In the realm of reality television, a number of dance competitions have sprouted, with the most popular ones being ABC's Dancing with the Stars and FOX's So You Think You Can Dance.  Now, MTV has caught on to the trend, recently premiering America's Best Dance Crew, executive-produced by Randy Jackson.  The singer-record-producer, most popularly known as judge on American Idol, assures his new show is different from the rest.

"This is about crews, five to seven people.  It's not one person, it's not a couple dancing.  This is very different," he told the Associated Press.  "Plus, this is a lot younger, a lot hipper, a lot doper.  You'll find the latest dance moves, see.  You can actually watch this show and learn how to dance."

America's Best Dance Crew, which premiered on Thursday, February 7, bears a similar platform to other reality competition shows, however.  Every week, the groups must learn challenging dance routines, which they will then perform live.  Viewers then cast their votes, and once those are tallied, the two weakest crews must battle it out in the hopes of being spared by the judges.

The show's panel includes ‘N Sync's JC Chasez, dancer Shane Sparks and music artist Lil' Mama.  Hosting America's Best Dance Crew are Mario Lopez (Dancing with the Stars, Saved by the Bell), Layla Kayleigh and DJ Rashida.

Randy Jackson has been recognized for his talents in rocking a bass guitar and singing, but he's also quite knowledgeable about dancing, too.

"Listen, I've been doing music my whole life and every up-tempo song I've ever made, you often wonder how people are going to dance to it,” he said.  "You go to clubs, you try and find out how they're moving to it. Is the beat fast enough?  Dance is like the right hand of music.  There couldn't be any dance without music, right?  And vice versa.”

That said, Randy Jackson admitted that he's not a dance expert.

"Many people say, `Dude are you judging dance now?'  No, that's not my expertise like that but I do like to dance," he said.  "You may catch a glimpse of me every now and then, just rocking and grooving in the back."


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: The Associated Press
(Image Courtesy of MTV)