Grading Scale
For those unfamiliar with my rankings, I judge
each crew based off of 5 factors that comprise each routine on ABDC, and give
some sort of indication how well the crew is doing in the show. Each is out of
10 points, for a total of 50. For me a 7 is "standard" level of what
a crew on ABDC should have, so a 35 would be an average total score. Major
mistakes will usually cost the crew 1 point in a section.
Choreography - How difficult was their choreography? How well
executed? How much foundation? How intricate? How agile? How in sych musically?
How creative? The more styles incorporated the better.
Wow Moment - How creative/difficult were their
"moments" on stage? Did they overuse wow moments, thus decreasing the
value of each one? Did they build up to each moment and frame it well? Did it
fit in with the rest of their composition, or did they do a wow moment for the
sake of having one? Not necessarily always stunts.
Showmanship - Any factor that really improves upon the
performance. This includes appropriate energy level, transitions (working vs
walking), blocking, levels, storytelling/conceptual aspect, composition of the
piece, use of stage (clumped vs filling), etc.
Challenge - Each week each crew is given (a) challenge(s). A crew will get
a 7 if they simply implement the challenge into the routine, simple as that,
provided they don't mess up. Crews get higher than 7 if they "embrace the
nature of the challenge), either by shaping the routine around the routine, or
by taking it to the next level, or both. Mind you, a crew that does only the
challenge for the whole routine is letting the challenge rule them, rather than
them ruling the challenge.
Improvement - A 7 means that they performed at the same
level as last week. As ABDC tends to favor crews that do better from week to
week, upping your level each week is important.
Also note that there are various modifiers to
these scores. Crews with a second challenge receive an extra half point. Crews
with a mandatory prop challenge, due to their inherently more difficult level
of challenge, get another half point. I also have my own individual biases,
which result in point deductions. For this week, Mos Wanted Crew receives a -1
modifier since I've known about these guys and followed their craft since
before ABDC
Elektrolytes
Choreography – 6 – The big big big problem with this crew is
their insistence that their routines be consisted mostly of stunts, very
simple/basic choreography, posing, and transitioning between different
formations. Dancing and choreography is supposed to give the music physical
form and interpret it. Simply moving for the sake of moving and to simply fill
the stage with movement does not make for impressive choreography. With good
choreography, there is a REASON for each movement you make. I don’t see that
when I watch Elektrolyte’s so called choreography, which is in itself rare to
see in their routines, beyond simply having movement to get between formations.
Wow – 7 – Elektrolytes – I’ll be frank. Your stunts are getting old. With the exception of
the knee roll in the first half of the routine, there was literally nothing we
haen’t seen before, either from you or other crews on the show. Backflips,
butterfly kicks at the start. Partnerwork was done way more impressively than
Massive Monkees and Supercrew. ith an assisted pike (which isn’t that
impressive). Stripping for votes isn’t
that impressive, especially after ICONic Boyz ruined it for us. The lifted flip
was done more impressively by Collizion Crew earlier this very season. Bring
something new, stop spamming your flips in place of choreography, and get into
your routines without having to prep so much for it. The only reason this is not any lower is that
really dope knee roll.
Showmanship – 7 – Stage use: good actually. Transitions – actually
pretty strong, especially for the capoeira section between groups, though the
last one was weaksauce. Formations were good, Energy was a bit less than their
typical brand. Still lacking anything magical or outstanding to give this crew
more than a brief notice given the rest of talent tonight.
Challenge – 7 – So my in person experience with capoeira is
limited to a couple of events at school where the capoeira group held workshops
and let the audience members participate and go against some of the experienced
members. Based on what I personally experienced, I had mixed reactions to their
use of capoeira. First, it is true that capoeira is a lot of butterfly kicks,
one handed armstands, and cartwheels. I really did like how they did a lot of
partnerwork, especially with the hand holding position at the beginning.
