ABDC 3 Poll Pamphlet: Quest Crew

on Monday, March 2, 2009 1:56PM

I’ve stopped counting how many times Mario Lopez has said, “Whoa-ho, Quest Crew… is on a quest!” Dimple’s overdone pun may be annoying, but it’s true. Although Quest Crew has comedy and good times down pat—just try to interview these guys without getting sucked into random and silly tangents, specifically by Dom—this is no careless road trip. These boys are on a mission.

Originally—though not in the same seven-member incarnation—Quest Crew planned to compete on ABDC season one. Although it didn’t pan out, the crew never lost sight of that goal: these boys have been training together since late 2007 for ABDC 3. Audiences across the nation have been treated to Quest Crew’s stellar choreography and bboy acrobatics, and beyond that, the crew has really put itself out there: though they are first and foremost a band of friends, each individual stands out as someone with his own quirks and specialities.

To help refreshen your memory at the poll, Ningin is providing this e-pamphlet of Quest Crew’s epic ABDC odyssey.

Episode 1 showed that Quest Crew had nothing to hide as they laid out all their cards on the table for everyone to see. More than possessing stupefying bboy tricks, the boys truly stood out because of their flair for entertainment. Even at this point, you could tell that Quest Crew was made up of a bunch of characters who would go on to woo audiences throughout the season.

With karate champion Steve Terada on board, Episode 2’s grab bag challenge ended up in Quest Crew’s favor: kickboxing. Victor’s floor work, check. Steve’s air work, check. A touch of Matrix and hammy, old school kung fu swagger, check-check. Unfortunately, JC Chasez and Lil Mama were way too stingy with giving Quest Crew their dues and also contradicted themselves. JC, bboy is choreography. Lil Mama, comedy is entertainment.

Episode 3 featured the boys swiveling and gyrating about in ways they—and we—would have never imagined. While the blindfolded portion of the performance was, by far, one of their most impressive stunts over their time on ABDC, what really drove home this challenge was their hyper-feminine choreography and play. Seriously, did you ever expect the boys to channel Britney and b-b-bump their booties? Quest Crew is made up of some confident men, indeed. Hands down, it was one of the best, if not the best, performances of the night.

Episode 4 caused a stir, but not all of it was positive. Namely, netizens criticized Hok for his “upside-down” dance because an extremely well-known bboy group is known for putting the stunt on the map. Quest Crew stands by the fact that they weren’t aware of this, and really, it’s not like the stunt’s never been done before (in any incarnation of dance, not just in bboy). If people were really concerned about attacking a group of bboys for “copping” a move, then they may as well call them out on jacking air flares, stalling, wind mills, head spins… catch my drift? All that mess aside, it was not my favorite Quest Crew performance, but their attempt at de-whackifying the crotch-grab pendulumn was (Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh) the right stuff.

In episode 5, it seemed like the Beat Freaks’ performance eclipsed all others. Moreover, this is the episode where Quest Crew got absolutely bashed by the judges. While it was an entertaining performance, Quest Crew’s theatrics tuned out any bit of cohesive choreography. They had always been one of the best crews on the show, but this is the episode where it became vastly apparent that they would ultimately be pit against Beat Freaks. Knowing that, the judges really did do them a service with a heavy handed, but well-intentioned warning.

Episode 6 proves that Quest Crew never takes constructive criticism with a grain of salt. However deflated they may have been after their magic challenge performance, Quest Crew turned the tough love into fuel for fire. The boys sprang back with slippery and innovative moves, all the while making sure to leave the stalled transitions at home. More than that, it really did seem like they had tapped back into their trademark energy that was lacking in the previous episode. This was one of their best performances, and after some slight inconsistency over the previous episodes, this performance put them right back where they belonged: over and above the top.

Quest Crew has not arrived at their final destination yet, but episode 7 proved that they are full steam ahead. Their incredible 2-minute decathlon featured each individual dancer doing what he does best, all while seamlessly integrating their requisite hip hop moves. Quest Crew is seriously lucky to have Hok on board because the crew’s tutting, under Hok’s tutelage, absolutely killed their competition. Moreover, Quest Crew proved that their problems with transitions are a thing of the past as the boys did everything from synching their moves up to the transitions in their mastermix, to using the wave to bring them into their next number (”…in that polka dot bikini…”). This was not only Quest Crew’s best performance of the season, but also one of the best of the season in general. While nothing really could’ve matched their hip hop decathlon, Quest Crew’s final performance was still a refreshing shift. The boys held back on their fun and games: at the end of the day, they are all dead serious about what they do.