Vegas group not quite ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’

By Sarah Feldberg

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 | 12:12 a.m.

When Las Vegas-based crew AfroBoriké took to the stage for its final performance on the Season Four finale of "America’s Best Dance Crew" Sunday night, the sextet wasn’t just there to show off its brand of Latin-infused dance. It were representing.

The ladies wore sequined mini dresses, the men, button-down shirts and jackets with the first few buttons left intentionally open. They could’ve passed for a salsa squad in their native countries of Cuba and Puerto Rico or for Beyonce backup dancers on the Encore stage in their current hometown.

For their last number on "ABDC" -- the dance competition created by Howard and Karen Schwartz, the couple behind the World Hip Hop Dance Championships, which have taken place in Las Vegas for the past two years -- the crew paired up with fellow finalists We Are Heroes for a collaborative number that showcased both AfroBoriké’s slick, salsa styling and Heroes’ popping prowess. It was a fitting end to the season, which had seen a diverse range of dancers doing their best for the judges. Now, the final two crews were borrowing each other’s best moves. Latin ladies were popping. Hip-hoppers were doing lifts. It was a cultural melting pot in dance form.

Since their first night on the hit MTV show, which crowned fellow Las Vegans Super Cr3w winners during the second season, AfroBoriké brought something different to the circular stage.

“They were by far the most diverse group style-wise this season,” said judge and former N’Sync singer JC Chasez during the season wrap party on the Warner Bros. lot. “For three seasons before they showed up we had a very kind of concrete idea of what the dance crews were. When they showed up on the stage they brought something totally different to the table and I think it broadened everyone’s horizons on the show. I really think it opened a lot of eyes and a lot of imaginations.”

That something different was a style that was new to "ABDC" -- a mix of classical training, Latin rhythm and the sexy polish of the Las Vegas stage. It was their collective identity translated into movement and set to music.

“Afroboriké gave us probably the most memorable moments for Season Four,” Chasez reflected, explaining that the crew hit the sweet spot between dancing as an art form and a means of entertainment.

“What they did as far as Vegas is concerned, is they brought a showmanship. … They brought the theater to our show. They didn’t get caught up in the technicalities of movement; they really came to express themselves in a theatrical manner.”

Those theatrics served them well throughout the season, and week after week, soaring lifts, intricate footwork and a heavy dose of Puerto Rican and Cuban flavor carried them toward the finale. However, when Mario Lopez opened the envelope Sunday night in front of the live studio audience -- when the confetti started fluttering down and the crowd leapt to their feet, screaming, dancing and applauding all at the same time – the name he read belonged to all girl L.A. crew We Are Heroes.

AfroBoriké’s banner fell from the ceiling, but after coming so far, the Vegas crew didn’t seem too upset over missing out on the trophy and the $100,000 prize.

“We’re feeling really proud. This is amazing. There’s no loser here. We already feel like winners,” said a breathless Alain M. Lavalle, surrounded by his fellow AfroBoriké dancers as the crews mingled and celebrated after the cameras had stopped rolling. “I think we’re giving the opportunity to other Latin crews and not just Latin crews, to anybody who doesn’t feel like they could make it onto the show because it’s mainly a hip-hop show. I think we are the bridge for those people who have such, such, such good talent.”

Now, AfroBoriké will be bringing its talents back to Las Vegas, where crew members previously starred in now defunct shows Havana Nights and Fuego: Raw Talent Live. While they said they don’t know exactly where they’ll be showcasing their moves, crew-member Veronica Collazo assured the Weekly that they’ll be returning to their adopted home.

And for local dance fans, including Super Cr3w b-boy Ronnie Abaldonado, that is a good thing.

“[AfroBoriké’s style] is the epitome of what Vegas is about,” he said, “sexy, provocative, and those girls are exactly that.”

With "ABDC" freshly added to the resume, it sounds like the crew shouldn’t have too much trouble finding work back on the Strip.

“We heard that there’s a lot of people interested in us,” added Collazo. “So there’s going to be a lot of AfroBoriké out there.”

"America's Best Dance Crew" will return for a fifth season in January 2010.