America's Best Dance Crew Renewed For Season 3

MTV's interactive reality television hit, "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" has been renewed for a third season and is scheduled to premiere this winter. Auditions for the upcoming season of America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC) are slated to begin in mid-October.

"We will be holding pre-auditions in D.C. later in September. One of our casting directors will be in D.C. and will pre-screen crews to see if they have what it takes to attend the official audition," said Anastasia Lee, director of communications at MTV.

The official auditions will take place in Atlanta, Los Angeles, St. Louis and New York City in mid-October.

To audition for America's Best Dance Crew, applicants must be 18 years of age and over and be a part of a crew of 5-7 individuals. According to Lee, the audition process, as well as the live audition, will remain the same for season three of ABDC.

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America's Best Dance Crew- The Tour!

Randy Jackson is getting the crew together this fall.

The dawggone musician has announced plans for the inaugural America's Best Dance Crew Live, a 20-date tour to showcase the best the hit MTV show, now in its second season, has had to offer so far.

On the lineup so far are the masked men of season-one winner JabbaWockeeZ and the wheel-bound B-boys of BreakSk8. Three remaining spots on the tour will soon be filled by crews from seasons past and present.

"We took dance crews from across the country and put them on TV for the first time, and now we are taking our show on the road," Jackson, who executive produces the Mario Lopez-hosted series, said. "We're looking forward to seeing all of our fans across the U.S. who have helped make this show MTV¹s big hit.

"It’s going to be a party, and it’s going to be blazing hot."

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Jabbawockeez Win an Award and Perform at The Mirage

There really is no stopping them now. After emerging successful in the championships of America's Best Dance Crew, the masked men are soaring into stardom with the numerous projects they are currently handling. Recently, the Jabbawockeez picked up the Breakout Performance Award at the East West Players 42nd Anniversary Visionary Awards Dinner held at Universal City Hilton on April 28.

According to East West Players Organization's official website, the dinner is an “award-winning event that salutes artists who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American community through theater, film and television.” Moreover, the proceeds of the event were raised for the East West Players educational and artistic programs.

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Dan Karaty say it's all about connections

"It's all about connections," Dan Karaty says on the first day of So You Think You Can Dance Canada's Halifax tour. "It really is. You make relationships on different jobs and they can turn into so much more."


From the original connections of his Broadway dancing parents, Karaty has an extensive career supporting him at the judging table at both the US and now Canadian SYTYCD.


"I was around dance all the time growing up," Karaty says, citing his formative training in ballet and jazz. His parents had a dance studio in New Jersey, but he didn't discover hip hop until in his late teens.


He cites his connection with Wade Robson, the well-known choreographer from the American SYTYCD, as helping him launch his career, asking Karaty if he would dance for him in Britney Spears's show.

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Everyone loves the Jabbawockeez

Since winning the inaugural MTV show "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" a month ago, the JabbaWockeez members' lives (like their dance moves) have flipped upside down.


"It's really been a blessing," said Chris Gatdula. "Everything that's been going on right now has been crazy."
Ben "B-Tek" Chung said that it's been the busiest few weeks of his life.


"We've been traveling back and forth from the East Coast to the West Coast and hanging out with different celebrities at parties. The most amazing part of that is, those celebrities actually come up to us and say that they are big fans."


Apparently, that's what $100,000 brings you: a lot of fans and attention. Everyone wanted to know what they did with the winning purse.


Ben said the group divvied up the winnings to those who participated in the MTV competition and gave the rest to the other members of the group. The JabbaWockeeZ have 10-members. Only six participated for the MTV competition.

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JabbaWockeeZ take it

America's Best Dance Crew wrapped up last night. America voted: The San Diego JabbaWockeeZ beat Boston's Status Quo and took the prize. 38 Million votes were tallied.

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Kaba Modern is out on Dance Crew

After making it to the top three groups battling it out on MTV for the title of "America's Best Dance Crew" and a $100,000 cash prize, UC Irvine's Kaba Modern was eliminated on Thursday's episode.

At the start of the show, it was down to Boston's Status Quo group and two crews from Southern California – Kaba Modern and San Diego's JabbaWockeeZ. Status Quo emerged as the viewer favorite, managing to nab the most number of votes to keep them safe in the competition.

