'America's Best Dance Crew': Los Angeles auditions

There was so much going on at the Los Angeles auditions Saturday that it took me a few days to take it all in.

A-Team, Soul Fresh, H.E.R., Grade A, The Dance Band, Electrolytes ... so many crews to see in one day! At Foresight Studios, kids were spilling out onto Sunset Boulevard and up the side streets as they waited for their opportunity to perform. Lots of hugs and squeals of recognition as dancers reconnected or met up with people they'd heard about. And lots of evaluating eyes as crews practiced routines, got out costumes and/or props, or just generally got loud with music or raised voices.

The scene has played out before, and the vibe was mostly the same.  A spirit of competition, but also  definitely a camaraderie that most crews acknowledged, whether they knew the other crews or not.

A dancer on the street (who didn't want her name used) said it was like a big family reunion -- lots of distant cousins that she didn't know very well but felt were kindred spirits. An original member of the Rock Steady Crew said to me that dance was the only universal language.  You don't need to know any language or have a preference like music ... you just feel it and vibe.  I'm paraphrasing his more eloquent explanation, but that was definitely the feeling as the auditions wore on.

After the excitement of Shawn Johnson's win on "Dancing With The Stars," the popularity of "America's Best Dance Crew" and the success of "So You Think You Can Dance," if any doubt remains of dance's resurgence into mainstream popularity, witness the success of Diversity.

Fans chose the British dance group to win "Britain's Got Talent" even though they faced the worldwide popularity of singer Susan Boyle, who came in second.

The 10-member troupe from Essex and London was rewarded with 100,000 pounds ($160,000) and will dance for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance.  Would the "So You Think You Can Dance" or "America's Best Dance Crew" winners ever get to perform in front of President Barack Obama?  Maybe someday.

The win also shows that even though they made inroads with the Puerto Rican 'G.O.P.' dance crew last season, "America's Best Dance Crew" could easily become "World's Best Dance Crew" if MTV put their minds (and money) to it.  It's probably an expensive venture to bring them out and put them up, but looking at events like the World Hip-Hop Dance Championship in Las Vegas, we know that the crews are out there.

We'll see another winner for "ABDC" soon, as the auditions get underway for Season 4 this week.  Any crews out there know this (I hope), but here are next week's audition details:

Los Angeles
Saturday June 6
Foresight Studios
3501 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
www.foresight-studios.com

Chicago
Tuesday June 9
Superior Street
2744 W. Superior St.
Chicago, IL 60612
www.superiorst.com

Orlando, Fla.
Thursday June 11
Spotlight Dance Center
Crown Pointe Commerce Park
7751 Kingpointe Pkwy -- Suite 102
Orlando, FL 32819
www.spotlightdancecenter.com

New York
Sunday June 14
S.I.R. Studios
520 W. 25th St.
Between 10th & 11th
New York, NY 10001
www.sirny.com

OK, now back to this world thing. Think about it:  The winner of the upcoming "ABDC" season battles with JabbaWockeez, Super Cr3w, Quest Crew and Diversity -- then add five other crews worldwide -- to vie for the title of world's best dance crew!  (And yes, I've thrown the "Superstars of Dance" experiment out of my head.)

Is there a dance channel on cable yet?  Until there is, get on it, MTV.

-- Jevon Phillips

Last year, “America’s Best Dance Crew” host Mario Lopez was more than double-booked. The popular television personality  --  he’s anchoring “Extra” nightly -- was also making his Broadway debut in “A Chorus Line.”

“Dance Crew” picks up again in August, and Lopez currently doesn’t have any plans to jet off to Broadway. Instead, he’ll be aiming for a far younger audience. Lopez will release his first children’s book this fall: “ Mud Tacos,” which he penned with his sister.

“It’s like a ‘Dora the Explorer’ but focusing on a brother-and-sister bond," Lopez said, "and encouraging kids to use their imagination."

Tonight, Lopez will get to play the role of major league pitcher. He’s set to throw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium as the first-place Dodgers take on the New York Mets at 7:10 p.m. If you hear any boo’s in the crowd, it’s not angry JabbaWockeeZ, but it may be fiercely loyal Dodger fans.

