Welcome back to our weekly ABDC breakdown. It’s week three, and things are starting to heat up, as the remaining crews perform routines based on choreography from some of Britney Spears’ most popular videos.

BEAT FREAKS (Womanizer)
Kayode: A challenge like this is great for getting the crews out of their comfort zone, and seeing if they can truly adapt, and the Beat Freaks really proved it with this performance. You completely forget that they’re a b-girl/breakin’ group and just see them as dancers first and foremost.

Jon: Definitely true. And it didn’t hurt the one I think is cutest got the lead part ;)

K: Oh, not at all. She worked it, without question!

STRIKERS ALL-STARS (Gimme More)
K: I’m pretty much speechless, ’cause I clearly underestimated their ability to switch things up the way they did. I loved the mirror concept, and they handled it brilliantly. It really was flawless, in my opinion.

J: Word. As good as Beat Freaks were, the Strikers topped it. They worked that mirrror beautifully and they were strong & clean.

DYNAMIC EDITION (Stronger)
K: Beat Freaks and Strikers set the bar so high that I really found myself less than impressed with this performance. I pretty much agree with all the judges. They just couldn’t capture the sexiness or forcefulness that was required of the challenge, and there just wasn’t any real adaptation at all.

J: Yeah, it definitely didn’t help that Beat Freaks and especially the Strikers rocked their challenges. And I have to agree with the judges that Dynamic’s natural cheerfulness was also a disadvantage here. I think that’s a big part of what makes DE endearing, but unfortunately it hurt them here. I’m really not sure they have it in them to come out with more attitude.

QUEST CREW (Toxic)
K: I’m continually impressed by the things this crew can do. The blindfold portion of the performance was fantastic, and I can’t begin to imagine how difficult that must have been to choreograph. Furthermore, they went all out when they had to do the more feminine dance moves. Still, they managed to do all of this while incorporating their signature style, moreso than the other groups.

J: The blindfold section was nuts — how long do they have to practice this stuff?!? As much as I liked Beat Freaks and Strikers, Quest topped them with the difficulty. And yeah, they were working the feminine moves. LOL!

FLY KICKS (Hit Me Baby One More Time)
K: I have to admit, Fly Kicks did pretty good tonight. They finally did something that didn’t look like a cheer routine, and they certainly pulled off some impressive choreography. I especially liked how it ended.

J: Better, but they have a long way to go before they have me rooting for them. Of course, they know how to shake what their mama gave ‘em, so they should keep getting viewer votes.

BOTTOM TWO

TEAM MILLENIA (Me Against The Music)
K: Easily their best performance. Everything was on point, and they handled their props very well. The girls in the group definitely held things together, and brought the sexiness and sensuality necessary for the performance.

J: This challenge was definitely up their alley and they handled it well. I was kind of blown away by the girls — I didn’t really expect that last bit of explosiveness at the end.

K: I knew the girls had it in them, but as a whole team, they were a little suspect until now.

RINGMASTERS (Circus)
K: Good to finally see some choreography from the group. It wasn’t much, but it was more cohesive than anything they had done before. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the song they were given was clearly working in their favor.

J: Honestly I think all the songs and challenges were suited to, rather than against, the groups. I thought this was a better performance from them. And I have to admit, the “gigantic men” were kinda magical.

K: I’m actually surprised the judges decided to keep the Ringmasters. Based solely on this week, I thought Team Millennia had a much better performance. I supposed the judges went more for Ringmasters’creativity, as they are still most unique crew on the show. But now that they’ve been saved, they really have to step it up, and prove that they belong on the show. They need to continue incorporating more choreography, and they really need to pick up the pace.

J: I was surprised too. I also think Millennia had the better performance tonight, but it’s probably like you said — the Ringmasters’ creativity and uniqueness is what kept them in the competition. They stepped it up a bit this week, but so did Fly Kicks; so they’re going to need to do a lot more to stay in.

CONCLUSION
K: Three weeks in, and we’ve already got a few surprises. Fly Kicks’ continued presence on the show is one thing, but from the time I pegged the Ringmasters for this week’s bottom two, last week, I thought for sure they’d be the ones to go. Still, the favorites continue to impress. Although Dynamic Edition may be one of the crews fighting to stay on next week.

J: Agreed all around. (Actually, did you notice the judges didn’t do much of any disagreeing this week?) If we’re saying the top 3 are BeatFreaks, Strikers & Quest, I’m cool with that. While I’d rather see Dynamic up there than Strikers, the All-Stars have definitely earned it, and are on their way to winning me over.