Howard and LeKeith Talk About America's Best Dance Crew - Week 4

It's week 4 of ABDC and we're finally at the Nationals. How did the crews handle the coast-to-coast face-off? Read on to find out.



Howard: ABDC! Nationals!

LeKeith: Yes!

Howard: I'll be honest with you, I left it on the Tivo until Men's Figure Skating was done.

LeKeith: HA! That's fine. It is the Winter Olympics after all.

Howard: Since we won the gold, I think I get a pass.

LeKeith: We did?

Howard: U-S-A! U-S-A!

LeKeith: HA!

Howard: Anyway, let's go through the crews.

LeKeith: They started with the West Crews and the Kona Krushers

Howard: They were... OK. Nothing too great, but nothing too terrible.

LeKeith: I agree. I felt that their energy was really low. I didn't get that same sense of enthusiasm they had in the Regionals.

Howard: I'd like to call for a moratorium on the move where 2 or more people grab someone by their arms and legs unless the result is going to be (1) incredibly smooth and (2) mind-blowingly awesome.

LeKeith: I second it. Although, I did appreciate the Lady Krushers miming the motion. I wished they had jumped with the leap, though. It would have made a nice visual.

Howard: Yeah. Also, the scuba ending? Lame.

LeKeith: Yeah...

Howard: I expect better from you Kona Krushers.



LeKeith: Do you think there was a requirement to do something for that one camera? The half track camera, I guess it could be called.

Howard: Eh, I think crews just want to play up to it because they think it's a dynamic finish. And it can be, but just not that routine.

LeKeith: I'm not calling the Krushers out for it but I noticed that almost every routine had that shot in it. But I digress.

Howard: I will give them points for being shirtless under their jackets.

LeKeith: Okay.

Howard: Way to represent the island styles, gentlemen.

LeKeith: Oh! Now I know what you mean. The judges were right about the Krushers' routine.

Howard: Yeah, the judges hit the nail on the head.

LeKeith: Also, that was a giant tattoo.

Howard: Yeah, they're going to regret that in about two to three years. Also, not going to college.

LeKeith: HA!

Howard: I think there's a lucrative market in selling "I Should Have Gone to College" shirts to ABDC contestants.

LeKeith: HAHA! It's funny but sad and true.

Howard: Unfortunately, the Phat Boys didn't turn up the heat either.

LeKeith: No, they didn't. I was a little disappointed. I wanted the full Troy Polumanu experience. I only got some of it. I would also call him the Samoan Dancing Machine but I'm not sure if Isaac is Samoan.

Howard: HAHA! Also, we get that they're big boys, ABDC. Not every comment has to be some kind of double entendre about their weight or how light they are on their feet.

LeKeith: Yeah... Slater is not light on his feet when it comes to quips.

Howard: I was half expecting Lil' Mama to give them props for going through the whole routine without eating a cheeseburger.

LeKeith: Although, if they did have a cheeseburger hidden somewhere, that would have been awesome. Provided it was consistent with the musicality.

Howard: HA!



LeKeith: But yeah, Heavy Impact weren't great but they lived to fight another day.

Howard: It's true.

LeKeith: I did like the cartwheel handspring move, though. But again, the judges were on the nose in their critique. It needed to be cleaned up.

Howard: Yeah. Though they were definitely cleaner than the Kona Krushers.

LeKeith: Oh! The bridge footwork thing? That was pretty cool except it didn't look as good as I think they wanted it to.

Howard: Agreed. OK, this brings us to the JC Hateration Showcase.

LeKeith: HAHA!

Howard: Seriously.

LeKeith: Another Great Routine by Poreotix I'm not joining in the hate on that one. Also, kudos to Lil Mama for picking up on that one point in the slo-mo.

Howard: Yup. And when they were doing the sound levels using their fingers? Ridonc.

LeKeith: Yeah, I thought that was cool. It took me a second to get it though. There's a lot of subtle moments in their performance that you have to find and appreciate. Probably even more so than Kaba Modern's routines.

Howard: I kind of get what JC is saying. But this is not like early Sup3rCr3w where it was trick-walk-trick-walk-trick. There's musicality and choreo to the transitions between their big spots.

LeKeith: Yes. there is.

Howard: To say, "You did a great job of dancing your style, but you didn't dance other styles," is a ridiculous commentary.

LeKeith: Although, I'm not surprised that it was said.

Howard: They needed to bring them down from the strong finish of last week. I call shenanigans!



LeKeith: I mean, it's the kinda double talk that ABDC has used in the past.

Howard: True, true.

