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MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
February 8, 2008


MTV's America's Best Dance Crew makes ABC Network's Dance War (where dancers struggle with lame, stale routines - the country western schtick, I rest my case) look like the Urkel of competitions.   America's Best Dance Crew premiered last night and the show is a fresh blast of energy and creativity.

(Old School!  The Urkel dance.)



Unfortunately, the sucky camera work and lighting detract from America's Best Dance Crew.   All the post modern kewl - the multiple camera angles, the too low and extreme wide-angle shots - means you'll miss a lot of the moves.

Also, the competition's dance off structure is confusing at first.  Losers get a second chance but you need an abacus to help calculate who's in and who's out.

In spite of the shortcomings, America's Best Dance Crew is still all that.   Here's a clip of "Kaba Modern," the precise, focused crew from UC Irvine.  Look for their Wave.  Fantastic!  Be forewarned - the camera work and lighting is, arrrrgh!, especially disconcerting during this routine....tone it down, MTV, so we can enjoy the moves!




            


     But for sheer raw, gutter energy, there was the untamed "Status Quo."  Hailing from the rougher streets of Boston, these B-boys flew through the air with a back hand spring tuck to a remix of Marky Mark and "The Funky Bunch."  (Mark Wahlberg is a Boston native.) 

As one of the judges said, "this is the type of dance you'll only see on the streets."  Their audition, posted here on youtube, is an uninhibited, all-out performance with some laugh out loud moments sprinkled in. 




In closing, I bring you...more Old School!! (from youtube)
Marky Mark & the Funky Bunk "Good Vibrations." Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch are Mark Wahlberg,Scott Ross,Hector Barros,Terry Yancey and Anthony Thomas.
1991 Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch released "Good Vibrations" of their debut album "Music For The People."



Posted by Mary McNamara on February 8, 2008 | Comments (37)


February 15, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
J.Williams commented:

I watched last night's show and I think they listened to your comments regarding the camera angles -- I LOVE this show!!!! Finally, a show filled with the dance I love to watch.




February 21, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
mary mcnamara commented:

Hi J. - ugh! I've been off-line for awhile due to migraines which is why this reply is so late. lol! I'd love to think I had that kind of influence but...glad to hear it's improved!




February 27, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Sophia commented:

Lil Mama is a judge??? her music videos do not make her an expert to judge talent, or even recognize it for that matter. And I think someone at MTV should give her some fashion advice...What is she thinking?




February 28, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Dee W. commented:

First of all does J.C even matter. Can he even dance? This show is so stupid, How the hell did Fish and chicks beat Live in color.So what one of the girls hop over a fence. I bet they couldn't do half the things Live and color did.I think they made a big mistake. They lost me as a fan. Randy Jackson needs to take control of his show .




February 28, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Valerie commented:

Who let the white boy be a judge?




February 29, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
KoKocheripop commented:

Fysh and Chycks need to be gone. What the F*^$ are they doing. Those gurls cannot dance and truth be told, Live in Color did the best of the night, eventhough I am a Jabbawoockez fan. I was sick!!!!




February 29, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
KoKocheripop commented:

Fysh and Chycks need to be gone. What the F*^$ are they doing. Those gurls cannot dance and truth be told, Live in Color did the best of the night, eventhough I am a Jabbawoockez fan. I was sick!!!!




March 1, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
mary mcnamara commented:

Hi All - yeah - I was disappointed. Fysh n' Chicks are good - it was their best performance, but still no match for Live in Color. LiC moves have been a little repetitive (over the course of the contest) but they were still hot and exciting to watch. FnC are kind of...blah. I just don't think their moves are all that compelling, even the somersault over fence was just okay. One of the judges said, "that's a girl, y'all." I didn't really see the big deal. maybe the judges were having a bad day or they decided they couldn't eliminate the last girl-crew. who knows




March 1, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Dame commented:

« Just my humble opinion…. we all have one…HOODWINKED & BAMBOOZLED !!!! POLITICS IN REALITY TV ELIMINATION OF “LIVE IN COLOR” is huge mistake for this show. Unbelievably bad decision by judges. This single-handedly turned me off to the show because clearly there is shady politics involved and who needs more of that. “LIVE IN COLOR” was so exciting and clearly heads and shoulders above some of the other crews (why is a skating crew still in a dance contest? Is this “America’s Best Skating Crew” or “America’s Best Novelty Act” — No it’s “America’s Best Dance Crew”) and AMERICA WAS ROBBED BY THIS DECISION. I am not sure if I want to continue to watch considering how this decision is so disappointing and unfair. And please, J.C. Chavezz who was forgettable as a dancer in N’Sync (was he is this group or Backstreet Boyz?), stop being ridiculously negative for no reason. If you are going to be the Simon Cowell of this show, at least find a way to be honest with your assessments. Being negative just to be different is not cute. It’s annoying. I don’t know if I will watch again. DISAPPOINTING TO THE MAXIMUM….




