The South (“ABDC Regional Finals: The South” Airs Thursday, January 28th)
Ghost (Houston, TX): Ghost is a crew that has faced a lot of adversity in life and dance has always been their refuge. In fact, they all met through their local dance venues over the past five years seeking a way out life’s hardships, gangs and family death. The crew would break into a local apartment complex gym room just so they could practice dance. They consider their style inspirational hip-hop and they plan to offer up some of the best musicality “ABDC” has ever seen with hard hitting, complex movements. As dancers they are a tight unit and their personal hardships have brought them even closer together.
Jungle Boogie (Stone Mountain, GA): These dancers pride themselves on their southern “Cranking” style and are on a mission to become kings of the dance jungle. “Cranking” uses big step movements and arms to cover the entire dance floor and each of the six members has a unique animalistic move to wow this year’s competition.
Royal Flush (Atlanta, GA): This crew has auditioned every season and their refusal to give up has finally paid off. Changing members after each audition, the crew believes it finally has the dream team it needs for success. Educated on the streets, this diverse crew’s styles include krumping, tutting, popping, breaking and even a hint of salsa. They do not claim to be “professionally trained dancers,” leading to difficulties in finding work in the dance industry. “ABDC” is finally offering them something no one else would: the opportunity to be champions.
Swagger Crew (Atlanta, GA): Tired of trendy club dances, this brash Atlanta crew feels its time to put true Southern street dancing on the map. These confident dancers are fired up by the complete absence of Atlanta crews represented on past seasons of “ABDC” and know they have what it takes to put Atlanta on the map. With a combination of southern cockiness, fast footwork and determination this crew is ready to bring some raw swagger to the “ABDC” legacy.
X-treme Motion (Houston, TX): These former Texas Southern University majorettes are bringing their bootylicious bucking style to the mainstream stage. These high energy, acrobatic and stunt-filled Southern belles are on a mission to show the world their majorette style of dance is “often imitated but never duplicated.” Their style is influenced by both street jazz and hip-hop, but what really makes them distinct is an intense booty-shaking move they call “Buckin’.”
The East (“ABDC Regional Finals: The East” Airs Thursday, February 4th)
Blueprint Cru (Montreal, Canada): This Canadian crew is out to storm the home of hip-hop and demonstrate a level of synchronicity never seen before. Being the first-ever foreign crew to compete on “ABDC,” Blueprint has a lot to prove. Their motto is “Precision, precision and precision.” Every move this crew does, they do as one, moving together. This dance crew is run like an army, training hard to look like one unit, to learn the origin of the move and then striving to perfect them. This perfectionist crew doesn’t believe in tricks and stunts, they believe in unified movements down to every minute detail.
draZtik (Providence, RI): Predominately self-taught from music videos, draZtik is set to prove you don’t need major street cred to hang with the big dogs of “America’s Best Dance Crew.” One of the only dance crews in Providence, RI, they do not garner much respect. However, with choreography that is an innovative combination of contemporary and ballet fused with popping and hip-hop, they plan to earn respect. Because they are all skilled in different styles, draZtik adheres to an unconventional philosophy of leadership by committee. Each member plays an equal role in the design and choreography of every performance. Although this philosophy can sometimes lead to tension amongst members, draZtik feels it ultimately gives them an edge over other crews.
Legendary Seven (Boston, MA): Legendary Seven is proud to call the hard streets of Boston home and are quick to tell you they are one of the last true Bean Town street crews. Their performances revolve around breaking, krumping and popping but, most importantly, big tricks. Crew leader Ernest “E-Knock” Phillips and fellow Legendary Seven member Darius Rutledge were both members of the Season One crew “ABDC” crew Status Quo which finished second to the JabbaWockeeZ. This time around, losing is not an option for them which means their tricks are even bigger and more imaginative then before.
Saltare (Raleigh, NC): These professional jump ropers are seeking exposure for their sport while at the same time conquering the dance world. They have walked away from their college degrees and steady jobs in pursuit of a dream: to become professional jump ropers and pioneers of a burgeoning sport. All six members are a part of the USA Jump Rope All Star team, which only features the best of the best in the country. Saltare comes to “ABDC” to expose the sport they’ve dedicated their lives to, challenge themselves in a different arena and prove that jump rope is more than just child’s play. Now they must incorporate their unique skill set into major performances that and transition their trademark jump rope into viable dance routines.
Static Noyze (Cambridge, MA): Static Noyze has always felt like outcasts, never really feeling like they fit in with anyone but each other. Bored with what they call “stock hip hop” – routines and moves that they’ve seen before – this off-the-wall group of dancers promises to shake up the “ABDC” stage with their distinct style of dance. They consider themselves to be innovators and describe their dance style as hip-hop with a contemporary twist. What makes them truly unique though, is that they use their routines to convey offbeat stories told through cutting edge moves and costumes. Static Noyze does not mind being called odd. In fact, they embrace it. These eccentricities are what make Static such a unique group and they hope America finds their unconventionality charming.
The West (“ABDC Regional Finals: The West” Airs Thursday, February 11th)
The Blended Projekt (West Covina, CA): The Blended Projekt is a crew of young dancers (including three 16-year-olds) who combine traditional clogging with hip-hop dance in a technique they call “Blending.” While clogging has appeared on “ABDC” before, it has certainly never looked like this. Tired of what they considered the “nerdy” traditional clogging style, Blended Projekt rips the taps off their clogs and fuses them to their sneakers. Now when they perform, this crew of hip-hop lovers can keep its young and hip while maintaining its classic clogging technique.
BreakEFX (Denver, CO): This co-ed breaking crew hopes to break the mold of the B-boy stereotype and prove once and for all that breakers can do choreography too. They consider themselves the first B-boy-choreography crew as all the members have trained in all types of dance including hip-hop, jazz and ballet. BreakEFX is poised and ready to reclaim the “ABDC” title for breakers everywhere.
Heavy Impact (North Hollywood, CA): These big boys are out to break negative stereotypes and prove dancers come in all sizes. These guys have big hearts and hope they can inspire others who have a passion for dance saying, “No matter what the size, if you love to dance, you are a dancer.” Heavy Impact hopes that their combination of infectious feel-good dancing and inspirational charm will win over America, but they know this isn’t going to be an easy feat. They know when they walk out on that stage, people are going to assume they are a joke based on their appearance and this has been a hurdle they have faced their whole lives.
Hype 5-0 (Honolulu, HI): Driven to prove that Hawaii has a thriving hip-hop community, Hype 5-0 is out to show there is more to Hawaii than swaying grass skirts and coconut bras. With limited funds for travel, Hype 5-0 has honed their skills by spending countless hours on the Internet studying crews from the mainland. Now after conquering the island dance scene with imported moves this hard-hitting crew is ready to export themselves to the mainland and take the “ABDC” stage by storm. They have immense Hawaiian pride and incorporate native dance moves in all of their routines.
Poreotix (Westminster, CA): These shaded showmen inspired by robots aim to entertain the dance world with their unexpected humor and revolutionary mixed style. Over the last couple of years, Poreotix has laboriously honed their craft of popping and robotic movement and are at the top of their game. The way in which the crew blends the different dance styles gives them a distinctive animated look, and their integration of humor makes their performances fiercely entertaining. Poreotix are true showmen and never perform without their trademark shades. They use them as a tool to hide emotion so they can provide unexpected twists in their routine, taking the audience from serious to funny without tipping their hand.