“I grew up a Padres fan,” Lopez said, who cites the San Diego team's come-from-behind win over the still-hapless Chicago Cubs in 1984 as his most memorable baseball moment.

But one of his childhood heroes has Dodger roots, if that helps. “Steve Garvey was my favorite,” he says.

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Associated Press

Whether it was Beat Freaks or Quest Crew, season 3's "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" winner was going to be a hard-working, talented, extremely popular, local (to Los Angeles) group.

Each crew fit the description, and you can add athletic to both, high-flying to Quest, and female to Beat Freaks.  The female tag became a big thing, but there was still the little matter of dancing it out.

In the finale show, all of the crews were brought back, and each performed in groupings decided by the judges.  Shane Sparks got to be up first, picking Quest Crew, Dynamic Edition and Strikers All-Stars.  With two precision squads like Dynamic and Striker, you knew this would look good. Everyone got a spotlight, and in the end, clogging ruled as the three crews got into it.  A fun and energetic performance that also put  a spotlight on one of the most blatant sponsor placements ever when crew highlights were shown on a T-Mobile phone.  It was so off-the-wall that it was actually funny, as I hope it was meant to be.

Don't watch the video if you don't want to know who wins yet!!

   

Whether there's a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight's third season finale -- either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew -- is probably in line for much more exposure.

   Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What's a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O'Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

   Even crews that don't win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1's third place crew outdid everyone's travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2's Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

   Already one of tonight's finalist members, Lady Jules of the Beat Freaks, is starring in "B-Girl the Movie" (with some choreography from Teresa Espinosa of Beat Freaks). Her fellow member, Maryss from Paris, also recently auditioned for a role in "Step Up 3-D."

   All that may not translate into a win against the talented and popular Quest Crew, but it gets to the heart of what choreographer and judge Shane Sparks says the show is all about: showcasing dance and helping to make it a more viable, and lucrative, professional option.

--Jevon Phillips

Photo: The dance team Quest Crew who are competing on the MTV series, America's Best Dance Crew. Credit: MTV

Whether there’s a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight’s third season finale — either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew — is probably in line for much more exposure.

Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What’s a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O’Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

Even crews that don’t win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1’s third place crew outdid everyone’s travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway, and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2’s Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

So this season of "Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew" is winding down with only one episode and one winner left to decide. The rest of the performances are just for us: the viewers and fans. Nothing has been announced in terms of Season 4, and that may not be a bad thing since last season's renewal wasn't announced until around the last week. Chrissy over at Yahoo! has posted some reasons why the show may not return (reasons that I agree with: high cost, hard to get new talent and fans' interest dropping), but the show does bring in stars and has an intangible "it" quality by giving the dance culture an outlet.  MTV will definitely think about that (we hope).

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'America's Best Dance Crew' and worldwide Diversity

After the excitement of Shawn Johnson's win on "Dancing With The Stars," the popularity of "America's Best Dance Crew" and the success of "So You Think You Can Dance," if any doubt remains of dance's resurgence into mainstream popularity, witness the success of Diversity.

Fans chose the British dance group to win "Britain's Got Talent" even though they faced the worldwide popularity of singer Susan Boyle, who came in second.

The 10-member troupe from Essex and London was rewarded with 100,000 pounds ($160,000) and will dance for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance.  Would the "So You Think You Can Dance" or "America's Best Dance Crew" winners ever get to perform in front of President Barack Obama?  Maybe someday.

The win also shows that even though they made inroads with the Puerto Rican 'G.O.P.' dance crew last season, "America's Best Dance Crew" could easily become "World's Best Dance Crew" if MTV put their minds (and money) to it.  It's probably an expensive venture to bring them out and put them up, but looking at events like the World Hip-Hop Dance Championship in Las Vegas, we know that the crews are out there.