However, Lil Mama’s comment about not touching the opponent was a bit
misguided. While that is true that in capoeira you’re not supposed to collide,
the reason is because you’re supposed to be skilled enough to get so close and
still not hit each other because you can react, while still going through the
moves and not holding back. In this routine, Elektrolytes were a bit farther
apart from each other than most capoeira partners I saw were, so that could be
considered a bit of “cheating” to get away with it, which won’t fly. Not all
the time (like at the beginning they were good), but for most of the ones in
the middle. So there were some good parts (incorporating the partner work), but
some bad (not doing it so well).
Improvement – 6 – After last week’s clever story telling, I
briefly held hope, only to have it crushed underneath the lack of choreography
and the deluge of flips. JC was right, at least in the part about this one
being a step down from last week.
Total: 33
8 Flavahz
Choreography – 7 - The sad part is, given what we saw in the
first few weeks from them, I saw only a few sections of outright choreography. Don’t
get me wrong, when they do choreography they do it well. The part at the
beginning when Cameron was on the left of the stage, and the part right after
they ripped off the skirts are the sections I’m taling about. The rest were
dedicated to trying to wow us. That’s about 11 seconds (that I count) of solid
choreography, out of a solid minute. I would give them an 8 in choreography
given the raw technique, skill, and execution of their choreography, but there’s
just so little in it, I can’t say they did a lot of choreography.
Wow – 7 - While I would greatly like to see them use their
choreography as their core strength rather relying on acrobatics to wow us, I
do have to admit they do keep it fresh unlike other crews. The bridge/flip at
the start was cool. The 3 girls in the
front doing kicks were pretty dope. The two person cartwheel was insane. My
personal favorite though was a flip. Now that’s odd for me, but the use of the
skirts in the flip to create a circle effect was hypnotizing. That said, I
still think that they do overuse them in random moments, and don’t really build
up to them appropriately, which is what is ultimately holding me back from
accepting their overuse of flips.
Showmanship – 7- First that story… I was a bit confused, so I’m
giving a mixed review for that. I get the ringmaster schtick, but then the
random attack of the dancers with a blowdart? A story is good and all, but you
need to be able to convey what you’re saying and it’s been a week and I don’t
get what the story was. Stage use was pretty good. Even if they didn’t really
make the typical straight line you associate with can can, they made sure to go
in pairs around the edge of the stage, and in a circular formation to let
everyone see the can can. Formations and highlighting were good up until the
aforementioned random murder. 8 flavahz has this unfortunate tendency to block
actually pretty decent choreography with random stuff going on in the front
that distracts from the dancing. Oh, and Carmen’s ringmaster piece was mixed. I
felt it was a mix between random posing and gesturing and dancing with them,
which got distracting.
Challenge – 8 – The can can was pretty prevalent in this
routine. You se them holding their skirts for a majority of the routine, either
actually doing the can can(though I don’t think I actually ever saw the classic
right knee, right kick, left knee, left kick that I associate with the can
can), but you also see other elements of French dance with ballet foundation at
the beginning. The whole Parisian circus theme ties in well (again with the
weird story). So overall well done with the challenge, much better than just
sticking it in.
Improvement – 7 – Not much better than last week’s (though
better execution of the challenge), but fitting in with the rest of their
performances, again not their best.
Total – 36
Mos Wanted Crew
Choreography – 8 – The choreography wasn’t actually bad.
Overall the first half (before the Russian section) seemed to be focused on the
agility/strength of their lower body (the staccato hits, the “tiptope” line
reference). The second half, I could tell the energy sort of went out of them
after the mistakes, but musicality, it was also on point (the song slows down
and lacks the same staccato beats at the beginning, so their movements also
smoothed out, with the arm slides, and the grooves.
