ABDC S5 - Episode 4 : The Nationals (submited by LEY)

And we’re OFF! The first true episode of ABDC premiered on Thursday night and being the opinionated person that I am, I’ve got a few things to say. First, I liked how they brought Randy Jackson in to start off the competition. Say a few words to inspire the crews, reveal the banners, yada-yada-yada, “See you at the finish line”. Usually the audience sees him just at the end to present the golden B-boy trophy and (by that time having forgotten that “Randy Jackson presents” is at the beginning of ABDC) you’re like “What the hell is he doing here?” The great thing about this episode is that, unlike the regionals where the crews have been working on the same routines for the last few weeks (or even months), they have to prepare their performance in just one week to a song NOT of their choosing. I honestly thought I was going to see a huge difference in the performance, but was surprisingly mistake for the most part. Let’s review…

West

Hype 5 0 – Not as good as their regional performance, but still a decent job. Obviously (compared to the other crews from their region) the choice to send into battle.

Heavy Impact – Good God can they move! Loved the performance and I was I awe when Issac, who is probably the biggest guy in their crew, doing a back flip! I mentioned last week that I recognized them as being one of my underdogs of the season, but they are turning out to be some serious contenders.

Poreotix – The judges really gave them a hard time this week about incorporating more than just isolations in their routine. Just like the audience I said “Awwwww BOOOOOO!” It was a great performance regardless. After taking some time to think about it though, how cool would it be to see one of their routines with some fluid footwork or threading amid comedic storytelling and “crispy” isolations? AMAZING!

South

Swagger Crew – Very disappointing, considering that they were my favorites from the south. As much as I hate to say it, they had the weakest performance of the night.

Jungle Boogie – Impressive! Out of all nine, they have the most intense energy that doesn’t let down. Great performance, I’m really starting to like this crew.

Royal Flush – Last week I said that they were my WTF crew – can I retract that statement? They put on a solid performance this week, nuff said.

East

Saltare – Ok, these guys have now become my new WTF crew. I found their performance to be BORING! All the judges did was rant and rave about how they incorporated the use of the jump ropes. Yes, I understand that what they are doing is very athletic and the timing has to be on point. How is that different from any other crew? All I saw were tricks, tricks, and more tricks. This is a dance competition, where was the chore-o? Oh, you mean that bit where they tossed aside the ropes and did the isolations, right? That part that looked strangely similar to what Quest did on the Hip Hop Decathlon episode in season 3? And to clarify things, one of the female members mentioned that they ARE NOT a gimmick crew. Really?! Seriously? Looks like someone needs a vocabulary lesson…

Gimmick – noun; an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, esp. one designed to attract attention or increase appeal. i.e. “Your crew has a gimmick, dumbass.”

verb (used with an object); to equip or embellish with unnecessary features, esp. in order to increase salability, acceptance, etc. i.e. “You’re a gimmick crew, you stupid fuck.”

(definitions, aside from examples, come straight from Dictionary.com)

I would also like to note that even before she said that, the video had another member talking about how the whole reason they are doing the show is to PROMOTE JUMP ROPING. It’s only the second episode they have been on and they’re already pissing me off. Hopefully the judges will take off their rose-colored glasses and ream them next week. Better yet, I hoped they get kicked off soon and save a crew that can actually dance.

Static Noyze – This crew truly is the underdog of the season. The day before the first national episode and one of their guys has a back injury. Then the next night, he hits the stage and performs with a back brace on. On top of that they are sent into battle AGAIN, even after putting on an amazing performance (much better than their regionals BTW). Look forward to their next performance, usually when you’re faced with elimination the next routine sets the roof on fire!

Blueprint – They did a great number on this one. The chore-o matched the song very well and it was all around entertaining. No bad comments here.

Unfortunately, we come to the battle where one must be sent home. No surprise that Static Noyze was immediately saved. I personally felt that Swagger Crew’s battle was better than Hype 5 0, but if you count in their first performance of the night (which I’m supposing the judges did) it meant the Swagger Crew was out. And that’s what happened.

Next week’s challenge is the music video challenge. The crews are going to be presented with a well known vid that they will have to put their own spin on. My bottom three predictions for next week include Hype 5 0, Royal Flush, and Blueprint. Hype didn’t have as good of a performance as the other crews and both RF & Blueprint don’t have the gathering fan base that crews like Heavy Impact, Poreotix, or Static Noyze have gained. That’s all for today boys and gals, see ya next week!