Howard and LeKeith Talk About America's Best Dance Crew - Week 6

The crews bring out their best costumes and flair for Lady Gaga Week. How did it turn out? Read on...



Howard: Lady Gaga! The queen of avant-garde evidently, based on how many times JC used that phrase.

LeKeith: I thought I was ready for some Gaga inspired craziness

Howard: Were you not actually ready?

LeKeith: I'm ... still not sure. Can one ever truly be ready for Gaga?

Howard: True, true. Sometimes I think that Gaga is herself not ready for Gaga.

LeKeith: So how to you feel about the decision they made?

Howard: Well, it was the fair thing to do, I think. There was no way for them to send two teams to the bottom two this week. The typo last week was too egregious.

LeKeith: That's true. But how do you feel about the immunity idol? Because I think if ABDC could merge with Survivor, ratings juggernaut.

Howard: HA! Well, it was a good idea in theory because it gave the crews some additional motivation for the week.

LeKeith: So that they would stay hungry.

Howard: But really, the only motivation they needed was the fact that next week was a double elimination.

LeKeith: That was my thinking too.

Howard: And honestly, based on who got the idol, I just see it as a cheap way for the producers to ensure that one team stays in the hunt.

LeKeith: We'll get there

Howard: Let's go there now! What did you think of Fanny Pak East?

LeKeith: I thought it was a well done piece. I'm glad they changed tables from the one they had in rehearsal, although that kinda bugged me. I hate when they show you the process for stuff in rehearsal that doesn't make it into the final piece.

Howard: It does make it a bit pointless.

LeKeith: It's like when there's footage in the preview that's not in the actual episode.

Howard: But I also see it like sketches for a piece of art in progress. It's cool, in a way, to see what wasn't used in the finished product.

LeKeith: I understand that aspect to it too.

Howard: I found the routine to just be kind of... there. It didn't have the usual sense of narrative that I've come to expect from their routines.

LeKeith: No, it didn't have their typical narrative, which I would say is true of last week's routine too. I think it might depend on the challenge, how much of themselves they incorporate. Something that's not a problem for other crews like Poreotix.

Howard: Yes. Also, OG Fanny Pak.

LeKeith: Yes.

Howard: No matter how random their challenge, they were great at working in a story. Which is what I hoped this crew would do more often.

LeKeith: I agree. I did like that they had different Gaga outfits on. Like the one girl in the bubbles and the other one that looked like a Baked Potato in foil

Howard: I love that Lil' Mama had so little of substance to say that her main commentary was on the costuming. "Oh, those bubbles look hard!"

LeKeith: HA!



Howard: Thanks, Lil' Mama. Also, Peter as secret tranny Gaga!

LeKeith: Which one is Peter?

Howard: THE DUDE THAT WAS DRESSED AS LADY GAGA! That was a man, son!

LeKeith: Wait, what?

Howard: Crying Game moment for LeKeith!!!

LeKeith: HAHA! He was a good Lady Gaga!

Howard: He was excellent as Gaga.

LeKeith: He's got a future in SoHo if this ABDC thing doesn't work out.

Howard: Oh, for sure.

LeKeith: I was going to say that when Bubbles was dancing with Baked Potato, they weren't on the same page. Baked Potato had a lot more dramatic flair while Bubbles was kinda going through the motions.

Howard: Well, you know - those Bubbles are Hard!

LeKeith: HA! Wait. That was a Man?

Howard: Yes!

LeKeith: I definitely missed that one.

Howard: Before you spend too much time dwelling on that and your confused feelings from last night, let's move onto Team Canada.

LeKeith: I love Team Canada! Although when that one girl mimed hockey, her shot was terrible. Maybe she should stick to being a Canadian Dancer.

Howard: I enjoyed their routine, but I would not call it the best of the evening, much less the best of Season 5.

LeKeith: I don't think it was the best of Season 5. Best of the night? I thought it was way too early to make such a comment. If it in fact was only the SECOND Routine of the show.

Howard: This is why I call shenanigans on you JC Chasez!

LeKeith: Although I do agree that the routine was 'Gaga' from start to finish. I liked the lifts and that air breaking, I guess we'll call it.

Howard: Sure.

LeKeith: It was a lot more intense than the Fanny Pak East Routine. Not in a dramatic way but in a “we're hitting our moves” way.



Howard: It definitely captured that Gaga spirit. And brought a lot more fire than the FPE routine.