Wow – 8-2 = 6 – So I think what Mos Wanted Crew was going
was to show that they could do some awesome “wow” moments as well, but
unfortunately they failed to execute. Obviously we have the hat trick, and the
jump when Brian did a teabag both woulda been greatly framed and amazing had
they been executed. As it is, the only stunt they pulled off was Rickey’s
handsprings at the end. Minus one point each for their goof ups, so 2 goofups
for execution.
Showmanship – 8 – 1 = 7 – So a lot to like here. Obviously
one of the strongest openings of the season thus far. They played the military
theme of the Soviet Russians, with both the beginning and end in a nice circle
(maybe this whole routine was a drill)? Though Brian did mess up the ending, so
I’m docking one point for that. Levels were used pretty well. Formations as
usually were varied, and transitions were so smooth that I didn’t notice. I
will say the energy was mixed, given the loss of momentum, but
Challenge – 8 – So they actually didn’t have any problems
completing the challenge. That’s a killer challenge to have, especially
considering that I think some of the members have knee injuries. But even with
that, they took their challenge to the next level, first with the Russian
presentation talked above. They also mixed up how to do the traditional Russian
dance. They had multiple levels (a standing variation) mixed it up with
paetnerwork and solo work, and even a quick group formation. They got in the
spirit of celebration that this dance entails (did anyone see the movie Patton
where they danced this?)
Improvement – 6 - Overall, it actually wasn’t a bad
performance considering the mistakes. I didn’t catch them on my first run
through, but even when you include them, the rest of the routine (choreography,
challenge) all were done well.) Obviously making mistakes isn’t good, so I’ll
give them a 6 here, but had they not, I actually would have given them an 8
since they would have shown more wow factor. Hopefully execution later tonight
is on point.
Total – 35 -1 (bias) = 34. Would have been 40 (-1 bias) = 39
had they not messed up.
Fanny Pak
Choreography – 9 – I’ll talk more about this later, but
Fanny really incorporated A) all sorts of Indian dance styles, not just
Bollywood into their routine, and B) the fused it so well that you could still
see the influence, but it was something distinctly Fanny Pak that no one else could
convincingly sell. More importantly, I think Fanny Pak tonight showed strong
choreography in that they looked so much more ALIVE when they were dancing. The
movements they had, and the conviction behind their choreography – each movement
had a purpose, as that purpose were vital to life itself. They so convincingly
sold themselves in with their choreography, that each hit, each graceful movement
and slide, all complemented the music perfectly, brought us to India, and gave a mark of who
is Fanny Pak. The showed slow graceful movements, hard hits, great control,
high energy, and just playful spirit in their choreography, all within a
minute.
Wow – 8 – This routine I think gave the best example of “wow
moments” that don’t need to be stunts. The use of scarves (an unnecessary prop)
to create that illusion was both in line with the challenge and artistic.
Glenda’s travel through the members and collecting their scarves. I’m pretty
Sohey was doing something in the back for the back half of the audience,
showing a smart, thoughtful aspect of their choreography.
Showmanship – 9 – Stage use – Even with more members and the
scarves,t here still is more room on the stage. By using the scarves to make a
wall they halved the size, giving them a larger presence on the stage, in
addition to the moving. If you can, go back and watch closely for the facials.
They change so much in the routine, but fit the movements so well, from smiling
to a werk face, to fierceness, to sassy, to toughness, to pretty much any
emotion, but it fits the movement. Transitions and blocking were flawless, as
is typical of Fanny Pak. Even the subtle things like pulling the scarves out of
their Fanny Pak to harken back to Season 2 days where they would do that every
episode showed thought and planning that few crews put into their routine. Plus
that ending? To go from movement to still (including dropping to your knees all
of a sudden?) is no small feat.
Challenge – 10 – Okay. So this is the first 10 of the
season. And I wouldn’t give it if I wasn’t 100% sure that they killed the challenge.
