This is it! The most important episode in the season for America's Best Dance Crew as this is the last impression the top two crews can make. This week the crews had to create a routine that time traveled through pop-music dance styles. The music included Lady Gaga, Usher, Paula Abdul & James Brown. As in previous seasons, this routine seems most like a marathon as its the longest routine the crews perform on stage. The first crew to make the final two was AfroBorike, which shouldn't be surprising since they have been the top voted crew for most of the season. They didn't do well in this challenge. It felt like the routine lasted 20 minutes. It felt like the challenge got the best of them in length and the versitility it demanded. It was probably the worst representation of James Brown inspired dance on the show. Unfortunately, Massive Monkees didn't do too much better than AfroBorike. They had a leg up in the fact they were b-boys and James Brown was in the challenge. The Monkees went for it, but they were simply smashed by We Are Heroes. Once you think about the music, We Are Heroes were handed the chance to make magic and they didn't take it for granted. They started with James Brown like the true poppers they are and only slowed down for the Usher section and mixed in some sliding action. They had great transitions through the whole routine which is what did the other crew in on this challenge. It was on par with Quest's routine this time last year. We Are Heroes made that master mix sound better for them than it it did for the other two crews. Massive Monkees were eliminated, and AfroBorike and We Are Heroes had to perform their original routines.
AfroBorike went deep with their roots and came out with a tribal routine. It was good. It wasn't great, but I was just mostly shocked that it wasn't ballroom-based. I still don't quite know what to say about the routine. To me, tribal routines are all about power. If that was their goal, then they successed. It showed power physically and seductively and gave a little bit of shock factor by removing the salsa-context. We Are Heroes went with a superhero theme and came with the fire, literally. Their routine was titled Ichiban [translates to Number 1], and I giggled right away because thats a ballsy title. So my quarter-bilingual ass was already into it. I think they smashed it, and stood out on top the whole night. I never forgot they were poppers, but when they get the chance they can pop for days. It was a sick routine. I still don't know how to feel about the ring of fire. It was little too dramatic. However, their popping in this routine was show stopping. Looking back on their first week, they definitely grew throughout the season. YouTube that Shit award goes to We Are Heroes for owning the night for real. So it's time to cast the your vote! Will AfroBorike win it all, or did We Are Heroes win over the masses?
PS. Some SYTYCD & ABDC alums (specifically Ryan, Hok, and Dominic) performed a Tabitha & Napoleon routine on the Emmys with two Dance with the Stars professionals. The crowd seemed pretty confused, but I was happy for them.
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