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.

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 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.
Dance CrewHometownRegion
Beat FreaksLos Angeles, CaliforniaWest
BoxcuttuhzSan Diego, CaliforniaWest
Dynamic EditionWinfield, AlabamaSouth
Fly KhicksMiami, FloridaSouth
G.O.P. DanceSan Juan, Puerto RicoCaribbean
Quest CrewLos Angeles, CaliforniaWest
RingmastersBrooklyn, New YorkEast
Strikers All-StarsTallahassee, FloridaSouth
Team MillenniaFullerton, CaliforniaWest

Results



;Key

Episodes

Episode 1: Sudden Death Challenge

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.
Dance CrewSong
Strikers All-Stars"Swing Ya Rag" by T.I. feat. Swizz Beatz
Beat Freaks"Din Daa Daa" by George Kranz
G.O.P. Dance"Rompe" by Daddy Yankee
Quest Crew"Hero" by Nas feat. Keri Hilson
Fly Khicks"Milkshake" by Kelis
Ringmasters"Welcome Back" by Young Jeezy
Boxcuttuhz"Bonafied Lovin'" by Chromeo
Dynamic Edition"My Humps" by The Black Eyed Peas
Team Millennia"Beating Heart Baby" by Head Automatica

Each crew was given a physical activity/exercise to incorporate into their routine.
Dance CrewSongChallenge
Quest Crew"Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil WayneKickboxing
Fly Khicks"Krazy" by Pitbull feat. Lil JonSpring back
Strikers All-Stars"Move by MimsMonkey roll
Beat Freaks"Independent" by Webbie feat. Lil BoosieSide plank
Dynamic Edition"Shake That" by Eminem feat. Nate DoggHigh knees
Ringmasters"Put On" by Young Jeezy feat. Kanye WestSoldier crawl
Team Millennia"Disturbia" by RihannaLeap frog
Boxcuttuhz"Everyone Nose" by N.E.R.D.Mountain climber

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.
Dance CrewSongChallenge
Beat Freaks"Womanizer"Perform the tough and seductive sides of Britney from the video.
Strikers All-Stars"Gimme More"Perform while creating mirror images of themselves.
Dynamic Edition"Stronger"Perform while incorporating chair choreography.
Quest Crew"Toxic"Perform a portion of their routine blindfolded.
Fly Khicks"...Baby One More Time"Perform with sharp pirouettes in their routine.
Team Millennia"Me Against The Music" feat. MadonnaPerform with a hat and cane as props.
Ringmasters"Circus"Perform while creating the illusion of a giant person.

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.
Dance CrewSong
Quest Crew"You Got It " by New Kids on the Block
Strikers All-Stars"2 Legit 2 Quit" by MC Hammer
Beat Freaks"Pretty Fly " by The Offspring
Dynamic Edition"Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus
Ringmasters"Macarena" by Los Del Rio
Fly Khicks"Gonna Make You Sweat " by C+C Music Factory

The crews had to perform their routines utilizing various magic tricks and illusions.
Dance CrewSongChallenge
Beat Freaks"Freeze" by T-Pain feat. Chris BrownPerform while making something levitate.
Quest Crew"Got Money" by Lil Wayne feat. T-PainPerform while passing an object through their bodies.
Strikers All-Stars"Swing" by SavagePerform while walking through a solid object.
Dynamic Edition"Starstruck" by Lady Gaga feat. Flo RidaPerform while trying to appear out of thin air.
Fly Khicks"Diva" by BeyoncéPerform while stretching like rubber.

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.
Dance CrewSong
Quest Crew"Forever" by Chris Brown
Beat Freaks"Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry
Strikers All-Stars"Pose" by Daddy Yankee
Fly Khicks"Pon De Replay" by Rihanna

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.
SongStyleGuest
"Poker Face" by Lady GagaThreadingRonnie "Ronnie Boy" Abaldonado of Super CR3W
"I'm in Miami, Trick" by LMFAO"WavingKevin "KB" Brewer of JabbaWockeeZ
"Love Lockdown" by Kanye WestTuttingMike Song of Kaba Modern
"Closer" by Ne-YoHousingTaeko Carroll of Fysh n Chicks
"Get Up" by 50 CentKrumpingAntoine "Frost" Troupe of Supreme Soul

The two finalists were given one last chance to perform before the lines opened for the final voting session of the season.
Dance CrewPerformance Title
Beat FreaksFreak the Dream
Quest CrewOrQUESTra

Episode 8: The Live Finale

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.
Dance CrewSong
Shane Sparks: Quest Crew, Strikers All-Stars, and Dynamic Edition"Right Round" by Flo Rida
JC Chasez: Beat Freaks, Team Millennia and Boxcuttuhz"Just Dance" by Lady Gaga
Lil Mama: Fly Khicks, Ringmasters, and G.O.P Dance"Numba 1 " by Kardinal Offishall feat. Keri Hilson
Quest Crew and Beat Freaks"Beggin'" by Madcon
Quest Crew"On Top of The World'" by T.I. feat. Ludacris