That left Kaba Modern's six dancers – Mike Song, Jia Huang, Lawrence Kao, Cindy Minowa, Tony Tran and Yuri Tag – to square off with JabbaWockeeZ's crew of masked and gloved dancers.

The theme of Thursday's episode was paying homage to classic hip-hop dance moves. JabbaWockeeZ churned out a frenetic breakdance routine that landed them a roaring standing ovation from the audience.

Kaba Modern showed off what's become their trademark: Precise, intricate choreography with a few funky twists and fluid flair.

"I love their attention to detail," said former N'Sync member J.C. Chasez, one of three judges on the show. "To move like that takes a lot of discipline and I just love their personalities on the dance floor, they're so enthusiastic."

The audience, made up of mostly JabbaWockeeZ and Kaba Modern fans, began chanting: "Keep them both! Keep them both!"

In the end, the judges voted to send Kaba Modern home, even though various blogs and YouTube comments were teeming with fans anticipating a finale with only the two West Coast crews.

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Jabbawockeez Unmasked

MTV’s hot show America’s Best Dance Crew has been raging along, and now only four dance crews are left of the original 12 finalists. Yet most people still don’t know how Asian American-dominated this competition is.

While Kaba Modern, the only all-Asian American crew, has been dancing into the hearts of viewers with intricate choreography, killer isolations and precision timing, another crew that has risen to the top four is also predominantly Asian American: the oft-masked Jabbawockeez.

Hailing from up and down the West Coast, this group is loved for its imagination, athletic stunts and crowd-pleasing creativity. Jeff Nguyen from Phoenix, Ariz., loves Vietnamese pho and plays a six-string. Rynan Shawn Paguio from San Diego is a guitar player and a newlywed. Ben Chung from Mission Hills, Calif., is a born-again Christian who loves Fight Night Round 3 on the Xbox. Besides dancing, Kevin Brewer from Sacramento is also a music producerSounds-Like-Money May-07 and emcee. Phil Tayag, also from Sacramento, is a father of two who also makes music. Chris Gatdula, from Las Vegas, snowboardsSnowboards Nov-07 , edits videos and does graphic design, on top of being a dance instructor.

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Are You Watching?

Attention, obsessed So You Think You Can Dance fans! If you have not yet given MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew a shot at your undying love, you'd best reconsider. There’s a reason the show was picked up yesterday for a second season and why people like Hayden Panettiere, Miley Cyrus, The Hills’ Brody Jenner and Dancing with the Stars’ Karina Smirnoff flock to the audience week after week: It is sick.

“I was into my work and my music before,” rapper and judge Lil Mama told me when I swung by the set this week, “but these crews, they’ve truly inspired me.” Former SYTYCD choreographer Shane Sparks, who joined Dance Crew as a judge, explained its draw: “Honestly, hip-hop is something people here and around the world enjoy watching more [than other forms of dance]. Some people watch So You Think You Can Dance just for the hip-hop [performances], and then they‘re gone. But this show, there‘s so much of it, so everybody‘s really getting into it.”

And though it is an all-hip-hop show, each of the final four crews brings something very unique to the table. Says judge J.C. Chasez: “JabbaWockeeZ, they tend to use their sense of humor, and their personality comes across in their dancing. Kaba [Modern]’s got a lot of personality too, but they‘re also very clean and efficient and technically sound. Status Quo is just larger than life, big and acrobatic and superathletic. And BreakSk8, they possess a skill [dancing on skates] that none of the other groups would dare even try.”

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Dance Crew Picked Up for Another Season

MTV has renewed Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew for a second season, The Hollywood Reporter reported Tuesday, with 10 new episodes scheduled to premiere this summer.

For Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew's second season, home viewers will serve as the show's casting director -- with aspiring dance troupes posting audition videos online for fans to vote on, according to The Reporter.

Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew's first season premiered last month and has become Thursday night's top-rated cable telecast in the Adults 12-34 demographic.

The series' second-season renewal presumably provides some vindication for the American Idol judge, who serves as executive producer.

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Shimmy Exclusive Interview

Shane Sparks




Shimmy: Please tell readers how you got started dancing.

