ABDC Season 3 Spotlight: Beat Freaks

(aka Quick Facts & Thoughts: Season 3 ABDC lineup ADDENDUM)

Ling brought up a good thought about a group I failed to mention: Beat Freaks, which I’m excited to know includes Rino.

Rino Nakasone, “Music” of Harajuku Girl fame, is more than a member of Gwen Stefani’s borderline-offensive posse. She is an immense presence in our dance community, and has taught at Boogiezone in Irvine & LA, Urban Legends in San Diego, Essence MVMNT in Covina, has choreographed for teams like Mavyn Ent., and has judged many of the big annual competitions in Southern California. And if I’m not mistaken, Team Millennia has competed in at least one of those she judged.

“Isn’t that a little unfair? She’s like a weapon of mass destruction. Hah.”

Yes, much more than all of these accolades she’s definitely a force to reckoned with. Even choreographers with similar resumes pale in comparison to this full-out firecracker. And that’s just speaking for Rino.The other ladies are certainly not to be overlooked:

The Original 8 (left to right): Al’ Star, Teresa Espinosa, Lady Jules, Maryss From Paris, Lock’N Key, Out There, Rino, and Shorty (not pictured)

Collectively their experience in the industry is insane. Everything from music videos, national tours, to TV appearances, to freestyle battles. These ladies pretty much cover it all.

They have the the raw individual talent of authentic b-girls and true lockers (finally!), as well as the glamorous laurels of dancing & choreographing for top artists: Britney, Justin - yes, Gwen Stefani - & Miss Jackson herself! And what makes it all the more perfect (assuming something could even be “more perfect”) is that MTV’s audience is just gonna eat them up. Not an ultimate conclusion but a keen insight as to why teams like JabbaWockeez & Supercrew flourish so well on the show is the fact that trick moves & solos are generously highlighted by the awkward camera angles and choppy editing on the show, while at times such does conversely to teams that are used to relying on synchronization and blocking. So naturally, freestyler groups are likely to be favored. And pffft, to top it all off these dancers are all female? It’s almost too much.

Considering their lavish success already, the question is then posed, “what would these ladies need with MTV spotlight?” They are already heavily in the industry, have been able to make careers and garnered international respect from dancers all over the world, why subject yourself to inaccurate advice from a premature loud-mouthed rapper on jacked-up a show like America’s Best Dance Crew? I think ICONic’s leader Geo (Season 1) put it best:

“Dancers, we’re always in the back. We finally have an opportunity to step into the spotlight and be known.”

Despite their impressive resumes, do they have the recognition to match? I suppose that’s why they still want more (okay so I don’t really remember Geo’s quote verbatim…but that’s the gist of it). Or it could just be for the easy $100,000, a much less lovely endeavor.

But to be honest, what is this show turning into? Most of the featured dancers have expressed stories - albeit of questionable sincerity - of coming from the bottom, not having anything else, and chasing their lifelong dreams (I mean, if you call 20-odd years lifelong). First it was FannyPak, who were all industry dancers already making a living with dance, and now you’ve got a band of girls who’ve already done what most dancers hope to achieve a decade from now. If too much information is leaked about just what superstars these ladies really are, can they stay afloat amongst the underdog tears the other teams will likely be shedding, or will their weighty background cause them to sink with viewers? They could very well suffer from the sympathy given to their competition. Maybe something really can be too perfect. Just speculation.

http://myspace.com/beatfreaksdevotees
http://myspace.com/beatfreaksfanpage

Beat Freaks Choreography Reel