On tonight’s episode of Dancing With The Stars, the dance group The Jabbawockeez will perform a Halloween-inspired dance that will leave the audience in awe of their amazing skills, timing, and abilities. But this isn’t the first time that The Jabbawockeez has impressed on television. In fact, their first time on television was back in 2008 when Mario Lopez hosted America’s Best Dance Crew – also commonly known as just ABDC.
The Jabbawockeez surprised everyone with their skills. They were memorable because they wore white masks when they performed and that has become one of their trademarks.
The masked dancers from San Diego, California started their dance troupe in 2003, but back then, they were all separated. Each of the members lived all over the southern United States and it was tough to get the group together.
Back in 2008, the group was made up of Gary Kendell, Phil Tayag, Kevin Brewer, Joe Larot, Rynan Paguio, Chris Gatdula, and Phi Nguyen. However, that year, Gary passed away and Joe suffered a knee injury, changing the group’s plans for competing on America’s Best Dance Crew.
Ben Chung replaced Joe on the show and Gary’s spot was left vacant, proceeding with six members. The group ended up winning the show and earned $10,000. And that’s when the world first learned about The Jabbawockeez.
The name, The Jabbawockeez, stems from Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem Jabberwocky from Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
In the introduction video below for The Jabbawockeez from America’s Best Dance Crew, you can get a brief introduction to the guys behind the masks. The crew has changed over the years, but it shows their dynamics. Plus, the video also reveals why this group works so well – there’s no leader. The guys all have an equal role in the group.
It has been 10 years since The Jabbawockeez won the dance competition. They may be coming on Dancing With The Stars to promote their new show in Las Vegas.
The Jabbawockeez’s new show is called JREAMZ, and it’s now playing in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, according to their YouTube channel. You can get a sneak peek below.
If the group looks familiar, it may be because they made an appearance on Aziz Ansari’s show Master of None on Netflix. They starred in the episode called Dinner Party, where the group is guest judges on the show, Clash of the Cupcakes. Ansari is upset and frustrated when they won’t remove their masks to taste the cupcakes they are judging.
The group has also done three Las Vegas residencies since 2008, they toured with New Kids on the Block, were featured on Ashley Hebert’s season of The Bachelorette, and danced with Taylor Swift during her performance of 22 at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards. And tonight, they get to perform live on Dancing With The Stars.
Dancing With The Stars airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.