Now, I rarely have time to watch television, but I did catch a few episodes of Season 1 of ABDC. I was super super impressed! I didn't vote because I was too conflicted; how could I choose my favorite when all of the crews were so exceptional and brought something different to the table? Unfortunately, my busy schedule left me unable to see Season 2, but from what I heard it was just as cool and action packed. The show has been so successful with viewers that it's getting picked up for another season. Casting is currently underway, so get your friends together, form a crew, and go audition!

We all know that dance has never gotten as much attention or respect from the public as other forms of popular entertainment. That's why Joe and I were simply astounded by how many people were there! The second we walked into the WaMu Theater we realized how big the ABDC following is. I knew that the show did pretty well in the ratings, but this kind of turn-out I never could have predicted. Fans of all ages were covered from head to toe in dance crew paraphernalia - Jabbawockeez fans donned white masks, Super Cr3w enthusiasts wore bandanas, and the rest of the audience members were decked out in their favorite hip-hop gear. We knew the show was going to be spectacular.

Our seats weren't as close to the stage as we had hoped, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. The first act of the show consisted of five crews from Season 1 and 2 each coming out to show their skills. Check out what the Jabbawockeez performed:

This was followed by a section dedicated to the history of hip-hop dance and the hip hip culture from the 1970s to the present. We grooved along as some of my favorite songs from the 80s and 90s blasted from the speakers. The history section culminated with the ever popular Souja Boy dance, which sent the crowd into crazy mode. Check out the clip I took, which captures some of the best 90s moves like the Running Man!

After a short pause, the second act opened with a surprise performance by Lil Mama, which surprisingly was the lowest point of the show. The audience members weren't there to see a concert, they wanted to see more of their favorite crews. They were there for the dancing!

After Lil Mama's performance came my absolute favorite portion of the show. If you read my blog frequently, you know I've been disappointed with current trends in commercial dance. So when the top crews from ABDC performed a 20 minute long homage to Michael and Janet Jackson, I was in old school heaven! From "Pretty Young Thing" to "If," the crews did their best to capture the essence of the Jackson style. After all, it was Michael Jackson who made hip-hop dancing mainstream with his now historic music videos in the 1980s. It was really interesting to see dancers from today's hip-hop world perform classic choreography - they definitely grasped the choreography, but something was missing. I can't put my finger on what it was, but the dances looked slightly lethargic, lifeless, and well, kinda boring. It was a real shame to see that hip-hop dancers of today don't have the skills and versatility to perform older pieces of choreography. Nonetheless, I was thrilled to see the very necessary Michael and Janet homage and happy they put it in the show.

The performance closed with a "battle," although it was clearly choreographed with very little improvisation. But before that happened, each crew gave their favorite performance from the season. The Jabbawockeez performed an emotional piece dedicated to their fellow crew member, Gary Kendall, who tragically passed away before Season 1 was taped.

Over all, it was a really fun time to be had! I made sure to take a lot of videos to share with all of you America's Best Dance Crew fans out there. So make sure you check 'em out. You can comment on them on http://flix.danceruniverse.com/!

Hip Hop, Enthusiast, Competitions & Conventions, Performance, America's Best Dance Crew, MTV, Pop Culture (all tags)