Thursday, September 8, 2011

JabbaWockeeZ


JabbaWockeez on America's Best Dance Crew

Jabbawockeez is Bay Area based Urban dance group formed initially by members Kevin " KB" Brewer, Phil "Swagger Boy" Tayag, & Joe "Punkee" larot under the name "3 Muskee". They were the winners of season 1 of the show America's Best Dance Crew. Other members include Ben "B-Tek" Chung, Chris Gatdula & Phi Nugyen
Phil "Swaggerboy" Tayag, Kevin "KB" Brewer, and Joe "Emajoenation" Larot began performing as a trio called "Three Musky" in Sacramento, California while wearing white masks and gloves. The mask and glove motif was adopted as a tribute to the 1960s San Francisco strutting crew Medea Sirkas
Stylistically, the Jabbawockeez style of dance features an eclectic mix of various urbam styles , primarily popping & b-boying. Along with a careful synchronicty to self-made instrumentals which one member dubs "Beat-Kune-Do"

Established in 2003 in San Diego, California, Jabbawockeez is the brainchild of the "Three Musky" who wanted to showcase freestyle dance. The name Jabbawockeez, coined by Joe Larot, was inspired by the fantastical monster from the Lewis Carroll nonsense poem. The white masks and gloves from Phil, Kevin, and Joe's performances as Three Musky were adopted as the visual signature of the group. In San Diego, through Gary's connections, the Jabbawockeez added b-boys Rynan "Kid Rainen" Paguio and Chris "Christyle" Gatdula to the group. The original seven member iteration of Jabbawockeez began performing as a group in 2004. This lineup consisted of Gary, Randy, Phil, Kevin, Joe, Rainen and Chris.
Jabbawockeez rounded out their numbers with additional members, bringing their total to eleven. Phoenix native Jeff "Phi" Nguyen had met Rynan Paguio at various Los Angeles area auditions and performances, and earned a spot in the Jabbawockeez by battling Kevin Brewer. The Jabbawockeez also brought Kaba Modern alumnus Ben "B-Tek" Chung and b-boys Eddie "Eddiestyles" Gutierrez and Saso "Saso Fresh" Jimenez into the fold.

The Jabbawockeez now also have a show in Las Vegas at the Monte Carlo hotel and casino.
The Jabbawockeez auditioned a seven-member contingent for the first season of America's Best Dance Crew, because of crew member limits imposed by the show. Originally, the ABDC group was supposed to consist of Gary Kendell, Phil Tayag, Kevin Brewer, Joe Larot, Rynan Paguio, Chris Gatdula, and Phi Nguyen; however, Gary died that year, and Joe suffered a knee injury during the audition rounds. The group chose Ben Chung to replace Joe on the show and left Gary's spot vacant, proceeding with six members.
The win earned the crew $100,000 (USD) .Since ABDC they appeared in a Pepsi and Gatorade commercial performed on Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and on Live with Regis and Kelly, made a cameo in Step Up 2 The Streets, toured with New Kids on the Block, and launched their own clothing line. Along with the ABDC season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, Jabbawockeez were the opening act for the Battle of the VMAs ABDC special.The group also made an appearance on Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model during the episode "Dance With Me" to help the girls learn how to convey emotions with their bodies.

On February 15, 2009, they accompanied and danced with NBA All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal in his NBA All-Star Game player introduction. On October 16, 2009, they performed in front of a crowd of 35,000 at the University of Florida's Gator Growl.
The Jabbawockeez toured Australia from August 28 to August 30, 2009. The three-day tour was for Australian fans who were unable to see the crew due to the cancellation of the Australian leg of New Kids on the Block's Full Service Tour. The group performed in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane and made several appearances on MTV Iggy.

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