March 1, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
tightwork commented:

Live N Color talent speaks for itself and words along can't express the very unfair decision, this is clearly show biz hummmm wonder what u have up ur sleeve?




March 1, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
mary mcnamara commented:

Hi Dame -yeah - whatup w/ those skaters? "America's Best Novelty Act." lol! I have to agree that an unusual decision like this can create an appearance of bad judgment. I've been somewhat disappointed on occasion by decisions handed down by American Idol judges, but last week seemed to be an unusal blunder by the ABDC panel. As I've surfed the Internet in search of reactions, mostly what I'm seeing/reading is a lot of unhappiness and confusion. I'll continue to monitor blogs and forums, but so far I've read quite a few comments similar to Kokocheripop's (paraphrasing) "I'm a Jabbawoockez fan and live in color wasn't even my favorite crew but I was upset by what happened." Kaba Modern and the other crews still rock. But the judges are going to have to work extra hard to re-establish their credibility w/ the audience.




March 1, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
pisces'90 commented:

i believe that it was Ludicrous how they kicked live in color off fish & chumps should have been booted off week ago. Obviously the Judges had no control over the choice because they LOVE L.I.C. and JC is just mad because he cant do what they do. they cant take the MIAMI FLAVOR.




March 1, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
CRAZY CHICK commented:

FISH & CHICK nedd to go home... wWE WANT LIVE IN COLOR




March 1, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Friendlysmile commented:

Is JC trying to be the new SIMON? What's up with that??? I've noticed he tries to be so serious and negative with all the crews. I also think Live in Color was waaaaayy better this week than Fysh n Chicks. Bad decision!! I love Jabbawockeez & Status Quo- WHAT TALENT!




March 3, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
heyya commented:

just watch the judges reaction at the end they cant even look at the LIC crew, total shame!!!




March 4, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Island Spice commented:

I am sooooo upset! Fish N Chips beat out Live in Color WTF, what kind of bullish is that! They suck. Lil Mama and JC suck too! JC YOU ARE NOT SIMON COWELL! Why are they even judges. One is a has been and the other I never really heard of. Next thing you know they are gonna vote the Jabbawoockez! THIS IS CRAP!!




March 4, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
tightwork commented:

Back again to speak on behalf of Liv N Color vs Fysh n Chicks their performance was no match to LICs energetic powerful movie targeting skills what is this is LIC to talented for this show producers whats up lil mama and shane take a stand when u can after your contract is up. Let the real deal be told LIC fan forever.




March 4, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
I'm watching commented:

LiC were repetitive throughout their run- no other group depends on a single move! FnC did things they hadn't done before; not just the tap & fence thing but new formations too. They aren't better than ICONic but they deserved to stay over LiC.




March 6, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
tightwork commented:

I'm watching need 2 watch a little harder to know versatility in the world of dance Live n Color were able 2 transform their style to reggae the video challenge the dance crave and the movie challenge fnc did not tap the one of their members tap while the others jumped up n down and the other jumped the fence which people do to evade the police fnc did nothing impressive. Keep watching fnc wont last another show lol




March 6, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Millie Lopez commented:

OMG what the heck was the judges problem were they blind. Fish and Chick suck. Unreal. It made me cry to see Live in color cry as well. Very emotional. They are extremely talented and deserve to be brought back. The judges have no clue to what they are doing. Let America vote and fish and chick would be GGGGGGGGGOOOOONE.




March 12, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
ellie08(LIC fan) commented:

Live in color rock they have so much energy to share with america n they kick booty!!!!they r the best...they r gng to WIN!!!!YA WATCH:)




March 14, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Beantown commented:

Whats up with the bullsh%#t deal that Breakskate had to do a womans broadway musical. Talk about setting them up for failure. Listen i will keep it real but come on. These guys do it on skates. Thats hot. Even though i'm from Boston. It's all about Kabra baby...