We'll see another winner for "ABDC" soon, as the auditions get underway for Season 4 this week.  Any crews out there know this (I hope), but here are next week's audition details:

Los Angeles
Saturday June 6
Foresight Studios
3501 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
www.foresight-studios.com

Chicago
Tuesday June 9
Superior Street
2744 W. Superior St.
Chicago, IL 60612
www.superiorst.com

Orlando, Fla.
Thursday June 11
Spotlight Dance Center
Crown Pointe Commerce Park
7751 Kingpointe Pkwy -- Suite 102
Orlando, FL 32819
www.spotlightdancecenter.com

New York
Sunday June 14
S.I.R. Studios
520 W. 25th St.
Between 10th & 11th
New York, NY 10001
www.sirny.com

OK, now back to this world thing. Think about it:  The winner of the upcoming "ABDC" season battles with JabbaWockeez, Super Cr3w, Quest Crew and Diversity -- then add five other crews worldwide -- to vie for the title of world's best dance crew!  (And yes, I've thrown the "Superstars of Dance" experiment out of my head.)

Is there a dance channel on cable yet?  Until there is, get on it, MTV.

-- Jevon Phillips

Last year, “America’s Best Dance Crew” host Mario Lopez was more than double-booked. The popular television personality  --  he’s anchoring “Extra” nightly -- was also making his Broadway debut in “A Chorus Line.”

“Dance Crew” picks up again in August, and Lopez currently doesn’t have any plans to jet off to Broadway. Instead, he’ll be aiming for a far younger audience. Lopez will release his first children’s book this fall: “ Mud Tacos,” which he penned with his sister.

“It’s like a ‘Dora the Explorer’ but focusing on a brother-and-sister bond," Lopez said, "and encouraging kids to use their imagination."

Tonight, Lopez will get to play the role of major league pitcher. He’s set to throw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium as the first-place Dodgers take on the New York Mets at 7:10 p.m. If you hear any boo’s in the crowd, it’s not angry JabbaWockeeZ, but it may be fiercely loyal Dodger fans.

“I grew up a Padres fan,” Lopez said, who cites the San Diego team's come-from-behind win over the still-hapless Chicago Cubs in 1984 as his most memorable baseball moment.

But one of his childhood heroes has Dodger roots, if that helps. “Steve Garvey was my favorite,” he says.

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Associated Press

Whether it was Beat Freaks or Quest Crew, season 3's "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" winner was going to be a hard-working, talented, extremely popular, local (to Los Angeles) group.

Each crew fit the description, and you can add athletic to both, high-flying to Quest, and female to Beat Freaks.  The female tag became a big thing, but there was still the little matter of dancing it out.

In the finale show, all of the crews were brought back, and each performed in groupings decided by the judges.  Shane Sparks got to be up first, picking Quest Crew, Dynamic Edition and Strikers All-Stars.  With two precision squads like Dynamic and Striker, you knew this would look good. Everyone got a spotlight, and in the end, clogging ruled as the three crews got into it.  A fun and energetic performance that also put  a spotlight on one of the most blatant sponsor placements ever when crew highlights were shown on a T-Mobile phone.  It was so off-the-wall that it was actually funny, as I hope it was meant to be.

Don't watch the video if you don't want to know who wins yet!!

   

Whether there's a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight's third season finale -- either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew -- is probably in line for much more exposure.

   Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What's a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O'Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

   Even crews that don't win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1's third place crew outdid everyone's travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2's Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

   Already one of tonight's finalist members, Lady Jules of the Beat Freaks, is starring in "B-Girl the Movie" (with some choreography from Teresa Espinosa of Beat Freaks). Her fellow member, Maryss from Paris, also recently auditioned for a role in "Step Up 3-D."

   All that may not translate into a win against the talented and popular Quest Crew, but it gets to the heart of what choreographer and judge Shane Sparks says the show is all about: showcasing dance and helping to make it a more viable, and lucrative, professional option.

--Jevon Phillips

Photo: The dance team Quest Crew who are competing on the MTV series, America's Best Dance Crew. Credit: MTV

Whether there’s a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight’s third season finale — either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew — is probably in line for much more exposure.

Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What’s a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O’Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

Even crews that don’t win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1’s third place crew outdid everyone’s travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway, and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2’s Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

So this season of "Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew" is winding down with only one episode and one winner left to decide. The rest of the performances are just for us: the viewers and fans. Nothing has been announced in terms of Season 4, and that may not be a bad thing since last season's renewal wasn't announced until around the last week. Chrissy over at Yahoo! has posted some reasons why the show may not return (reasons that I agree with: high cost, hard to get new talent and fans' interest dropping), but the show does bring in stars and has an intangible "it" quality by giving the dance culture an outlet.  MTV will definitely think about that (we hope).

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'Dance Crew,' 'Extra' host Lopez to make a pitch to the kids this fall -- one for the Dodgers tonight

Last year, “America’s Best Dance Crew” host Mario Lopez was more than double-booked. The popular television personality  --  he’s anchoring “Extra” nightly -- was also making his Broadway debut in “A Chorus Line.”

“Dance Crew” picks up again in August, and Lopez currently doesn’t have any plans to jet off to Broadway. Instead, he’ll be aiming for a far younger audience. Lopez will release his first children’s book this fall: “ Mud Tacos,” which he penned with his sister.

“It’s like a ‘Dora the Explorer’ but focusing on a brother-and-sister bond," Lopez said, "and encouraging kids to use their imagination."

Tonight, Lopez will get to play the role of major league pitcher. He’s set to throw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium as the first-place Dodgers take on the New York Mets at 7:10 p.m. If you hear any boo’s in the crowd, it’s not angry JabbaWockeeZ, but it may be fiercely loyal Dodger fans.

“I grew up a Padres fan,” Lopez said, who cites the San Diego team's come-from-behind win over the still-hapless Chicago Cubs in 1984 as his most memorable baseball moment.

But one of his childhood heroes has Dodger roots, if that helps. “Steve Garvey was my favorite,” he says.

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Associated Press

Whether it was Beat Freaks or Quest Crew, season 3's "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" winner was going to be a hard-working, talented, extremely popular, local (to Los Angeles) group.

Each crew fit the description, and you can add athletic to both, high-flying to Quest, and female to Beat Freaks.  The female tag became a big thing, but there was still the little matter of dancing it out.

In the finale show, all of the crews were brought back, and each performed in groupings decided by the judges.  Shane Sparks got to be up first, picking Quest Crew, Dynamic Edition and Strikers All-Stars.  With two precision squads like Dynamic and Striker, you knew this would look good. Everyone got a spotlight, and in the end, clogging ruled as the three crews got into it.  A fun and energetic performance that also put  a spotlight on one of the most blatant sponsor placements ever when crew highlights were shown on a T-Mobile phone.  It was so off-the-wall that it was actually funny, as I hope it was meant to be.

Don't watch the video if you don't want to know who wins yet!!

   

Whether there's a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight's third season finale -- either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew -- is probably in line for much more exposure.

   Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What's a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O'Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

   Even crews that don't win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1's third place crew outdid everyone's travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2's Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

   Already one of tonight's finalist members, Lady Jules of the Beat Freaks, is starring in "B-Girl the Movie" (with some choreography from Teresa Espinosa of Beat Freaks). Her fellow member, Maryss from Paris, also recently auditioned for a role in "Step Up 3-D."

   All that may not translate into a win against the talented and popular Quest Crew, but it gets to the heart of what choreographer and judge Shane Sparks says the show is all about: showcasing dance and helping to make it a more viable, and lucrative, professional option.

--Jevon Phillips

Photo: The dance team Quest Crew who are competing on the MTV series, America's Best Dance Crew. Credit: MTV

Whether there’s a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight’s third season finale — either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew — is probably in line for much more exposure.

Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What’s a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O’Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

Even crews that don’t win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1’s third place crew outdid everyone’s travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway, and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2’s Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

So this season of "Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew" is winding down with only one episode and one winner left to decide. The rest of the performances are just for us: the viewers and fans. Nothing has been announced in terms of Season 4, and that may not be a bad thing since last season's renewal wasn't announced until around the last week. Chrissy over at Yahoo! has posted some reasons why the show may not return (reasons that I agree with: high cost, hard to get new talent and fans' interest dropping), but the show does bring in stars and has an intangible "it" quality by giving the dance culture an outlet.  MTV will definitely think about that (we hope).

