ABDC Season 8 Episode 3.
Friday, August 14, 2015 |
| Image from Kinjaz's Instagram |
For this week's episode, the crews' challenge was VMA Fashion, that is to incorporate the use of their wardrobe in their pieces. The show started off with a battle-themed group routine to a remix of Taylor Swift's Bad Blood featuring Kendrick Lamar. There were no standout moments for me per se, but it was a nice platform to showcase the trickers and those with martial art backgrounds.
Super Cr3w started out the show with a routine to Tropkillaz's Baby Baby. The routine was not bad, but compared to their previous performance, I kind of expected more. As I have mentioned in my previous post, the only comparisons people should make with these crews are with their previous performances, and because they did do so well last week, this week was a bit of a downer. I felt like they were going back to their old style of just breaking and doing tricks, albeit with a bit more dancing. In terms of the challenge, they could have done more with their wardrobe. Yes that pinwheel trick is cool, and the illusion with them removing their vests is great, but I did expect more from them, especially when Ronnie suggested something about all of them following the fedora in the package. Also, I don't understand why they removed their hoodies at the end. I mean, if they did a trick to remove the hoodie, that would make sense but I guess it's part of giving what the audience wants. [Side note: Ronnie's pierced nipples can never be unseen] That being said, their breaking skills are great as per usual, with those headspins on the pads imitating the turntable and that three-man flag freeze, and hopefully they won't be in the bottom next week.
Next to perform was Kinjaz. As an avid fan, I have to say that I'm quite surprised by their song choices. Usher's OMG and DJ Snake's Turn Down For What featuring Lil Jon are songs I would never have imagined them dancing to, but they did and they killed them. I know I sound like a broken tape recorder but their choreography and dancing was fantastic. They were so clean and so tight, and reminiscent of the days when tricks were not the focal point, or even used, in dance routines. There were so many good points in the routine that if I were to point them out, I would just be putting their dance into words (I know I've mentioned this before. I'm running out of compliments.). Basically, these guys can dance. One thing I'd like to talk about is the Mike Song solo with the four red cloths. It was a great solo from Mike, don't get me wrong, but I felt like they either could have used their red cloth more, or made their control of Mike a bit more obvious. It still was an incredible performance from the guys. Oh, and another thing that I must mention: in the entire competition, I feel like Kinjaz and I aM mE are the only consistent crews in the competition in the sense that they have always done, bare minimum, as good as their previous week's performance, or in the case of the first week, as good as we know they are. If it's anything to go by, Kinjaz will go far, or in my biased fangirl heart, win the competition. [Edit: I know that Kinjaz always salutes to Naruto in their various ways. Since I'm not an otaku, please refer to Jac for all things Naruto.]
Brain-bangers I aM mE performed a routine to Pentatonix's version of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. First of all, their concept was so abstract that while watching it, I forgot that they were competing on ABDC. Anyway, this was their least athletic piece this season, and it felt better than their past seasons. I mean sure, they can do these crazy flips and jumps, but this minimalist approach in the beginning with the shadows and the silhouettes a la Wayang Kulit was way more captivating. I must mention that beginning with Moon and Pacman dancing with their "shadows". I was fooled because it genuinely looked like it was just the two of them dancing. I also loved that bit with Liza on Pacman's back and that bit in the middle where they were just grooving and Pacman did that bone breaking bit. The only critique I have would be that portion where 747 was in the front. Now I know that we can sometimes forget choreography (GUILTY) but considering the level of competition, no one can afford to make mistakes. Other than that, it was a great routine, and I especially loved the sneaky sinister feel to the whole piece.
Elektrolytes, again at the bottom, was the first of the bottom two to perform. It's nice to see how these guys always tie-in their performance with their previous one. In a way, it's like they're prepared for a compilation reel. Anyway, back to the performance. On a whole, it was a good performance with a good concept, and it was, again, great to see them having fun with their piece. I have to mention that beginning section with (I think) TK. For a while there, I really believed that he was floating or something and was wondering what kind of budget they had on the show. Moving on. They did mention in the reel and in some interviews how it was difficult for them to choreograph with just 7 members since they were so used to their 8-man crew, and that their biggest trickster was injured, but it really didn't show in this piece. Despite this being a good piece, because their other competition in the bottom was Quest Crew, it was kind of obvious that they would be going home (this is based on the night's performances alone). I do wish all the best to the crew in their future endeavours, and that they'll continue improving to inspire their students and future dancers back in Arizona.
Closing out the show was Quest Crew. Now, this was the only crew whose piece was kind of spoiled for me (thanks MTV) and I had my doubts when I watched that one segment, but watching the entire piece, it was excusable and a pretty entertaining performance. In fact, I think it will be one of the most memorable pieces of the season. Their routine to Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's Bang Bang reminded me so much of their Britney Spear routine, just that they got to explore their feminine side a whole lot more. In terms of the challenge, I have to say that Quest did it best. That poncho section with Steve and the skirt is one of the wonderful moments in incorporating wardrobe into the routine. That other section with D-Trix, Jolee and Steve removing their pink pants was another one. As marvellous and overwhelming (in a good way) the whole routine was, the only thing I have to say was that there could have been more dancing, and the dancing could have been cleaner. Also, and I feel like JC saying this, they did pose quite a bit in this routine. Other than that, these guys, especially Hok and D-Trix, were incredible dancing as girls, and when I say dancing as girls, I am referring to the more feminine choreography. I honestly think whoever did the line-up knew that no one could top their performance, hence making them last. Anyway, it was a wonderful performance, and here's to hoping that they can keep up, if not top their performance next week. [Side note: Hok's shablam ending though.]
After watching this week's episode, I have to say that the judges (namely Teyana and Frankie) are really improving on their critiques on the show. T-Pain did improve slightly, but it still needs work. Jason Dundas is also getting less awkward as the season goes on, and even though he's no Mario Lopez, it's still better than the first few X Factor (USA) hosts.
Another thing, if you guys are wondering why I only upload Kinjaz videos with these performances, it is because they're the only crew who uploads their rehearsal videos. I cannot upload the full performance videos because of copyright claims so please go to the MTV website for the full episode. If you can't, you know what you can do.
Dan out.
0 comments