The America's Best Dance Crew set is smaller in person. When I sat in on rehearsals for this week's episode during the Television Critics Association press tour, my first reaction was that there are fewer seats than I'd imagined, and they're much closer to the stage than they look on TV.

A similar thought ran through my mind when Lil' Mama came out. I should've guessed from her name, but I wasn't expecting the 18-year-old judge to be so tiny, especially given her big, often outspoken voice during the episodes. Still, looking up at the five remaining banners and getting a sneak peek at what's in store for the crews tomorrow was a great experience.

This week's challenge is inspired by Stomp the Yard and forces each crew to make noise with various props while basing their choreography on various school activities. There will be basketball and band routines, but what we saw was Supreme Soul doing a hockey-themed dance, complete with sticks.

The guys may come across as cocky on screen, but in person they're warm and quite nice, patiently running through their routine several times to get all the production elements correct. I won't give away particular elements of their routine except to say they take full advantage of the old joke, “They held a fight, and a hockey game broke out.”

Lil' Mama spoke highly of all the remaining contestants, saying how hard it is to eliminate crews because any group left can win the whole thing. Though it might sometimes seem like she's being mean, she also explained that as the season progresses, the expectations are raised so things she may have let slide in the early rounds are no longer so insignificant.

Also attending the visit was executive producer Joel Gallen, who spoke about the show's success. When asked what happens to the winners of America's Best Dance Crew, Gallen acknowledged that they don't go on to huge, multi-million dollar recording contracts like American Idol champions, but that doesn't matter because these crews dance for the sheer enjoyment of it. He added that America's Best Dance Crew is special because, unlike other reality dance shows, the crews actually choreograph their own routines.

America's Best Dance Crew airs Thursdays at 10pm. Next week's show will feature the final four crews performing routines to Missy Elliott songs, and she will perform on the show as well.


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of MTV)