#ABDC

Apr 06, 2011 21:29


It's one of my favorite times of year! America's Best Dance Crew is back!  *\o/*

Thursdays, MTV, 10pm Eastern.

YOU GUYS, it's so much fun.

1. The crews are home-grown, and come fully formed and with a style all their own. It's so not pre-packaged and nobody's trying to break into acting, which is charming.

2. The show leans toward variety. If you think you know what street dancing is like, you'll be surprrised. In recent years they've had a western-style group, an afro-cuban group, even an all-gay/trans group. (Yes that is a style -- you'd believe me if you saw them. Their name was...wait for it...Vogue Evolution.)

3. The judges are a blast. JC Chasez <3 (shut up), Lil Mama and a new one this year: one of the guys who actually competed on the show recently. Their judging, especially from JC, is really thoughtful and specific, which I like. There's a bit of "Y'all did y'all's thing" sometimes, but generally good critiques. (Drinking game: every time Lil Mama says "y'all" you drink. You will be wasted.)

4. The performances are really theatrical. Enjoyment of some dance shows is predicated on knowing something about dance. Not this one -- what they do is highly skilled, but there's a "wow" factor that anyone can love.

5. The audience is so into it. They cheer, they scream, they hoot, they jump up and down. It's like if an entire audience made up of SNL's Hip Hop Kidz were invited to Oprah's Favorite Things show. God, I hope you get one of those references. ("That's a stalagtite, Jo-Jessica. You got ta recognize your sedimentary rock formations!" ....Sorry.)

Anyway, here's one of my favorite performances. It's inside someone's compilation video and it starts at 5:06. It's called "Orquestra."

(This whole thing is worth watching, though I don't really agree that these are the top five ABDC performances. The person who posted this has good taste, but obviously leans toward a particular style. Though you gotta love the Evolution of Hip Hop performance, #3)

image Click to view



reality tv, bite me, tv

Previous post
Up
[]