LeKeith: Right.

Howard: Plus, to the extent that the crews are responsible for their own costuming, they did a great job with that.

LeKeith: Yeah, I'm starting to wonder about that

Howard: But really, how hard is it to make a Lady Gaga costume? You just have to pretend that the costume designer for Mad Max 4 went colorblind and that takes you about 90% of the way.

LeKeith: HAHA! Grab some curtains off the wall, pick up a garbage bag of peanut foam and go to work!

Howard: Exactly! In all honesty, the routine was entertaining and there was some cool choreography in it. I especially liked the ending neck snap and the fake choke slam.

LeKeith: me too!

Howard: But my feelings about it are ultimately kind of colored by the excessive fawning by JC. Especially when it felt like the judges were going out of their way to knock down some of the other crews. I get that they're trying to get some parity among the groups. But when it's so blatant, it's just ridiculous.

LeKeith: You're right. They're definitely not judging evenly. But for Team Canada, I knew I liked their routine before the judges started speaking. I even said, “That was ill,” which is not a phrase I utter.

Howard: HA!

LeKeith: Team Canada definitely knows how to put routines together which has been giving them favour in the eyes of the judges. But next crew! Double Double Animal Style

Howard: Oh, so sad this week. They're back to being called Jungle Boogie.

LeKeith: I concur.

Howard: They only get to be DDAS when they are awesome. But they were real sloppy this week. Not even counting BeeJay, who was waaaaaay off of everyone else.

LeKeith: It's true

Howard: The remaining four dancers were never totally in sync with each other.

LeKeith: Did you notice when they spun the chairs? Everyone spun it in the same direction but one guy. I want to say Zebrahead but I'm not sure.

Howard: It's those little details that make or break a performance.

LeKeith: Absolutely.

Howard: Also, their choreo was not great for the first half of the performance.



LeKeith: They singled out Beejay for being off but someone messed up before he did.

Howard: It's true. I thought the judges were still way to soft on them. I want Omarion to be the new Shane, not the Ellen of ABDC. He needs to show some teeth.

LeKeith: I agree. this is actually a point when I wanted Shane on the show. Two reasons: (1) That routine was CRAZY sexual. (2) That routine was CRAZY sloppy. He would have applauded them for one and criticized them for the other.

Howard: Exactly. Perv-o-Tron 9000 would have shown up for a minute. And then put back in the box.

LeKeith: I did get a little freaked out by that torso turn though.

Howard: Yeah, that's was some craziness. That moment and the... um, male explosion at the end saved the routine from sheer tedium. But I still foresee Jungle Boogie in the bottom two or three next week.

LeKeith: I honestly kept thinking, “How are they showing this on TV?” Remember when Shane was shocked by Afroborike?

Howard: Yeah. Though to be fair, Jungle Boogie was not mouth raping each other. Or pantomiming it.

LeKeith: I dunno, Raqi doing a headstand on some dude's lap made me a little uncomfortable. Maybe it freaked Beejay out too and that's why he fell.

Howard: I chalk that to your personal experiences. But we don't need to talk about that Vegas trip here...

LeKeith: We definitely do not. Moving on!

Howard: The Phat Boys! And their awesome pimp cane/disco stick!

LeKeith: I liked the cane but they were kinda just okay for me this week.

Howard: Yeah, their routine was not mind blowing this week.

LeKeith: Troy Polumanu looked more like a member of KISS to me. He was the Star Child.

Howard: HA! That middle grooving section was pretty solid and the opening bit with the two members on the bench was a great visual.

LeKeith: It was.

Howard: But overall, it felt... insubstantial? The botched flip also didn't help matters. Though his awesome push-up recovery earns him some extra credit.

LeKeith: That's what you do when you suddenly end up face down. Push-ups!



Howard: I can't tell if Lil' Mama was just dense or whether she was being cruel, but it was kind of fucked up to show a slo-mo of the flip and frame it like it was going to be awesome.

LeKeith: I know! I think she meant to point out how he recovered so quickly because you know how much she likes to say you have to “keep going.” But it was mean. Also, JC, your comment on the “little lift” was not nice.

Howard: Yeah.

LeKeith: Don't be that guy, JC.

Howard: Also, I want to install some kind of remote punching device. So that I can punch the judges every time they make mention of how surprisingly agile the Phat Boys are. We've seen them dance 4 times now! It's no longer surprising!