First some qualifications – I not only went to a high school with a high South
Asian population, my college also has a strong Indian representations. I’ve
seen amazing choreography of many south Indian styles, which all these kids my
age do very well, either for cultural or religious reasons, but also for competitive
reasons as well (and they win). I could point to a lot of things that made me
give them a 10. For one, they incorporated not only high energy choreography
from Bollywood movies, they had seated choreography with more religious
connotations, the choreography with scarves (I’m not good with names, sorry).
Even when they didn’t do straight up Bollywood, they incorporated the
foundational aspects of it in their technique. The way they placed and pointed
their feet. The way they held their hands. The lines of their arms and torsos.
The angles of their limbs. The jump step when moving across the stage. The hip
movements. Soft graceful movements contrasted with hard hitting, high energetic
hits. Even the use of facials to convey emotion. That ending pose. My god.
Fanny Pak did Bollywood, and more, all throughout the routine, while at the
same time making it distinctly something only Fanny Pak could do. That is the
ultimate sign of owning the challenge.
Improvement – 9 – Last week was great. They should not have
been in the bottom. But given my glowing review, I think that this routine may
be very underrated by most, and could possibly be the routine of the season,
given their mastery of not only Bollywood, but movement itself.
Total – 45
RNG
Choreography – 9 – This routine was similar and different
from Fanny’s. Similar in that they showed a lot of different styles, but
whereas Fanny focused on the styles related to the challenge and injecting
Fanny Pak into their styles, RNG focused on using their strengths (foundational
hip hop, street styles), and making it work with the music. I saw house, bboy,
and their newstyle urban choreo, along with some groove. It still worked, and
it was just executed so well, flowing between these styles almost seamlessly.
Strong foundation, creative transitioning, sick musicality. RNG is just growing
more and more.
Wow – 8 – Outside the obvious challenge of the 1000 hands,
they had some good moments. At the start, they do a bit of toprock, then spin
around to do knee/floorwork. The hits between the two girls in the middle after
the fouettes (which admittedly were out of synch). The opening obviously was so
mesmerizing with the head hits, and the shuffling feet across the stage. Even
the cannon across the stage where Bailey triggered it by popping up and the
girls popped up 2 by 2 in a diagonal was a moment to remember.
Showmanship – 8 – First the whole China theme worked really
well. They used the stage a lot better compared to past weeks, moving back and
forth across it to great effect. I think the biggest thing to comment on is the
use of levels. They had a decent amount of work on the knees. The next step
would be to mix it up and contrast it with upright chroegoraphy at the same
time. Transitions are also improving – for example they used the fans to
distract the audience well while working into position, even as it was done
somewhat simply. Even the energy and commitment are great. I think another
thing to mention – when they tied up their hair, they seemed a lot more spaced
out than before. It may just be an optical illusion, or if they’re actually
more spaced out, but it looks a lot nicer than when their hair is in each other’s
and their own face.
Challenge – 8 – As with Fanny Pak, I’ve had a lot of
experience with this particular dance (even choreographed one myself). It is a
lot harder than some people would give it credit for, but moving on. I loved
how they reinterpreted it. First the traditional technique was present (lining
up, hand position, even having expression in the person at front). However,
they put an RNG twist on it by making it a bit more harder hitting than usual
(usually its more fluid and less focused on hits and more on flowing quickly).
Even the second one, they upped the ante a bit with using fans, and then
peeling off into the ending pose, which is smart. I will say I wish they could
have done a bit more with the fans in the routine, which visually would have
been amazing. But beyond that, they definitely played to the Chinese angle,
incorporating martial arts and the bowing at the beginning, was smart and
staying in that character was great.
Improvement – 9 – As Dtrix said, this crew is constantly
growing. From using levels more, to spacing themselves better, to using more
styles in their routines, and embracing their challenges to a deeper, more
intellectual level, they are just getting better and better.
Total – 42
I totally agree with the decision for both crews in this
bottom 2 to stay, even if I don’t agree with who should have been in the bottom
2. With some respect to other tough bottom 2s, here are reasons why I think
they didn’t do it for others.
