America's Best Dance Crew

The debut season of America's Best Dance Crew was warmly welcomed by the American audiences, garnering impressively high ratings since its premiere episode. With 38 million votes cast in to determine the winner of the dance competition, the guys from the West Coast who tag themselves as JabbaWockeeZ emerged victorious against the East Coast competitors, Status Quo. Right after the sizzling finale, AOL got a chance to chat with the JabbaWockeeZ to talk about how the season went, and what were the challenges they had to overcome to eventually win the Championship title of America's Best Dance Crew.

"Honestly, the biggest competition we thought, when we first got on the show, was Kaba Modern and Live in Color," JabbaWockeeZ member Rynan Shawn Paguio admitted. "But Status Quo made us turn some heads. They came through with an amazing show and it was like, 'Oh, OK, now this crew is coming up.' It was like that for every group they all just kept stepping up."

JabbaWockeeZ weren't the only ones impressed with Kaba Modern's moves as choreographer Shane Sparks also noticed some cool new moves that the group managed to cook up.

"Kaba Modern did some stuff with their heads and some mouth thing [popping his head from side to side]," Sparks said. "I was like, OK, they're taking it to another level right now."

JabbaWockeeZ surely took it up to the next level on finale night as they pushed forward and eventually won the $100,000 prize. However, not all JabbaWockeeZ were expecting the win at all. In fact, they just did their best and put a lot of faith in the viewers who constantly supported them from the start.

"It hasn't set in yet. [I was] surprised and expecting it a little bit because we had a killer show, I'm not gonna lie," crew member Phil Tayag A.K.A. Swagger Boy said. "We weren't expecting anything, but at the same time, we were confident."

"I actually didn't know that JabbaWockeeZ were going to win, but I had my bets on that. I really love that group," judge Lil' Mama said about JabbaWockeeZ's victory. "When it came down to the final two, Status Quo is so raw and rugged, they bring a new feel to the dance floor, but I think that JabbaWockeeZ really deserved it."

As for life after the show, the JabbaWockeeZ believe that America's Best Dance Crew has opened doors for them in the entertainment industry. In fact, they're beginning to feel the changes, as projects are starting to file in.

"This show has definitely given us a big boost -- we've been getting a lot of offers for different endorsements and possible tours," crew member Ben Chung A.K.A. B-Tek said. "We want to try to establish an empire -- JabbaWockeeZ.com, JabbaTV.com, our merchandise. We just want to take on the world!"

Emerging successful in the debut season of America's Best Dance Crew may as well be the first step to taking on the world. But before they do, judge Shane Sparks has one little advice for them.

"Just make sure that your crew is tight. Make sure that your choreography is creative, try to be unique," Shane said. And what about the next batch of dance crews for season 2? "I'm hoping we get something like BreakSk8 on the show—not saying they have to be skaters, but something that different. And more girl crews!"


-Valerie Anne del Castillo, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: AOL
(Photo courtesy of AOL)