LeKeith: That sounds like a drinking game to me.

Howard: You know I can't drink enough to keep up with the stupidity of the judges.

LeKeith: I do. and I imagine, like me, you like watching TV sober.

Howard: Sometimes.

LeKeith: Well, ABDC.

Howard: Sometimes.

LeKeith: What did you think of the pole tricks? Done by men?

Howard: Always a little weird to see, but still an impressive physical feat.

LeKeith: I concur. I'm ready for it to be an Olympic Sport.

Howard: Right after dodgeball.

LeKeith: That would be so awesome.

Howard: I concur! But you know what was not super awesome? The Kona Krushers.

LeKeith: Yeah… Like Jungle Boogie, the little things bothered me more than the whole routine did. Their slide across the stage? The hand movements for the heart beat? Those were all over the place. Really annoyed me.

Howard: I could see what they were trying to do with the choreography. And it was glorious in my mind. But the execution was just terrible.

LeKeith: that's how I felt about their whole routine. Like the giant Gaga in the flowing Pink Dress? Could have been awesome.

Howard: Yup.

LeKeith: Instead… Surprise! Nothin'.

Howard: The reveal felt like, "Here we are, I guess."

LeKeith: Exactly



Howard: I think they should have done a routine that was just the four guys dancing around the two girls making out.

LeKeith: HA!

Howard: Because really, they blew that load on a week where the votes didn't even count.

LeKeith: Thanks, MTV.

Howard: Yup. But definitely in the bottom next week Unless Hawaii comes through for them again.

LeKeith: Well, we know Canada can't vote.

Howard: As well they shouldn't.

LeKeith: Knowing MTV, they just found out Hawaii's a state

Howard: HA! OK, I can't be bothered to talk about the mediocrity of the Kona Krushers any more. Kids, if you make it another week, step yo' game up, as Lil' Mama would say.

LeKeith: I concur. Also, you can't go from making out with each other to wearing Gaga faces on your clothes. That was weird.

Howard: Those outfits were terrible.

LeKeith: Maybe the costume designer was like, “I have Pipe Cleaner, Cotton Balls, and old t-shirts. I can work with this.”

Howard: Lil' Mama's commentary was even worse. “You're wearing those blond Gaga wigs on your shirts!” Really? Someone wrote a check that paid for you to say that?

LeKeith: Lil' Mame was Our Lady of Pointless Observation this week.

Howard: So next was Poreotix.

LeKeith: You know what I liked alot in their package? When the one guy mimed hammering a nail while the other guy talked.

Howard: Yeah, that was pretty fantastic. You know what I liked about their routine?

LeKeith: All of it?

Howard: Well, yes.

LeKeith: HA!

Howard: But also the fact that they clowned the shit out of EVERYONE. Judges. The other crews. Everyone.

LeKeith: You mean with JC and Omarion making out with each other?

Howard: And the scream of terror for Lil' Mama.

LeKeith: Oh yeah!

Howard: The jump rope tricks using the crutches.

LeKeith: Keep going. I like your analysis.

Howard: The middle choreo section that JC called "boring"? They were aping moves that the other crews do in their routines. Except their parody was better than what's usually done because they were adding levels in addition to the moves. They were dropping the gauntlet. And I think that's why the judges couldn't really say anything about it.

LeKeith: Yeah, I think you're absolutely correct. Pointing again to the uneven judging.

Howard: There's such a gap in the raw talent between the groups.



LeKeith: It's true. But your analysis aside, the thing I liked most about their routine is when they did the magician hand movement on their faces to correspond to that shutter sound in the song.

Howard: Yeah, they had a lot of fantastic little touches which complemented the narrative that they were building on stage.

LeKeith: They don't waste any part of the song and in fact highlight parts that are taken for granted.

Howard: And I think it's sad that the judges, whether because they're missing it or because they don't want to stack the deck, decided to highlight the exact same move with two separate slo-mos. WE JUST SAW THE BACKWARDS SECTION, OMARION. This is when I miss Shane the most.

LeKeith: Also, way to be dismissive of something incredibly difficult, Judges. I think the show definitely needs a judge with a big choreography background. Because aside from Shane's Perv-o-Tron moments, his assessment of the routines was seen through a choreographer's eye.

Howard: Exactly.

LeKeith: He could see what was intended and what was executed, how they differ and how to improve. Then he'd talk about bootys.

