You also want to frame it and blend in other elements to it to make it really stand out. We got none of that in this set, and there was no personality shown by these ladies. 1 pts
What were the highlights? JC channelling his inner Shane for the judges' critique.
Total points- 7 pts
Swagger Crew dancing to "Ice Cream Paint Job" by Dorrough
First Impressions- They have Supreme Soul syndrome: they are on that wonderful border of cockiness and confident but they also come across as very humble.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? Finally! A clean routine with some complexity tonight! Really good energy through the whole set as well. 9 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? This is another area they did well in. Very interesting formations and dynamic transitions made things pop out and that groove section towards the end was just an added bonus. 10 pts
How well did they do the challenge (overall first impression, did they show us all they could do or give us a taste of what is to come and do it well)? They showed us they are a strong crew and really did give more than enough to make you want to come back for seconds. Extremely fun crew. 10 pts
What were the highlights? The groove section was just a treat.
Total points- 29 pts
Royal Flush dancing to "Wasted" by Gucci Mane featuring Plies
First Impressions- I @#%&! love this crew. I have been a fan of theirs for quite a while now and I was ecstatic when they made it on the show.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? It was an okay clean. Most of the mistakes were in formation errors and sync errors leading up to formations. They tried to put a lot into their routine and they were having to go from one thing to the next so fast that it made it seem simple. 7 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? I could tell where they were going with this but some things hurt them: dropping props at the beginning, not having enough time to set up or frame stunt work, and spending to much time setting up something that should have been more dynamic. I did get the sense of beginning, middle, and end, but they should have thought about cutting some things out and strengthening what they were showcasing. 5 pts
How well did they do the challenge (overall first impression, did they show us all they could do or give us a taste of what is to come and do it well)? It was an okay first impression for the national audience. They could have done some things different and harder. 5 pts
What, if anything, took away from the performance? The ending was wack. I like that they added their signature card tricks to the routine, but they have to be better thought out than that.
Total points- 17 pts
Did the judges pick the right crews? Originally when I saw this I said no. Like many viewers I thought Ghost should have been moved forward but thanks to the rewatch I can see what the judges saw. It was good but they needed to show more, hence they were sent to the bottom.
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SUDDEN DEATH:
X-treme Motion, Royal Flush and Ghost dancing to "Outta Control" by Baby Bash featuring Pitbull
X-treme Motion- Immediately, the ladies were off on their formation, and they used the same choreo that they did earlier in the show. Their transition work towards the end was extremely poor and sloppy. They tried to finish up with some lackluster stunt work and it seems like they ran out of time.
Royal Flush- Royal Flush came out and immediately framed Gissette who went into a sick solo section. From here they got really creative in presenting their stunt work. While Jared was doing a series of backflips, the rest of the crew side stepped into position and had Gissette do another solo. Once that was done, Dakota and Tyrone came out with some partner work while the rest of the crew set up another stunt to end the routine.
Ghost-Like X-treme Motion, Ghost came out and started dancing out of formation. Nothing in this battle set made any sense or looked good. It felt like they thought they were not going to be there.
Who should win and why? It is fairly obvious to me who should win this battle. Royal Flush looked like they put some thought into this set and dominated the other two crews. In the exit interview, X-treme Motion said that they should have added more tricks, because that was all the judges wanted. No dears, Royal Flush won because the tricks they did were done well, framed well, and it looked like a complete set instead of a hot mess.
Did the judges pick the right crew? Yes, they did. Royal Flush completely redeemed themselves for their lackluster performance earlier.
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Regional Rankings
1. Swagger Crew 29 pts
2. Ghost 21 pts
3. Jungle Boogie 20 pts
4. Royal Flush 17 pts
5. X-Treme Motion 7 pts
Thoughts on the episode as a whole- All in all it was an okay night. Swagger Crew was definitely the highlight of the night and the battle was a great way to end the show. I'm still kinda shocked that all three crews are from my home state of Georgia. Also, I find it neat all three crews have potential to be amazing all-to-one crews (all guys to one girl). The ladies in each crew knew how to come out and be the center of attention when needed and then blend perfectly back into the rest of the crew. So far this a good start to the season.
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Click here to return to the first page and to leave comments. Thanks Teldon -- I'm looking forward to rewatching Season 5 with you!
