America’s Best Dance Crew: Behind the Scenes

Poptimal got an inside peek this week, when I was allowed backstage at the taping of America’s Best Dance Crew (or “ABDC” as I like to call it).  I’m a big dance geek.  No, I don’t dance because I don’t like being laughed at.  But I respect it and ABDC has some of the best dancers on TV.

As I arrived at Warner Brothers Studio, I watched the audience streaming in, rowdy and excited, carrying signs with their favorite crew’s name and dressed in their finest (and some in their skimpiest outfits) hoping to get caught cheering or dancing or just looking fabulous.

Press arrives early to get interviews but the green room is definitely the place to wait.  Flat screen TVs filled the room and there are plenty of couches and tables to sit and score interviews and munchies too.  While backstage at a show can often seem chaotic, everyone seemed calm, excited and ready to root on their favorite crew.  The challenges this week involve dancing to pop princess Britney Spears’ greatest hits and incorporating specific tricks into each dance, but we’ll get to that later.

As the performers did their final run-throughs, I had the chance to sit down with Shane Sparks, one of the judges, and Andre Fuentes, Britney Spears’ former choreographer, to talk about the show, what it means for dance and their own upcoming projects.

As a professional dancer and choreographer, Shane is excited to be part of the show for two reasons.  “One is that I get to be me, Shane Sparks, saying what I want to say, doing what I want to do on TV and when you meet me I’m exactly the same.”

But Shane’s most proud of his involvement with ABDC because of his passion for what he does.  “I’m a dancer.  I grew up dancing and I’m around people who love to dance just as much as I do.  And dancers know, you don’t even have to say it, we all just know, you would die to dance.  There’s nothing else more important.”

As a writer and performer, there’s nothing I understand more than Shane’s passion for his art.  Shane’s proud of what this show is giving to young dancers.

“This is the first show ever in history that gave dancers like me, street dancers that only danced in the garage or the basement or on the street, a chance to show off their stuff.  The Ringmasters, (one of the crews) that is not a studio group.  You will not go to a dance studio and see them learning what they do.  They do that straight from Brooklyn, on the street, growing up, watching people and they brought it straight to TV.”

Shane recognizes how lucky these crews are.

“This wasn’t around when I was younger.  All we had was the club, the next party or the next talent contest.  They’ve got ABDC.  They get to get on MTV, get treated like queens and kings.  Get dressed up.  Put their choreography and their show on stage with lights and money behind them with props and you don’t get that every day.”

Andre thinks ABDC is equally important for dance’s evolution.

“It’s so amazing to see dance that’s interactive.  You get an audience and people vote for their favorite crews.  It’s new to America and new to the world and so that for me is the great thing about it.  It’s imploding all over the world.  That’s why I think ABDC is so great.  They take the professional side, like shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, but they also get people off the street and you know, they show what they have to offer.”

While Shane’s excited about all the crews, he does admit that there are several crews, Beat Freaks, Quest and the underdog clogging group, Dynamic Edition, that he predicts will be battling it out at the end.

While I can’t dish on whether he’s right and any of these groups made it to the next round, I can tell you that both Shane and Andre have things in the works.

Shane’s particularly excited.  “Get ready for Dreamgirls, my pet project, holding auditions at the end of March, and preparing to run at the end of 2009.  It’s going to be opening at the Apollo and touring.”

Andre, who once helped Britney make her choreography pop, is enjoying being part of ABDC.  “I’m working with new artists, getting my name out there.  Right now I’m loving MTV and the way they’re treating me.”

I couldn’t agree more.  MTV was great.  The dancing was hot, exciting and cutting edge.  Getting to meet these talented and creative dancers and choreographers was amazing and inspiring to see artists doing what they do best.  I can’t tell you the results but check back for a recap of the performances, backstage interviews with some of the hottest crews and my pick on who’s heading home next week.

For more on America’s Best Dance Crew, click here.

Thursdays at 10pm ET on MTV

Photographs by Hollie Overton Copyright owned by Poptimal.com.  All rights reserved.  To request permission to republish these images, email editor@poptimal.com.