Over the years, MTV has branched out well beyond the world of music.  This has irked many in the industry, considering many of its current shows have little or nothing to do with music.

Imagine the delight, therefore, of music artist JC Chasez when he learned about the networks latest series, America's Best Dance Crew.  The show, which is executive-produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson, pits dance groups against each other in a lively and intense competition.  Chasez says that this is one of the best prjects MTV has gotten involved with in a while.

"I'm glad they're putting their money where their mouth is and bringing music and dancing back to music television," Chasez, a former member of 'N Sync, told the New York Daily News.  "Everybody loves The Hills and Laguna Beach, but it's good to have music and dancing and entertainment on MTV.  It's an important thing."

America's Best Dance Crew premiered on MTV on Thursday, February 10.  The show started out with nine teams of five to seven members, all of whom will have to impress not only the audience, but a panel of judges as well.

JC Chasez serves as one of the show's judges.  He says that Jackson recruited him because of his knowledge of group dance.

"When it comes to choreographing, the group that I was in, 'N Sync, we did the largest production tour in the history of recording, so I guess it kind of made me an expert," Chasez explained.  "My goal is to give the dancers insight to what it is that I like or dislike, or both, about their performances so that they can take that knowledge and apply it in the future."

As a judge, Chasez makes sure to study not just the groups' prowess in hip-hop, but their dancing range as well.

"When I see a routine and it's just every B-boy [breakdancing] move in the book, it's like, 'Okay, but what else can you do?'" he said.  "If I see somebody come up and drop into some kind of freeze, it shows me they're athletic.  Then if they do something very clean and sharp, all off a sudden, it's like okay, this guy can also dance in a group, he's not sloppy.  I want to see range."

Joining JC Chasez on the Dance Crew panel are Shane Sparks and Lil' Mama, while hosting duties have been delegated to Dancing with the Stars finalist Mario Lopez.

-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: New York Daily News
(Image Courtesy of MTV)