Any top 3/top 4 difficult bottom 2, they logistically couldn’t
because that would mean it would be 3 crews who are finalists, which I don’t
think they want to have 3 finalists, they want the final week to be between
only 2 crews. Top 4, it will be 4 crews doing the decathlon challenge, as well
as the last chance challenge, so production wise, it may be that they won’t
have time to get ready.
The rest of the top x crew episodes, I think that the reason
this didn’t happen is because, as far as I can remember, no really tough bottom
2 were was dominant over the rest of the night as these two crews were.
As far as the integrity of the show… well given that they
had to get ICONic Boyz to perform tonight to attempt to get ratings… yeah I don’t
think that’s much of an issue.
Rankings
Since only MWC has a bias, I’ll just combine this week’s
pre/post bias rankings.
45 – Fanny Pak
42 – RNG
36 – 8 Flavahz
35/34 – MWC without/with bias
33 – Elektroltyes
Cumulatively, over the whole season here are the ratings.
196 +/- 2 Fanny Pak
185.5 +/- 1.5 RNG
182.5 +/- 5.5 Mos Wanted Crew
180 +/- 2 Flavahz
167.5 +/- 1.5 Elektrolytes
Based on these, I think I’ll give next week
Fanny Pak -1 bias for me being so enthralled this week with
them
RNG -.5 since their urban choreo is really to my liking.
MWC -1 since I’ve been liking their choreography from before the season so much
ELEK +1 since I’m pretty sure that them being in the bottom of the rankings all
season long every single week means something.
Power Rankings
1) RNG – I think coming out strong this week, after a solid
week last week and just their continual growth, plus great support from the
judges (ie saving them for having such a dominant routine) I think the breakout
routine at this point in the competition will help them keep the momentum
going, so long as they don’t face the bottom again (which viewcounts being more
than MWC’s suggest they won’t, at least next week).
2) 8 Flavahz – It’s getting further and further from their
performance-of-the-week Vogue, and they’re leaning more towards stunts and less
dancing. I think that will become apparent soon, as some people are picking up.
Granted, they still have a decent number of viewcounts, so they’ll go far. But
if they don’t come hard again soon, the fact that they’re always saved first
could play against them as people forget their routines as great performances
come later in the episode, leaving them forgotten and thus unvoted for.
3) 4) Mos Wanted Crew - There is growing opposition to this
crew, for a number of reasons. Some are legitimate (ie messing up), and some
aren’t (don’t blame the crew for their fanbase, or for being professionals
already and having an “unfair advantage since they’re so good.”) Even so, I
think people overreacted to the comments about execution, and disregarded what
JC said about having a great routine put together. If MWC messes up again, I
think the bashlack will hit them too much. If they want to win, they need to
have a performance of the week next week (ie tonight), a top 2 performance in
the top 4 week, and they need to absolutely murder the multistyle challenge in
week 3, to turn haters.
4) Fanny Pak – While I think that they are absolutely being
so consistent every season week, and bringing something new literally every single
week, and having flawless execution, and such strong technique, it seems
America just doesn’t agree, sending them to the bottom 3 weeks in a row. No
crew has stayed in the bottom 2 more than thrice, usually being eliminated on
their third strike or on the episode right after. The only exception is
Blueprint, who had immunity for 2 weeks, and We Are Heroes, who had their third
bottom 2 in the top 3, not this early in the season. If they hit the bottom
once more, I’m betting they will go home. Hopefully they won’t, but low
viewcounts suggest otherwise.
5) Elektrolytes – a lackluster performance this week, plus a
more and more apparent lack of versatility in what they can offer (flips flips
and more flips) will limit them. Low viewcounts suggest a bottom 2 next week.
Shoutouts to 54Maxxann, Clarence, Wings, Molasses Gang, and NancyT.
Till my next review (hopefully sooner again),
Ninjaboi
