Despite getting booted out on the seventh episode of
America's Best Dance Crew, the
Boogie Bots' Bryan East, 21, has nothing but kind words on the MTV show. And why not? Despite being the youngest group in the competition, they have lasted well into the final stages of the competition and even got to jam with guest rapper Missy Elliot on their final night.
"It really was probably the biggest learning experience of my life," the half-Filipino says. "We grew a lot as a group together; individually we matured a lot more and learned a lot about Hollywood ... everything that goes along with the entertainment industry, the good and the bad. We definitely had to deal with it."
East said that while it was exhilarating to share the stage with such stars, the “grueling” schedule often left them physically and mentally drained. Taping for
America's Best Dance Crew is done two days before the show airs, while the remaining days of the week are spent choreographing new routines to music selected by the producers for each weekly challenge.
"Depending on the challenge and the music and the story we were trying to tell, [choreographing] could take one night or a whole week," East said. "It was 14-hour days and maybe four or five hours of sleep every night. You'd wake up and go back to dancing."
They have certainly gone a long way. East, for instance, spent his teen years doing a different kind of dance, playing defense of his high school's varsity hockey team. The Boogie Bots, who are composed of guys with Filipino lineage, was formed thanks to a San Diego-based hip hop dance organization called Culture Shock. It has branches all over the country.
Last season's winner, the JabbaWockeeZ, was a product of Culture Shock.
America's Best Dance Crew is down to its final two groups. Hosted by
Dancing with the Stars alum Mario Lopez, it airs Thursday nights.
-Glenn L. Diaz, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source:
My Central New Jersey
(Image Courtesy of Pacific Rim Photo Press)