America's Best Dance Crew (season 3)

The third season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on January 15, 2009. The season was once again hosted by Mario Lopez and featured Layla Kayleigh as the backstage correspondent. Lil Mama, JC Chasez, and Shane Sparks returned as the judging panel. This was the first season without a special casting episode. In the live finale, which aired on March 5, 2009, Quest Crew was declared the winner.^[1]

Cast

Similar to the first season, nine dance crews were selected to compete on America's Best Dance Crew, as opposed to ten. While the crews were not officially divided into the usual four regions (East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and South) as with the previous two seasons, the regions were still listed on each crew's banner. This was also the first season to showcase a crew from the Caribbean. Team Millennia, who was eliminated during the Season 2 casting special, returned as one of the nine official dance crews.^[2]

Results

Key

     (WINNER) The dance crew won the competition and was crowned "America's Best Dance Crew".

     (RUNNER-UP) The dance crew was the runner-up in the competition.

     (IN) The dance crew was safe from elimination.

     (RISK) The dance crew was at risk for elimination.

     (OUT) The dance crew was eliminated from the competition.

Episodes

Episode 1: Sudden Death Challenge

• Original Airdate: January 15, 2009

The crews performed to the songs of their choosing. Then, the judges chose the bottom three crews to compete in a sudden death dance battle to "Live Your Life" by T.I. Rynan "Kid Rainen" Paguio from JabbaWockeeZ temporarily guest judged in place of JC Chasez, who later returned the following episode.^[3]

• Safe: Strikers All-Stars, Beat Freaks, Quest Crew, Ringmasters, Dynamic Edition, Team Millennia
• Bottom 3: G.O.P. Dance, Fly Khicks, Boxcuttuhz
• Eliminated: G.O.P. Dance

Episode 2: Fit Test Challenge

• Original Airdate: January 22, 2009

Each crew was given a physical activity/exercise to incorporate into their routine.

• Safe: Quest Crew, Fly Khicks, Strikers All-Stars, Beat Freaks, Dynamic Edition, Ringmasters
• Bottom 2: Team Millennia, Boxcuttuhz
• Eliminated: Boxcuttuhz

Episode 3: Britney Challenge

• Original Airdate: January 29, 2009

The crews took inspiration from Britney Spears' music videos to create their routines. Andre Fuentes, Spears' choreographer, assigned additional challenges for the crews to complete.

• Safe: Beat Freaks, Strikers All-Stars, Dynamic Edition, Quest Crew, Fly Khicks
• Bottom 2: Team Millennia, Ringmasters
• Eliminated: Team Millennia

Episode 4: Whack Track Challenge

• Original Airdate: February 5, 2009

The crews performed to cliché songs that spurred uncool and silly dance crazes. Each crew had to incorporate their respective song's dance into their routines, while also trying to make the moves look fresh.

• Safe: Quest Crew, Strikers All-Stars, Beat Freaks, Dynamic Edition
• Bottom 2: Ringmasters, Fly Khicks
• Eliminated: Ringmasters

Episode 5: Illusion Challenge

• Original Airdate: February 12, 2009

The crews had to perform their routines utilizing various magic tricks and illusions.

• Safe: Beat Freaks, Quest Crew, Strikers All-Stars
• Bottom 2: Dynamic Edition, Fly Khicks
• Eliminated: Dynamic Edition

Episode 6: Battle of the Sexes Challenge

• Original Airdate: February 19, 2009

The episode started off with a group performance, choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo, featuring Ludacris' "What Them Girls Like" and Beyoncé's "Single Ladies".

The two remaining male crews then battled against the two remaining female crews. Each crew had to emulate a male or female superstar's music video, and were challenged to incorporate the spirit of the video into their choreography.

• Safe: Quest Crew, Beat Freaks
• Bottom 2: Strikers All-Stars, Fly Khicks
• Eliminated: Strikers All-Stars

Episode 7: Hip-Hop Decathlon Challenge

• Original Airdate: February 26, 2009

The crews competed against each other in two challenges: the Hip-Hop Decathlon and the Last Chance Challenge. After the mid-show elimination, the top two crews performed their routines for the Last Chance Challenge.

Challenge #1: Hip-Hop Decathlon Challenge

The three remaining crews had to demonstrate their versatility by creating a routine that incorporated five different hip hop dance styles. The competitors were given the same five styles and songs, and received help from five guest ABDC alumni from the previous two seasons. Each alumnus/alumna was assigned to one of the dance styles the crews were responsible for.

• Safe: Beat Freaks
• Bottom 2: Quest Crew, Fly Khicks
• Eliminated: Fly Khicks

Challenge #2: Last Chance Challenge

The two finalists were given one last chance to perform before the lines opened for the final voting session of the season.

Episode 8: The Live Finale

• Original Airdate: March 5, 2009

The eliminated crews returned and performed with the finalists for a collaboration. The judges each picked three crews that complemented each other and their dance styles. Instead of going head-to-head, Quest Crew and Beat Freaks teamed up for their last performance.

• Winner: Quest Crew
• Runner-up: Beat Freaks

References

External links

• Official website