LeKeith: Their thought process was, "We need something to criticize you about. I know. Let's tell them they're too good at what they do. That's like a criticism!"

Howard: HA!

LeKeith: But they were the first saved crew so I don't think it hurt them too bad yet. We won't know until the voting.

Howard: It just annoys me that if they threw some flares into the middle of that routine, it would have been legit all of a sudden.

LeKeith: Or it would have been held against them for not being “true to their style.”

Howard: And unfortunately, now that JC is the only coherent judge left on that show, Lil' Mama and Omarion just nod like puppets. I think that was the only time all night that they went to him first.

LeKeith: Jungle Boogie, I think he went first there as well.

Howard: Ah, yes.

LeKeith: Who are conveniently the next crew

Howard: Nice segue!

LeKeith: I have to say, they shut me up.

Howard: They definitely hyped up the energy level.

LeKeith: That was a different crew than their regionals performance.

Howard: I wanted to hate them, but they are not the new... What was that crew from DC last season?

LeKeith: Beat Ya Feet Kings!

Howard: Yes! Yeah, Jungle Boogie came out with some fire and a cool routine.

LeKeith: Also, they were a lot more organized.

Howard: Yup.

LeKeith: I finally understand what the term controlled frenzy means. They had it.



Howard: They had some great spots - the throwback and the pyramid.

LeKeith: Absolutely. I liked both those spots. And the throwback I didn't see coming.

Howard: Yeah, that was the spot that really made me sit up and pay attention.

LeKeith: The pyramid is on its way to being on the moratorium list though. But I appreciate how Jungle Boogie's was very well done. One other thing: when they were talking about their animal styles or whatever, all I could think about was getting an In-N-Out Burger

Howard: Oh, delicious In-N-Out...

LeKeith: So I think I will call them Double Double Animal Style from now on.

Howard: I am convinced that Lil' Mama wrote out a cue card that had as many animal puns as possible on it. With a column for a good performance and a column for a bad performance.

LeKeith: HAHA! I didn't notice. Were there really that many? And do you think they have one for the Phat Boys as well?

Howard: Probably. "That was a HUGE performance!"

LeKeith: oh. actually, we skipped a crew. Swagger Crew went first.

Howard: Oh right, Sadness Crew. Seriously, that dude looked like he was going to cry.

LeKeith: Yeah...

Howard: I mean, he has a really sad story with his Mama's house burning down. But don't cry, dude

LeKeith: He just had so much passion, it was coming out of his eyes.



Howard: I think their downfall - aside from general sloppiness - was relying on their Fergie too much. (I've decided that on any crew that has a token female member, that woman will be known as Fergie.)

LeKeith: I agree. But they did give Fergie her moment, which I appreciated.

Howard: I don't really have much to say about Sadness Crew. Other than the sad little fireball that they threw out.

LeKeith: Well, I think we said it all when we accidentally skipped them.

Howard: True. So let's complete the Southern Sadness Tour with the Card Sharks.

LeKeith: I like that the South kinda has Dueling Fergies.

Howard: It's true. Well, now only one Fergie is standing.

LeKeith: I thought their routine was fine.

Howard: It was like the Kona Krushers. Neither here nor there.

LeKeith: I remember the card trick at the end...

Howard: Also, Secret Pakistani. The greatest ABDC contestant of all time.

LeKeith: I really like that dude's hair.



Howard: Agreed! I think the judges made the right call by sending Sadness Crew to the bottom.

LeKeith: I think so too. Both Double Double Animal Style and Card Sharks had shown improvement since the Regionals.

Howard: Yeah. Though Card Sharks less so. I would not object to their departure next week.

LeKeith: Now we get to the EAST, starting with North Carolina!

Howard: Oh, Hotsteppers - why are you so ridonculous?!

LeKeith: I don't know! But that was Crazy!

Howard: It was! I had to watch it twice. ABDC needed to show more slo-mos of their stuff.

LeKeith: And like Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy or Chris Rock, they dropped their mic! And still killed it!

Howard: HA!

LeKeith: For me though, a lot of it has to with not being able to tell what's going to happen next. So it makes it even more exciting on top of the fact that what they're doing in the routine is so awesome. Like the all member jump in the jump rope! What the hell!

Howard: I know! I don't really have anything bad to say about them.

LeKeith: I'm still impressed.



Howard: They usually start off doing something that seems like a drill routine. But they quickly blossom into a full on dance routine.

LeKeith: Yes! I mean, I even hesitate to call them a gimmick crew even though they are. They're just a really damn good gimmick crew.

Howard: Yeah.

LeKeith: I wonder what kind of routine they would construct without the jump ropes.

