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Alright - the FINAL 2: Status Quo and JabbaWockeeZ. Who will it be… Who. Will. It. Be. ?.

Even though us Canucks couldn’t vote for America’s Best Dance Crew, our friends south of the border delivered a whopping 38 million votes! That’s pretty intense - but of course we don’t instantly get the results of said votes since this is obviously an hour long show. In true reality show style (a la American Idol) they will drag this out as long as they possibly can, so I simply must succumb to that. No worries - I gots me some sodie pop, snacks and my dancin’ shoes - I’m in for the long haul. Now let’s get this show underway….

Part 1

All the eliminated Crews are back(!), and introduced, in the following order:

Enigma!

Femme5!

ICONic!

Live In Color!

Fysh n Chicks!

BreakSk8!

Kaba Modern!

And the finalists: Status Quo! and JabbaWockeeZ!

Now the judges are talking. I’m not going to write out what they say this time - basically ’cause I refuse to indulge their ramblings. It’s obviously just a gimmick to fill time (and to throw in a shameless plug for Lil Mama’s new album, apparently). We heard what this trio of professionals had to say about the final two crews LAST week - why we have to hear it again? So basically this is what I’m picking up:

Shane says, “blah blah blah Status Quo danced through injuries blah blah look on your face was saying you were the shit.” Lil Mama says, “blah blah blah JabbaWockeeZ you guys have set the bar blah blah birth of a new culture blah blah I’ve travelled blah you are the future blah buy my new album.” And JC says, “Status Quo you guys are masters of stunt work blah blah JabbaWockeeZ you guys are magicians blah blah I’m not dating Chace Crawford.”

Okay FINALLY we get to some dancing - Reunion Style!

Representing the West Coast in the first group performance we have Fysh n Chicks, Kaba Modern and JabbaWockeeZ.

Song: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go.”

That was pretty entertaining. Not used to seeing so many people dancing up on that whittle stage, but it’s cool to see these three talented groups working together, but surprisingly it did feel a bit all-over-the-place and uninspired at times. And unfortunately it looked liked Kaba Modern took a bit of a back seat to the other two Crews. Bah - Kaba Modern once again doesn’t get their time in the spotlight, like they rightfully deserve…

Part 2

WTF? Joey Fatone from ‘N Sync Dancing With The Stars your local Starbucks counter is in the audience!

Now representing the South we have Enigma and Live In Color.

Song: Lil John’s “Get Low.”

Um, what’s up with those pimp sticks? Either way, this was a stellar high-energy performance by two Crews that arguably got the boot a bit prematurely. And that Enigma flip over the Live In Color member was mighty impressive (even if the landing did look a bit, um, painful).

Mario Lopez has big news for us! ABDC is coming back in the summer for Season 2! Ugh - My fingers can’t take the typing no more!

Part 3

Representing the East Coast: ICONic and Status Quo.

Song: LL Cool J’s “Phenomenon.”

Wow - that was oddly my favourite. Even though I feel ICONic is slightly dorky, their choreography has always been above-par (and they too were maybe eliminated a tad too early in this competition - especially since they get their inspiration from Broadway and Shane Sparks has openly commented that Broadway is the future of hip-hop… But I digress). Status Quo was impressive as well - it shows what they can do when they have a good choreographer working with them. The “club” feel was a nice touch. Hm - when it comes to these group performances, it looks like I’m an East Coast fan.

WTF? Geri Halliwell is in the audience!

Part 4

Now representng the Mid-West we have Femme5 and BreakSk8.

Song: Huey’s “Pop Lock and Drop It.”

Aw - that was cute. It was like America’s Best Dance Crew was playing match-maker (hopefully Mario Lopez doesn’t show up as Cupid, diaper and all… or hopefully he does….?) I bet these two Crews were hooking up like cwaaaazy. But ANYways, the dancing was aiight. Glad to see BreakSk8 still knows how to bring it, however Femme5 was a tad bland (even though their poppy bright outfits were burning my retinas). But then again, was Femme5 ever NOT bland. Until this reunion episode, I had completely forgotten about them. Oh well. Out of sight, out of mind. At least Mario Lopez thought it was “hot.”

Now Layla is chatting with the 2 Final Crews. It’s all pretty boring but wait - some of the boys of JabbaWockeeZ have kids?! I did not see that coming. And apparently Status Quo “has,” “wants,” and “needs.” I don’t know what that means.

Part 5

Ok ok ok… I’ve been hard on Status Quo, but that little video montage that shows where they’re from and how far they’ve come was kind of heartwarming. It’s easy to nag on these guys for not having the best choreo and dancing skills, but then again they haven’t had any formal training. They do their stunts ’cause they do them well. They’ve come a long way and I give them credit.

Alright, these editors know what they are doing. This little video montage of the JabbaWockeeZ back story was also pretty touching. And these montages are a clever touch on the part of ABDC - they totally level the playing field for these two Crews, showing that the results really could go either way. I mean, these are just two Crews that have both encountered hardships and share a love of performance - they just happen to perform in two different styles - how can you fault any of them for that?

(Now that being said, my money is still on JabbaWockeeZ. Hey-O!)

And now. The ultimate showdown. Between the final two Crews. JabbaWockeeeeeeeZ and Status Quuuuooooooooooo! (as choreographed by Stomp The Yard’s Chuck Maldonado).

Wow, stomp the yard indeed - that was pretty damn cool. You know how I was just saying how those video montages leveled the playing field? Well, this routine just did the same thing. Both Crews danced (stomped?) their hearts out. The voting is closed and so it doesn’t affect results or anything but it shows that maybe these are the two Crews that were meant to be in the Final Two after all…? No?

Sidenote: If you love all things dance, check out Chuck Maldonado’s demo reel - it’s very impressive.

Lemme guess, we’ll now go back to the judges to talk about these two crews once again. Like WTF? We get it! You think they are great! They made it their own! They are the future of dance! Blah blah blah! Geez, it’s like pulling teeth in here.

Part 6

AND THE WINNER IS…
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………………..
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JABBAWOCKEEZ!!!!!!!!

(Notice all those dots? I was trying to draw it out as long as Mario Lopez did. But just not possible. Not enough blog space).

So Status Quo… your banner must fall. See ya!

And now a final victory performance from JabbaWockeeZ…

THEY DITCHED THEIR MASKS! That was a smart move. Stop hiding boys - you’ve successfully beaten them all. Kudos.

So that brings us to the end of America’s Best Dance Crew. Goodbye Mario. Goodbye Lil Mama. Goodbye Shane. Goodbye JC. Now all your metaphorical banners must fall.

‘Til the Summer, boooooy!

(Creepy backwards hugs all around)

Photographs Courtesy Warner Bros.

Previous Recaps:
Episode 7
Episode 6
Episode 5
Episode 4
Episode 3
Episode 2