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‘America’s Best Dance Crew’: Boogie Bots and baseball

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First, we can talk about an outing. Four crews took a trip Wednesday to Dodger Stadium to perform in the second inning for the Blue faithful. Dodger James Loney is a big fan of the show (though won’t share any favorites), and stopped by to bond with all of the crews. A few San Francisco Giants players also stopped by to shake hands with So Real Cru, Boogie Bots, Fanny Pak and Super Cr3w.

Dodger James Loney gets into the Super Cr3w spirit, displaying the dance squad’s hand sign (though the batting gloves obscure it a bit.)

On to the Missy Elliott episode, which wasn’t even close. The last few weeks on ‘Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew’ have given us ASIID vs. Super Cr3w and Supreme Soul vs. Super Cr3w in the Bottom 2 battles. Voters admonished in each contest, both were tough to judge, and in each battle both groups did pretty well. But after Fanny Pak took on the Boogie Bots, there wasn’t much to dispute. It was easily the harshest judging session this season. Not Sass x7’s cheerleading putdowns, not even Shane calling Xtreme Dance Force ‘wack’ could compare to the lashing the Boogie Bots took. In summary, Shane said, ‘There wasn’t one move in there that made me think that y’all should be on this show.’ Ouch. I asked JC, and later, Shane, about the comments.

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But first, So Real Cru. The Houstonites performed to Missy Elliott’s ‘One Minute Man.’ Their routine highlighted the herky-jerk sound of the song perfectly. Together, mostly clean, a little innovation ... but nothing that grabbed the audience or the judges. JC said they didn’t have a lot of difficulty, which Shane disagreed with. So Real’s Brian knew that it would take some energy and perfection to triumph in the Missy challenge.

Other popular crews ASIID and Supreme Soul were put out by Super Cr3w (there were even chants in the audience to bring back Supereme Soul this week), and this week the b-boys were finally in the safe zone after a few dramatic beats from Mario Lopez.

But they didn’t sit back, starting their routine with a human tower. Coming from high up is now a signature move -- the ninjas, the Superman, last week’s basketball theme -- and this time they started off with it. Performing to Missy Elliott’s ‘We Run This,’ the crew proved that they definitely did. Fun music, fun choreography that played to the group’s strengths and creativity, and the b-boy tricks that give them that extra edge. JC, a notoriously nitpicky judge, said, ‘That was an amazing performance.’ Shane was hype, saying, ‘Y’all got every break dancer and street dancer standing on their feet at home.’ In a nod to the voting, Shane also added: ‘If y’all are on the Bottom 2 ever again on this show, it’s over. I’m outta here.’

‘Outta here’ could also describe Fanny Pak’s overall style. The ‘80s crew was in the Bottom 2, and brought it to Missy’s ‘Get Ur Freak On.’ Dancing barefoot, the crew put on a choreography clinic, also utilizing Glenda’s backflipping athleticism. Lil Mama called their animalistic performance ‘unforgettable,’ saying, ‘That will stay in somebody’s mind forever.’ JC also commented that Missy was getting excited about them, which made him get more excited as well.

And excitement was also at the center of the Boogie Bots-Lil Mama un-lovefest. Lil Mama apologized for not telling the crew to their faces that she didn’t feel they were exciting, but she didn’t regret it. She again reiterated her feelings about the crew’s performance inadequacy, as did JC and Shane. Shane said ‘It was bad ... it was terrible,’ and Missy told the crew they needed to ‘tighten up.’

Shane’s a nice guy, and usually, along with JC, is constructive with his criticism. This, though, was brutally honest, as he says above. So, Boogie Bots went home to D.C. But at least they got to see and perform in Dodger Stadium, and pose with James Loney (below).

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-- Jevon Phillips

Photos: America’s Best Dance Crew

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