TV Review | 'America's Best Dance Crew' is all about style
Two and a half out of five stars
Catherine Scott
Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: Arts
Dance has made a comeback on TV. It began with "Dancing with the Stars" and then proceeded to many cookie-cutter copies, such as the new "Dance War," which is already ending due to its lack of viewers.
The newest example of these televised dance-offs is "America's Best Dance Crew" on MTV, presented by Randy Jackson of "American Idol."
Hosted by Mario Lopez, who's best known for playing Slater on "Saved by the Bell," the show calls for dance groups to compete against one another in weekly challenges to become "America's Best Dance Crew."
The groups are separated into two halves by Americans who watched the dances the week before. Those in the bottom half are eliminated until only two are left. The two remaining groups then compete for the judges in an attempt to "save themselves" and go on to the next round.
The premise is so simple - just a basic competition of dance groups - that the show might be considered boring and unoriginal. All these fears subside once the actual dancing begins. These dancers are not fakes, pulled off the streets without any professional experience to be magically turned into dancers by expert coaches and choreographers. Many of them even choreograph their routines themselves, making the dance challenge that much harder.
The judges are J.C. Chasez from 'N Sync, Shane Sparks, a hip-hop choreographer and dancer, and Lil' Mama, an R&B singer with the hit song "Lip Gloss." Clearly, the judges are the least serious part of the show. Without a judge that has an impressive dance resume, the judging at the end of each round seems a little arbitrary. They seem to be concerned with who put on the best show rather than with whose choreography and dancing was actually the best.
If the judges seem to be biased toward the hip-hop genre of dancing, that's because the dance groups are weighted that way.
Even though there is a theatrical group and a pop group in the final eight, most of the dancing on the show so far has been hip-hop. However, this might change as the show progresses and the challenges provide more opportunity for diversity.
The newest example of these televised dance-offs is "America's Best Dance Crew" on MTV, presented by Randy Jackson of "American Idol."
Hosted by Mario Lopez, who's best known for playing Slater on "Saved by the Bell," the show calls for dance groups to compete against one another in weekly challenges to become "America's Best Dance Crew."
The groups are separated into two halves by Americans who watched the dances the week before. Those in the bottom half are eliminated until only two are left. The two remaining groups then compete for the judges in an attempt to "save themselves" and go on to the next round.
The premise is so simple - just a basic competition of dance groups - that the show might be considered boring and unoriginal. All these fears subside once the actual dancing begins. These dancers are not fakes, pulled off the streets without any professional experience to be magically turned into dancers by expert coaches and choreographers. Many of them even choreograph their routines themselves, making the dance challenge that much harder.
The judges are J.C. Chasez from 'N Sync, Shane Sparks, a hip-hop choreographer and dancer, and Lil' Mama, an R&B singer with the hit song "Lip Gloss." Clearly, the judges are the least serious part of the show. Without a judge that has an impressive dance resume, the judging at the end of each round seems a little arbitrary. They seem to be concerned with who put on the best show rather than with whose choreography and dancing was actually the best.
If the judges seem to be biased toward the hip-hop genre of dancing, that's because the dance groups are weighted that way.
Even though there is a theatrical group and a pop group in the final eight, most of the dancing on the show so far has been hip-hop. However, this might change as the show progresses and the challenges provide more opportunity for diversity.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 6
Mike
posted 2/22/08 @ 11:58 AM EST
"... because of the seeming lack of technical expertise among the judges ..."
Are you serious? All 3 judges have been thru the industry. They may not have gone to Juilliard, they're all trained and professional. (Continued…)
jessica bruce
posted 2/22/08 @ 2:26 PM EST
i love your show and its really professional and fun to watch you should make another show next season and add more girl groups me and my friend dance all the time we do it pretty good and we bring it my name is jessica and my best friend is rachel
phaballa
posted 2/23/08 @ 12:53 AM EST
Before you make the statement that none of the judges are professionals, you should do a bit of simple wiki research on them to find out if that's true. (Continued…)
Samantha
posted 2/25/08 @ 2:41 AM EST
I agree with the comments about the judges. One of the contestants even mentioned auditioning for Sparks before doing the show, which should tell you something about his cred with the dancers. (Continued…)
mrs.shaffer
posted 2/26/08 @ 2:17 PM EST
my husband and i love your show we have been married for 3 years were both 19 and we dnt miss one show and we both have sports and jobs but for your show we always make time you should make another one after after this season. (Continued…)
anna montano
posted 3/11/08 @ 12:44 PM EST
Shane sparks is amazing and his talent speaks for itself but the other two judges have to GO!!!!!! I can't stand LIL Mama and JC could never dance!!!!!
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