On past seasons of "America's Best Dance Crew," the crews representing the West Coast have always seemed to reign supreme. Personally, I'm hoping a crew from The South or The East takes it this season. But here's a little more info on the five crews from The West, taken from their official bio's:
The Blended Projekt (West Covina, CA): The Blended Projekt is a crew of young dancers (including three 16-year-olds) who combine traditional clogging with hip-hop dance in a technique they call “Blending.” While clogging has appeared on “ABDC” before, it has certainly never looked like this. Tired of what they considered the “nerdy” traditional clogging style, Blended Projekt rips the taps off their clogs and fuses them to their sneakers. Now when they perform, this crew of hip-hop lovers can keep its young and hip while maintaining its classic clogging technique.
BreakEFX (Denver, CO): This co-ed breaking crew hopes to break the mold of the B-boy stereotype and prove once and for all that breakers can do choreography too. They consider themselves the first B-boy-choreography crew as all the members have trained in all types of dance including hip-hop, jazz and ballet. BreakEFX is poised and ready to reclaim the “ABDC” title for breakers everywhere.
Heavy Impact (North Hollywood, CA): These big boys are out to break negative stereotypes and prove dancers come in all sizes. These guys have big hearts and hope they can inspire others who have a passion for dance saying, “No matter what the size, if you love to dance, you are a dancer.” Heavy Impact hopes that their combination of infectious feel-good dancing and inspirational charm will win over America, but they know this isn’t going to be an easy feat. They know when they walk out on that stage, people are going to assume they are a joke based on their appearance and this has been a hurdle they have faced their whole lives.
Hype 5-0 (Honolulu, HI): Driven to prove that Hawaii has a thriving hip-hop community, Hype 5-0 is out to show there is more to Hawaii than swaying grass skirts and coconut bras. With limited funds for travel, Hype 5-0 has honed their skills by spending countless hours on the Internet studying crews from the mainland. Now after conquering the island dance scene with imported moves this hard-hitting crew is ready to export themselves to the mainland and take the “ABDC” stage by storm. They have immense Hawaiian pride and incorporate native dance moves in all of their routines.
Poreotix (Westminster, CA): These shaded showmen inspired by robots aim to entertain the dance world with their unexpected humor and revolutionary mixed style. Over the last couple of years, Poreotix has laboriously honed their craft of popping and robotic movement and are at the top of their game. The way in which the crew blends the different dance styles gives them a distinctive animated look, and their integration of humor makes their performances fiercely entertaining. Poreotix are true showmen and never perform without their trademark shades. They use them as a tool to hide emotion so they can provide unexpected twists in their routine, taking the audience from serious to funny without tipping their hand.
"America's Best Dance Crew" will premiere on Thursday, January 28 at 10p.m. ET/PT.