Howard: And let's move onto the Hotsteppers.

LeKeith: To be fair, I understand that they wanted to dance without the jumpropes but they should never be allowed to take the ropes out of their hands.

Howard: HA! I think BreakSk8 took their skates off once or twice.

LeKeith: Yeah but Br8kSk8 sans Sk8s were still very competent dancers. I just want to see shots of Hotsteppers jumping rope and drinking G2.

Howard: Before their routine started, I predicted that they'd play it safe. And they did. But the end result is that the glory of the gimmick is starting to wear off.

LeKeith: Yup.

Howard: Especially when other crews do your shit USING CRUTCHES.

LeKeith: Also, considering that they planned this routine thinking they'd be in the bottom two, I would have opted to go harder. But that's just me.

Howard: I totally agree. But I think after the Jump-ocalypse last week, they needed to get their confidence back.



LeKeith: And yeah, we've seen behind the unnecessary curtain now. We didn't need that metaphor at the beginning of the routine.

Howard: HA!

LeKeith: Although their double handspring back tuck while jumping rope was damn skilled.

Howard: Oh definitely.

LeKeith: I learned that term in BRING IT ON.

Howard: One of the greatest movies of our times.

LeKeith: Absolutely!

Howard: There were moves in the beginning and middle that would have blown me away a week or two ago. But at this point, it's just the same old, same old.

LeKeith: I agree. And going with rope-less moves isn't going to bring me back into the fold.

Howard: Yeah... Anyway, I predict that they'll just escape the elimination round. Assuming they do with a bottom 3. I'm guessing that'll be Kona Krushers, Phat Boys and Jungle Boogie. Based purely on performances.

LeKeith: Interesting.

Howard: If I have to factor in voting blocks and whatnot, it changes the analysis.

LeKeith: I agree with all 3 of those choices but wouldn't be surprised to see Hotsteppers in there.

Howard: Yeah, I wouldn't either. But I think their routine was at least coordinated. Which gives them a slight edge over the other three.

LeKeith: That makes sense. Even though Mario didn't say any of the phrases I said for him, I am glad that they gave me so much Layla Kayleigh!

Howard: They did! I was like Christmas for you!

LeKeith: Well they threw in the DJ too!

Howard: It was like a LeKeith Wishlist episode.

LeKeith: They got my letter!

Howard: Speaking of letters, let's close by answering a question from one of our readers. TeXavier asks, “I'm very curious as to who you two think will be the final 3, any thoughts?”

LeKeith: First off, that is a great question and thank you for reading. I've had a harder time figuring out who will be the Top 3 this season than in previous seasons. The first week's voting kinda surprised me. But I think Poreotix and Team Canada will be 2 of the 3.

Howard: I concur.

LeKeith: I'd like Fanny Pak East to be the 3rd but they don't seem to be all that well liked. Unless this week's order was based on the voting tallies.

Howard: I'll be honest, they lack the spark that made the original Fanny Pak stand out to me. They're like a really awesome cover band version of Fanny Pak.

LeKeith: They are!

Howard: Neil Cubic Zirconium, if you will.

LeKeith: Where Fanny Pak had enthusiasm, they have seriousness. But what they need is Enthusiasm!

Howard: Spirit Fingers!

LeKeith: HA! Who do you think will be the 3rd?

Howard: If Jungle Boogie goes back to be DDAS, I could see them making it to the Top 3.

LeKeith: Yes.

Howard: But otherwise, from a pure talent perspective, I feel like FPE will take it.

LeKeith: I feel the same way.

Howard: Then again, Season 4 taught me to never underestimate the voting power of an island population. So the Kona Krushers might float through to the top.

LeKeith: Puerto Rico! Where you at?

Howard: Continuing the ABDC tradition of letting a less talented group into the Final Two.

LeKeith: Also, a lot of the crews have been showing 2 levels of performance. The DDAS v. Jungle Boogie dichotomy if you will. The first one of those to become consistent at the higher level - the DDAS level - will be the one to make it to the Top 3. Hype 5-O, Jungle Boogie and Static Noyse all have the potential to do that. So do Heavy Impact but less so.

Howard: Agreed.

LeKeith: But what we do have to look forward to: Bell Bottoms, Disco Balls and more Layla Kayliegh!

Howard: Groovy.

LeKeith: Funkadelic even.