'America's Best Dance Crew': Mario Lopez's Sunday Conversation

In this Sunday's LA Times,"America's Best Dance Crew" host Mario Lopez chatted about the show, his other hosting duty on "Extra," and life post-"Saved by the Bell."  

You're in the middle of two jobs. What are you up to at this moment?

I had to run back to do some emergency voice-over stuff. I am the voice of "Extra" as well. That video of Dr. Murray, Michael Jackson's doctor, just came in. That suddenly beat the lead story which was about the dude from "Grey's Anatomy" -- what's his name?

Eric Dane.

Eric Dane, yes. Eric Dane and that little naked video of him and his wife with a friend.

That's right. Not a sex tape...

Well, so far!

I'm loving "America's Best Dance Crew" this season. Lots of diversity.

It's an eclectic bunch, huh? Vogue Evolution [an all-gay dance crew] makes me smile. But I'm impressed by all of them. I think the girl crew, We Are Heroes, is great. I've been impressed by the last two seasons of girl groups. They've really been able to bring it. I'd like to see a female crew win.

Read the entire article here.

-- Denise Martin

'America's Best Dance Crew': Kicked out with the martial arts

The martial-arts challenge, with a huge assist from Quest crew's Steve Terada, seemed like it would be a fun and difficult addition to "America's Best Dance Crew's" list of difficult challenges.  Not just integrating it into a dance routine, but also not having it look corny or too contrived.  For possibly the first time this season, the bottom-two battle was awesome.  Last week's Artistry in Motion and Afroborike head-to-head was tough but not like this one.  And I don't know what was with Shane Sparks, but he was extremely critical of almost all of the crews this week, setting a tough tone for the judging. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Afroborike.  Like I said last week, they had to give them capoeira, and they did!  Definitely wanted to see those dual round kicks, and they did try, but Shane called their routine boring. Martial-arts-wise, he's right.  This performance didn't really solidify their standing as the crew chose an easy cartwheel as its particular martial-arts movement, so they may again be in the bottom two next week.

We Are Heroes.  The group had to incorporate karate into their performance. Complex moves, but when you're a pop lockin' crew, complex moves can be broken down.  You assumed crews would have faux fights, but there was a cool section with a kick and a back flip that was pretty nice. As Lil Mama said, this "crew is so dope it don't make no sense." JC Chasez and Shane said it started slow but, overall, another strong performance.

Massive Monkeys.  Still waiting for something spectacular to happen with this crew, but they brought energy.  Their challenge was extreme martial arts, and they performed it adequately.  There were some cool flips, and the crew paired up well to fight, but as Shane said, there was really only one guy who performed their challenge -- the 540 kick.  It was a tough thing to pick, but they did the choosing.

'America's Best Dance Crew': Last for One -- another reason to expand

So, MTV has established that "America's Best Dance Crew" is and can continue to be a solid program. When it premiered a few weeks ago, it was the No. 1 basic cable program for the day among the 12 to 34-year-olds, females 18 to 34 and teens 12 to 17.  Maybe even more relevant to today's social media-minded public was that "ABDC" has been a top topic on Twitter for the last two Sunday nights that it's aired.

But it still needs a bit of a push. The personalities this season are fun, and the producers put some thought into bringing even more diversity onto the show with line-dancing, vogueing and other dance styles. Diversity, both the word and the U.K. dance crew that won "Britain's Got Talent," is one of the reasons expansion could be good. Obviously there are some dance styles still untapped on "ABDC."  Hip-hop ballroom dancers, anyone?  But many of those styles don't seem to translate.  So maybe the interpretation of hip hop-needs to change a bit too.  A worldwide perspective.

A dance crew from Korea called Last for One was at the Los Angeles Times today to film a piece for an upcoming video project about them that we'll be putting up Friday.  We filmed a quick introduction to the crew and asked them a few questions about "ABDC" and what they thought their prospects would be against the competition here.

