A Sucker for a Fanny Pack

I'm not ashamed to admit that I love America's Best Dance Crew on MTV. Cute little Mario Lopez (who seems to be getting sweeter by the minute, have you seen those ads for him in "A Chorus Line" on Broadway?) reads a mean teleprompter (to quote my girl, Leila); Lil' Mama could use a muzzle as the sole female representative on the panel; and Shane Sparks continues to son J.C. Chasez (of N'Sync) every time he tries to say breaking isn't dancing. It's great entertainment. And it's only about 18 times a day.

I'm a dancer and it's about time that dancing is getting some respect, as witnessed by the new explosion of dance shows on TV...albeit they are all pretty wack. Step It Up and Dance (as hosted by Elizabeth Berkeley best known from her role as Jessie Spano on Saved by the Bell and "Showgirls") is hella cheesy. Dancing with the Stars is super corny; the music, the style of dance, the judges--no thank you. So You Think You Can Dance is alright, though I've only watched the audition show; I feel it's like a wannabe American Idol with the asshole British dude. There are some dancers on there you want to root for but for me it's not enough to sit through an hour of mainly soul-less dancing. And I have no idea when it's on.

So here comes "Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew" (and they are not gentle with the reminders that Randy Jackson produces this show), and it fulfills my excitement for dance programming. I think I like it so much because some of the crews remind me of my dancing days in college with UD's own Dark Arts Performing Dance Company. If I do say so myself, we were pretty fly; and there was such a wealth of creativity and inspiration in our group. It's something I truly miss; and Dark Arts is what kept me from losing my sanity at the University of Delaware. Coming from New York to Delaware was culture shock and Dark Arts gave me a family away from home. I'm still close with a lot of the members of the group (many of us are New Yorkers or live here now) and I know we will always support each other and will be working together soon again. It's how I met the other ladies in the Goddesses Rising trifecta...it was a divine connection. More to come from all of us...it's in the works :)

Anyway, I'm feeling this season's boy-girl groups. Last season, the men dominated, mostly because the b-boy crews represented. Big up Jabbawookez (or however you spell it). The all-female crews in both seasons have been admittedly wack in both seasons but at least this season there are 2 dope boy-girl crews that are not only diversely talented but also have a chance to go to the end.

Fanny Pack below is my fave right now...one would think because of the 80's influence, but to me it's more about their creativity. They aren't afraid to try "crazy" concepts and think out of the box. They use their athletic skills to flip and jump; and they are tight and coordinated in their choreography. And I like the little mult-culti girls in the group. This performance below was fabulous especially when you juxtapose it to the other groups, who usually deliver clean performance but struggled in this week's episode. Fanny Pack shined and I liked that because they are somewhat of the underdogs. Peep their performance below...



I also like A.S.I.I.D. I am a sucker for the human interest story; the Asian dude in the group is deaf. For him to dance with such precision and energy and not be able to fully hear the music, is nothing short of incredible. You have to root for this group! And not only that, they are fly. This week, they brought out one of the girls on pointe. OK! She was dope! Her footwork was strong, her leaps and kicks were flawless. I know ballet isn't good for our bodies (especially women of color) but she ripped it and was seriously sassy. They have a good chemistry on stage and also delivered a clean performance. Check it below:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• StumbleUpon
• Digg
• Delicious
• Reddit
• Technorati