Shane Sparks: Dancing chose me. I played sports and did gymnastics, but none of them kept my attention like dancing. I was born to dance, and nothing else. I couldn’t stop if I tried!

Shimmy: Where do you get your inspiration?

Shane Sparks: I get inspired by anything and everything; music, animals, TV, people, and anything that has something to say. I love songs that tell a story, and then I bring it to life. I love that.

Shimmy: You’ve choreographed for television, film, videos, etc. At this point, what is your favorite genre to work in?

Shane Sparks: Actually, I love teaching more than anything because I am free to do whatever I want. But if I had to choose, I would say movies, because there are no boundaries.

Shimmy: You’re not returning to SYTYCD this season, overall how was that experience?

Shane Sparks: I am not returning this season, but you never know what the future holds! I am going to miss it, and miss showing the world the thing I love doing most, choreography.

Shimmy: How has it been working on “America’s Best Dance Crew?”

Shane Sparks: It is the biggest blessing I could have ever received. This show is incredible, from the crews, to the creators. Randy Jackson is the man, and I think him for believing in me.

Shimmy: Are you still teaching, doing workshops, etc?

Shane Sparks: Yes, I am still teaching and doing workshops. I still travel with The Pulse, and I am still teaching at Millennium. I will do it until my legs fall off!

Shimmy: What projects do you have in the works, and planned for the future?

Shane Sparks: I am working on a film called “Backdown” with Marques Houston, and Omarion, and the creators of “You Got Served.” There is a new movie I also am doing called “The Jump Off.”

Shimmy: If I swiped your iPod for an hour, what would I be listening to?

Shane Sparks: It would be straight R&B, Neyo, Chris Brown, and a little bit of Boys II Men’s first album. Flo Rida’s “Low Low Low” is on there too! I listen to pretty much everything, and I also can’t get enough of Alicia Keys’ new CD. I love it!

Shimmy: Three things you cannot live without.

Shane Sparks: God, my mom, dance, music, and Francia, my girlfriend.

Shimmy: If you could switch places with anyone [not in the dance world] for 24 hours, who would it be?

Shane Sparks: Adam from Adam and Eve, because if I could be him for a day, back in the day, I could have changed the world!

Shimmy: What advice would you give to aspiring dancers?

Shane Sparks: To dream! I have been a dreamer all my life, and I dreamed about my life right now. If you want it, you can have it. Work hard and stay focused, stay away from the drama, don’t let any male or female stop you from going for your dream. I love you all, and one day we will all be dreaming together

Dance Crew Moves on After MTV

George "Geo" Hubela still isn't sure what went wrong.

Hubela's dance crew, ICONic, represented with a capital R on the MTV's dance contest "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew."

The Englishtown group, based at Hubela's studio, Icon Dance Complex, earned praise from the judges, the producers, the studio audience and even from their fellow competitors, Hubela says. But America just didn't show the Englishtown-based group enough love.

"You just never know," Hubela says by telephone, days after his crew got voted off the show. "We had a good time, a good run. We loved it, and we were grateful and thankful for the experience.

"But it was a roller coaster at points."

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Meet Status Quo's Lynn Brothers

What started as sheer family entertainment for two Lynn brothers has evolved into a nation-wide craze. And after watching the locals work their magic on TV, there's no wonder why.

Ernest Phillips, 21, and Jayjion Greer, 18, are part of the 15-member Boston dance group Status Quo that's currently competing on "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew," which airs Thursday nights on MTV.

Each week, Status Quo competes against other dance troupes from across the country for a $100,000 cash prize and a touring contract. Viewers vote for their favorite performance, and the two with the lowest votes are tossed into the battle zone to vie for one more shot at the grand prize. Celebrity judges JC Chasez of N*Sync, renowned choreographer Shane Sparks, and female hip-hop artist Lil' Mama decide which group stays and which one is sent packing.

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Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew

America’s Best Dance Crew will premiere tomorrow on MTV. If you were able to see the casting special, you know the amazing dance crews who will be battling to become America’s Best Dance Crew.

Today, I was sent the official press photos and bios for each of the nine dance crews and I’m now eagerly awaiting the show. Here are the incredible dancers. Be sure to check back here for the recap after the show.

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Source: Dancewatcher.com