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'America's Best Dance Crew': And the winner is ...

Whether it was Beat Freaks or Quest Crew, season 3's "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" winner was going to be a hard-working, talented, extremely popular, local (to Los Angeles) group.

Each crew fit the description, and you can add athletic to both, high-flying to Quest, and female to Beat Freaks.  The female tag became a big thing, but there was still the little matter of dancing it out.

In the finale show, all of the crews were brought back, and each performed in groupings decided by the judges.  Shane Sparks got to be up first, picking Quest Crew, Dynamic Edition and Strikers All-Stars.  With two precision squads like Dynamic and Striker, you knew this would look good. Everyone got a spotlight, and in the end, clogging ruled as the three crews got into it.  A fun and energetic performance that also put  a spotlight on one of the most blatant sponsor placements ever when crew highlights were shown on a T-Mobile phone.  It was so off-the-wall that it was actually funny, as I hope it was meant to be.

Don't watch the video if you don't want to know who wins yet!!

   

Whether there's a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight's third season finale -- either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew -- is probably in line for much more exposure.

   Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What's a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O'Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

   Even crews that don't win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1's third place crew outdid everyone's travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2's Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

   Already one of tonight's finalist members, Lady Jules of the Beat Freaks, is starring in "B-Girl the Movie" (with some choreography from Teresa Espinosa of Beat Freaks). Her fellow member, Maryss from Paris, also recently auditioned for a role in "Step Up 3-D."

   All that may not translate into a win against the talented and popular Quest Crew, but it gets to the heart of what choreographer and judge Shane Sparks says the show is all about: showcasing dance and helping to make it a more viable, and lucrative, professional option.

--Jevon Phillips

Photo: The dance team Quest Crew who are competing on the MTV series, America's Best Dance Crew. Credit: MTV

Whether there’s a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight’s third season finale — either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew — is probably in line for much more exposure.

Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What’s a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O’Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

Even crews that don’t win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1’s third place crew outdid everyone’s travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway, and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2’s Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

So this season of "Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew" is winding down with only one episode and one winner left to decide. The rest of the performances are just for us: the viewers and fans. Nothing has been announced in terms of Season 4, and that may not be a bad thing since last season's renewal wasn't announced until around the last week. Chrissy over at Yahoo! has posted some reasons why the show may not return (reasons that I agree with: high cost, hard to get new talent and fans' interest dropping), but the show does bring in stars and has an intangible "it" quality by giving the dance culture an outlet.  MTV will definitely think about that (we hope).

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'America's Best Dance Crew' has landed winners and finalists ad gigs and tours

   

Whether there's a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight's third season finale -- either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew -- is probably in line for much more exposure.

   Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What's a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O'Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

   Even crews that don't win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1's third place crew outdid everyone's travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2's Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

   Already one of tonight's finalist members, Lady Jules of the Beat Freaks, is starring in "B-Girl the Movie" (with some choreography from Teresa Espinosa of Beat Freaks). Her fellow member, Maryss from Paris, also recently auditioned for a role in "Step Up 3-D."

   All that may not translate into a win against the talented and popular Quest Crew, but it gets to the heart of what choreographer and judge Shane Sparks says the show is all about: showcasing dance and helping to make it a more viable, and lucrative, professional option.

--Jevon Phillips

Photo: The dance team Quest Crew who are competing on the MTV series, America's Best Dance Crew. Credit: MTV

Whether there’s a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight’s third season finale — either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew — is probably in line for much more exposure.

Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What’s a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O’Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

Even crews that don’t win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1’s third place crew outdid everyone’s travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway, and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2’s Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

So this season of "Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew" is winding down with only one episode and one winner left to decide. The rest of the performances are just for us: the viewers and fans. Nothing has been announced in terms of Season 4, and that may not be a bad thing since last season's renewal wasn't announced until around the last week. Chrissy over at Yahoo! has posted some reasons why the show may not return (reasons that I agree with: high cost, hard to get new talent and fans' interest dropping), but the show does bring in stars and has an intangible "it" quality by giving the dance culture an outlet.  MTV will definitely think about that (we hope).