The crew, from a small province in South Korea called Jeonju, performed at Lincoln Center recently and is featured in the movie "Planet B-Boy" where they won the 2005 Battle of the Year competition.  The video above is just a taste.  Here they are in the 2006 Battle of the Year contest:

It would be great to see them battle crews in the U.S. People who follow b-boy culture here know how widespread it is, but the general public may not. Crews from Germany, the Philippines, France and other countries share a common language in dance that "America's Best Dance Crew" translates well.

-- Jevon Phillips

'America's Best Dance Crew': Beyonce's challenges

Unlike the Janet Jackson and Britney Spears episodes, the Beyoncé challenge was more than just the music the groups on "America's Best Dance Crew" would dance to.  In personalized taped messages delivered to each crew, Sasha Fierce herself gave the crews songs and specific dances that they had to incorporate in their performances. A cool interaction, though it would've been awesome to see her perform with the crews like Missy Elliot did a couple seasons ago (one of the best episodes ever!).  Still, it was a nice twist and exciting for the crews to realize that Beyoncé knows who they are.

We Are Heroes.  Move to the top of the class, you great pop-locking ladies.  JC mentioned that they needed to use a bit more of the stage, but their formations to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" were so intricate on TV, no one would notice.  Their crisp locking movements added to those statuesque poses.  Not to continue the comparisons, but you never got the sexiness with Beat Freaks that you do with We Are Heroes (pictured below).  It's one of the things that will also help them go far.

Rhythm City.  Coming into the week, they were probably the strongest crew, but dancing to "Sweet Dreams" from Beyoncé brought them down a notch.  Too bad they might have been two notches above most other crews.  Their dancing in the bed was creative (bringing the sweet dream imagery to life), and their update of the Charleston dance was contemporary, despite JC's warning to them about being more respectful of the history of the dance.

'America's Best Dance Crew': Season 4 dodging the West Coast?

The scantily clad women in the audience are back; judges Shane Sparks, Lil Mama and JC Chasez are back; the usual press corp is camped out in the green room; current champs Quest Crew are hanging out in the audience; and "America's Best Dance Crew" is kicking off Season 4 on a new night with high expectations and a tough task ahead.

Aficionados have seen the MTV ad for the show tout the fact that the rest of the country is gunning for the West Coast.  Jabba Wockeez, Super Cr3w and Quest Crew were all winners, all b-boy crews, and all from the West Coast. Despite what they say, there seems to be an effort to broaden the show regionally.  Last year saw a lot of diversity with a clogging crew, a steppin' crew and more.  I didn't get to see all of the crews in the other regions, but after this first episode, I do think that there were some crews in L.A. that still could've made it.   This season seems to be trying to kill many birds with one beat -- an even more diverse cast of characters, fewer b-boys, and a nod toward crews from other regions of the country. Can't be mad at that, I guess.  We'll just move on to the crews and performances that we do have.

Beat Ya Feet Kings.  The Washington, D.C., crew's go-go style seems perfect for the show.  Footwork is always good and something that can be incorporated.  But they were nervous; sooooo nervous.  Like Shane said, they were sloppy and looked like they were thinking.  Luckily, they had lots of energy, as Lil Mama said, but that didn't help them avoid landing in the bottom three.

We Are Heroes.  An L.A. crew took the stage by storm.  Like Beat Freaks last season, these hard-driving, pop-locking females easily became audience favorites with great formations and precision movements. Just awesome.  Saw Rino from the Beat Freaks with Heroes member Hiro backstage making a Japanese connection.  They may get some comparisons, but each has a different dance flow.

Afroborike.  The Latin flavor that G.O.P. Dance neglected to showcase last year is brought out in full force by this crew.  Definitely a different vibe brought to the stage with some couples dancing. They are good, but when they add their Puerto Rican/Cuban style to different types of dances, we'll see how well they adapt.  A sleeper crew.

'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.

'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

'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

'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!!

'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

'America's Best Dance Crew' chat

'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.