March 16, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
mary mcnamara commented:

Hi Beantown (and everyone) - yeah - difficult assignment for the Breaksk8 boys. generally a tough assignment all around but...it was a test of versatility. Kaba Modern did a great job giving broadway moves some hip-hop flash. Breaksk8 did not give it their all. I sensed that they gave up, that they felt overwhelmed by the assignment. Just my impression. All crews at some point during the competition ran into an assignment that required them to reach deep, don't you think? The judges in this case made the right decision. Well, now it's down to Kaba, Status Quo and Jabberwockeez. My fave three! What a tough, tough choice this is. Kaba Modern's choreography is the most innovative and they're soooo versatile, and I have to admit that they're my fave. but I love the fun, street style of Status Quo. difficult choices going forward.




March 20, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
francine commented:

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh everyone please vote for jaba woockeezzz..pls pls they deserve to win and not status quo




March 20, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
unknown commented:

Status Que sucks. All they do is flips and their dance moves sucks, they ain't smooth. It should've been Kaba and Jaba the last two standing.




March 21, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
danny aka turbo commented:

...4'rills the "circus group" STATUS QUO stays?! WTF!? Truth be told who the fu$k votes for em?! child's play choreograph (if they even bother calling it choreograph), they CANNOT perform w/o "flipping" on stage (try counting how many times they need to do this per stage act), always disoriented & unorganized within their performance, it's funny how all this time I've been referring to Status Quo as a "circus group" and they actually *CHOSE* to dress up as clowns and put ona circus as their ONE CHOSEN LAST PERFORMANCE! Bottom line... IT IS NOT HIP HOP! flipping over a dozen times on stage does not make it hip hop! STATUS QUO SHOULD HAVE BEEN ELMINATED INSTEAD OF LIVE IN COLOR BACK A FEW EPISODES!




March 22, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
magbubbles commented:

Does anyone know what song they play when they look back at the eliminated crew's best moments?




March 22, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Unknown commented:

Honestly. This showed should have been called the "America's best aerobics crew" or "America's best cheerleader crew". All status que does is flips and cheerleader moves. If I wanted to watch flips or cheerleader's dance, I can just flip to the olympics channel. I have a feeling, MTV will let Status Quo take the money. They know that people is talking sh*t and Status Quo sucks. Who knows, a riot might start if Status Quo didn't when the final. MTV should let the real dancers win the show, not a crew that would cause problems. The name of the show is "America's best dance crew", not "America's best aerobics crew" or "America's best cheerleader crew".




March 27, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
AshleyBallin commented:

so, forreal magbubbles and i still need to know WHAT SONG DO THEY PLAY WHEN THEY LOOK BACK AFTER A GROUP GETS ELIMINATED?!




March 27, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
AshleyBallin commented:

k....jk i found it magbubbles, the person who sings that song is Mac Lethal- Sunstorm i'm also extremely happy Jabbawockeez won, Status Quo shouldn't even have been in the top five, let alone the top two. Jabba all the way =)




March 27, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
ugotbrooke11 commented:

the JABBAWACKEES WON!!!!! YAY!!!




July 28, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Rachael commented:

J.C. is defiantely the new Simon Cowell




July 28, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
mary mcnamara commented:

to be honest, this season I have a new-found respect for the ABDC judges. Their feedback is very specific, which I appreciate. and they really do keep it real - especially last week! I 100% shared their frustration when the voters put them between the devil and the deep blue by voting Super Cr3w and Supreme Soul into the bottom two. The judges had to make an impossibly tough call. P.S. I like Fanny Pak, but didn't think last week was their best showing.




July 31, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Sheila Snow commented:

I think Lil Mama is the most sincere, down to earth person ever. I adore her hats, her clothes, her comments and I really love her-she's the best!!!




August 7, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
Jersey Girl commented:

How in the world did Fanny Pack get eliminated tonight. I am so upset. They should have made it to the finale. They should have WON!




August 8, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
fanny fan commented:

Fanny Pack got screwed! The judges or producers did not see them as a money makers but the judges gave them only praise. What's the deal?




August 15, 2008
In response to: MTV's 'America's Best Dance Crew' Is All That
DanceReview commented:

Fanny Pak got screw'd so did KabaModern last year! I noticed it was the same way by judges decission. It is crazy judges only decide the the top two out of three, and the viewers choose the rest of the time. There is something not right!





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