Howard: What's crazy is that unlike BreakSk8, who mostly did basic dance moves with the ridiculous encumbrance of the roller skates, the Hotsteppers actually do some fairly complicated moves. That pushes them to the top of the Gimmick Food Chain.

LeKeith: I agree completely. Also, I really liked the pairing section.

Howard: Some great ideas there. OK, so Fanny Pak East.

LeKeith: Yes. I didn't like their promo package.

Howard: Agreed.

LeKeith: It came off as kinda pretentious, like saying you're from Cambridge.

Howard: HAHA! "I go to school in New Haven."

LeKeith: Exactly! It was like they were wine and the other crews were Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Howard: Also, I do not like it when people continue to dance with an injury that is pretty severe.

LeKeith: I agree. It's dangerous. And it kinda sends the wrong message.

Howard: Yup. Like not going to college. That being said, that dude did an excellent job. And I enjoyed the story that they were telling.



LeKeith: I feel like they do performances while the other crews do routines.

Howard: Though Poreotix does performances as well, to be fair.

LeKeith: Excuse me while I drink from my snifter.

Howard: HAHA!

LeKeith: Actually, I agree. I think that Poreotix and Fanny Pak East are two performance heavy crews.

Howard: Which is a nice change of pace, I think.

LeKeith: I feel like Poreotix has incorporated the dancing with the narrative a little better though. Part of me felt that FPE let their dancing serve more like breaks between acts.

Howard: Yeah. The dancing was the transition between the setpieces.

LeKeith: exactly! I almost called them interstitials. Taking another sip... But when it's all said and done, a crew needs to be able to just dance, which they’ve shown they could do.

Howard: Yup. So last on the list is Team Canada.

LeKeith: Perfectly fine routine.

Howard: Yup.

LeKeith: (Something Something Tim Horton's)



Howard: There were some cool moments and the group was very much in-sync. Except when they came out at the beginning of the show. One of the girls was waaaaay off.

LeKeith: Yeah! I noticed that. Oh! Moratorium on the explosion bit.

Howard: Yeah. Though theirs was pretty cool. I am fine with it if it's done well. I just think people go to certain "moments" as a crutch.

LeKeith: Yeah, that's a good point. I feel like their routine was a lot different than what I was expecting.

Howard: Yeah. I also kind of hate them for wanting to make it North America's Best Dance Crew.

LeKeith: I know. I know.

Howard: But I know that's irrational. U-S-A! U-S-A!

LeKeith: Can-a-da! Can-a-da! just doesn't have the same ring to it

Howard: It surely does not.

LeKeith: Shrimp Fried Rice! Shrimp Fried Rice!

Howard: HAHA!



LeKeith: Wait. we can't skip the throw.

Howard: Oh yeah! That was pretty dope.

LeKeith: And she got a lot of height. I wasn't sure that guy was going to catch her.

Howard: One day, that's going to happen. Though we will never see it.

LeKeith: I hope we don't

Howard: So let's jump to the battle. I have to admit, it was a toss-up between the Kona Krushers and Sadness Crew as to who was going to go home. And I dislike the use of cheesy props in that final battle.

LeKeith: Yeah, what was that?

Howard: That is not the time to pull rave lights out of your pockets, Kona Krushers.

LeKeith: I also didn't get that they made a police car at first I thought the girl in the front was making bull horns.

Howard: HA

LeKeith: Granted, I'm not familiar with the works of Ke$ha. I think the judges would like to see more of Battle FPE in their routines because they were great there.

Howard: Yeah. That clock move was ridiculous.

LeKeith: It was! And I liked when that one girl hiked up her dress to the do the leg split. Because then she pulled her dressed down later, because she's a lady!

Howard: Though I have to admit that I kind of wanted to see the Hotsteppers in the battle. Just to see what they would do. And this is the only time the judges could force them into that position.

LeKeith: I worry that there may be too many bodies on the stage for a Hotsteppers battle. They toss those jump ropes rather freely.

Howard: True. Who do you think will be in the bottom two next week?

LeKeith: Bottom Two: I think it's between Card Sharks, Phat Boys and Kona Krushers. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Card Sharks and Heavy D Impact. Idol has shown that Hawaii has a strong voter turnout.

Howard: I'm inclined to agree with your choices. We'll just have to see what happens next week.

LeKeith: It's the Video Challenge Right?

Howard: I think so.

LeKeith: Do you think the crews do what I do when I want to watch video on MTV? Watch Fuse or wake up at 5am?

Howard: HA! Probably not.

LeKeith: Oh well.