Well, well, well… we’ve already hit the midpoint of season 3 of ABDC. I can’t speak for all of you, but I sure can’t believe we’re nearing the end. While many crews are stepping it up in ways I wouldn’t have expected, I think it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone is predicting that Beat Freaks and Quest Crew will go head to head in the final battle. We pretty much know everyone can dance, but when it comes to the best of the best, we’re looking for entertainment value, creativity and stage presence, which is definitely what we saw tonight in the Whack Track Challenge.


Quest Crew
What I love most about Quest Crew is that each of the dancers is good at channeling character play. If their challenge is kickboxing, they turn it into a kitschy montage of kung-fu scenes. If their challenge is to channel Britney Spears’ toxic energy, they propel it into a an all-out femme fatale act. And tonight, when they got The New Kids on the Block as a challenge, they tapped into boy band fervor. Quest Crew pretty much has the appeal of a boy band—you know, just without the singing—because beyond knowing how to woo an audience, each member is always given the spotlight. Boy band vet JC knows this very well: Everybody got a moment to shine…you spread the love between each other…and highlight each other in a great way.

I didn’t catch what the name of their challenge was, but they ended up with the cowboy hip swivel dance featured in The New Kids on the Block’s “You’ve Got it (the Right Stuff”), and in terms of creativity, Hok gets 200%. I couldn’t tell if he was upside down, right side up, or if the dancing “thing” was a composite of two dancers. Definitely a trip, and it was a real treat to see how they turned the move into something with real entertainment value.

Beat Freaks
For me, though, Beat Freaks had a much more entertaining act, which channeled all sorts of theatrics beyond tapping into the “white guy dance.” So, we knew that these girls know how to venture out of their tough zone and put on a sexy act, but apparently they’re capable of acting like ditzy teeny boppers, too. The candy raver costume choices were perfect for this act and entirely appropriate for Rino Nakasone, who I’m sure is pretty used to slinking around in these outfits as a Harajuku Girl.

What is most impressive about the Beat Freaks is that while they’re all stellar dancers—technically speaking—they know how to put on a show, which became most apparent last week. I really don’t understand how Jules and Ryan C. of Quest Crew do it: don’t their heads get sore when they’re spinning like that? Whatever the case, Jules pulled off an amazing head spin (the first ever for a girl on ABDC!), and Keely worked in her signature popping and locking without making it seem out of place.
 
 
Misc. Notes

When it comes to possible foils in a Quest Crew vs. Beat Freaks final showdown, it’s gotta be Strikers All-Stars. I was generally nonplussed with their first performance, but they’ve consistently raised the bar for themselves every week thereafter. I have to admit they had a bit of an unfair advantage because MC Hammer’s “Too Legit to Quit” was my favorite song of the night, but these guys are seriously showing that they’re more than steppers.

Dynamic Edition is definitely the underdog crew, and while I do like them, their performance consistency is off: I was ready to write them off after the Britney Spears theme, but they picked up the slack this week and performed well. In other words, tonight they did what they do best, not what they think they should be doing. If that translates into more popularity—we’ll just have to watch and wait.

Bottom two: Ring Masters (eliminated) and Fly Khicks

Next Week’s Challenge: I’m going to have to get back to you on that. I couldn’t catch it this time with all the screaming. T_T