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'America's Best Dance Crew' chat

Whether there’s a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight’s third season finale — either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew — is probably in line for much more exposure.

Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What’s a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O’Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

Even crews that don’t win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1’s third place crew outdid everyone’s travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway, and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2’s Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

So this season of "Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew" is winding down with only one episode and one winner left to decide. The rest of the performances are just for us: the viewers and fans. Nothing has been announced in terms of Season 4, and that may not be a bad thing since last season's renewal wasn't announced until around the last week. Chrissy over at Yahoo! has posted some reasons why the show may not return (reasons that I agree with: high cost, hard to get new talent and fans' interest dropping), but the show does bring in stars and has an intangible "it" quality by giving the dance culture an outlet.  MTV will definitely think about that (we hope).

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'America's Best Dance Crew': Dancing won’t end with finale

Whether there’s a fourth season for "Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew" is not yet known, but what is fairly certain is that the winner of tonight’s third season finale — either Beat Freaks or Quest Crew — is probably in line for much more exposure.

Both previous winners scored with lucrative commercial and promotional deals. Season 1 winner, the JabbaWockeez (Gatorade), entered the national spotlight for their "What’s a G?" campaign and also helped Shaquille O’Neal produce his much talked-about entrance to the NBA All-Star game last month. Meanwhile, Season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, parlayed their victory into a Pepsi Smash commercial.

Even crews that don’t win can enjoy a new world of opportunity through dance tours, clothing lines and workshops. Season 1’s third place crew outdid everyone’s travel miles, with Kaba Modern making stops in Guam, Switzerland, Norway, and Saipan and an upcoming trip to South Africa, while Season 2’s Fanny Pak performed with "ABDC" judge Lil Mama.

So this season of "Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew" is winding down with only one episode and one winner left to decide. The rest of the performances are just for us: the viewers and fans. Nothing has been announced in terms of Season 4, and that may not be a bad thing since last season's renewal wasn't announced until around the last week. Chrissy over at Yahoo! has posted some reasons why the show may not return (reasons that I agree with: high cost, hard to get new talent and fans' interest dropping), but the show does bring in stars and has an intangible "it" quality by giving the dance culture an outlet.  MTV will definitely think about that (we hope).

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'America's Best Dance Crew': Renewal talk and a chat

So this season of "Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew" is winding down with only one episode and one winner left to decide. The rest of the performances are just for us: the viewers and fans. Nothing has been announced in terms of Season 4, and that may not be a bad thing since last season's renewal wasn't announced until around the last week. Chrissy over at Yahoo! has posted some reasons why the show may not return (reasons that I agree with: high cost, hard to get new talent and fans' interest dropping), but the show does bring in stars and has an intangible "it" quality by giving the dance culture an outlet.  MTV will definitely think about that (we hope).

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'America's Best Dance Crew': The last quest for beats

In its most diverse season to date, the viewers of "America's Best Dance Crew" finally got it right with their choice of the final two crews.  The best, most consistent and most popular crews all season long made it to the end.

Whether that makes it anti-climactic or not is up to everyone watching, but it has played out to expectations.  The last piece was put into place when the popular Quest Crew, having to battle in the bottom two for the first time, went head-to-head with the little dancers that could, Fly Khicks.  The Miami girls are used to the position, whereas Quest Crew members may have felt like they had something to prove.  And prove it they did.

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!

'America's Best Dance Crew': Beat Freaks are awesome, and the top 3

A battle as old as time played out through the prism of "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew" as the "guys vs. girls" challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girls crews not even sniffing the top three.

Well, that's about to change.  But first, the group dance.

In the audience, we got to watch it twice.  The girls together vs. the guys.  The Strikers All Stars were a bit more crisp than Quest Crew, and Fly Khicks also stood out more than Beat Freaks. It's interesting that the two crews no one thinks have a chance are the best two in this group number, definitely playing to the crowd with the sexy dancing.  Beat Freaks and Quest Crew are great squads, but often also rely on spectacular individual performances.  Too bad that this didn't count.  On to the battles!