JabbaWockeeZ

JabbaWockeeZ is an all-male hip-hop dance crew from California who gained fame by appearing on America's Got Talent, and later becoming the inaugural winners of MTV's hip-hop dance competition America's Best Dance Crew." Since winning America's Best Dance Crew, the group has gained greater exposure by appearing in various music videos, commercials, touring internationally, and performing with Shaquille O'Neal at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.They are known for wearing plain white masks and gloves in order to encourage audiences to focus on their movement as a group instead of individual dancers. The group name is derived from the Lewis Carroll poem Jabberwocky.

before ABDC

The earliest origins of the group began in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1990s, where founding members Gary "Gee One" Kendall and Randy "DJ Wish One" Bernal were both members of a dance crew called MindTricks. From Sacramento, Phil "Swaggerboy" Tayag, Kevin "KB" Brewer, and Joe "Emajoenation" Larot also joined the MindTricks crew together. Tayag, Brewer, and Larot all later moved to the San Diego area, but thanks to Gary Kendall's travelling schedule as a performer and dance instructor, the three maintained their connections to the MindTricks group. Inspired by Kabuki theater and mime, Phil, Kevin, and Joe began performing while wearing white masks and gloves as a trio called "Three Musky."

What began as an effort to start a Southern California chapter of MindTricks grew later evolved into JabbaWockeeZ. The white masks and gloves of Phil, Kevin, and Joe's performances as Three Musky became the visual signature of the group. In San Diego, through Gary Kendall's connections, the JabbaWockeeZ added b-boys Rynan "Kid Rainen" Paguio and Chris "Cristyle" Gatdula to the group. The original seven-member iteration of JabbaWockeeZ began performing as a group in 2003. This lineup consisted of Gary, Randy, Phil, Kevin, Joe, Rainen, and Chris.

In Los Angeles, Kid Rainen frequently met with Jeff "Phi" Nguyen at various auditions and performances. Phi earned a spot in the JabbaWockeeZ by battling Kevin Brewer. Later, the JabbaWockeeZ added Kaba Modern alumnus Ben "B-Tek" Chung and b-boys Eddie "Eddie Styles" Gutierrez and Saso "Saso Fresh" Jimenez into the fold, bringing the crew to its present ten members.

In 2007, the JabbaWockeeZ appeared on the second season of America's Got Talent. Performing with nine members, the group was eliminated in the Las Vegas callbacks episode.

Gary Kendall passed away from complications from pneumonia and meningitis on December 14, 2007, shortly before the group was to begin auditions for the first season of America's Best Dance Crew. As the most senior member of the group, Kendall had advocated for the JabbaWockeeZ to seek national exposure by auditioning for reality dance competition shows like America's Got Talent and America's Best Dance Crew.

JabbaWockeeZ (JBWKZ), Boogie Monstarz (BMZ), Press P.L.A.Y (P.P), and Super Galactic Beat Manipulators (SGBM) created the dance family named, "Family Royale". JabbaWockeeZ members are the most influential because they are known to be as the founder, mentor, choreographer, and director of "Family Royale".

ABDC

The Jabbawockeez auditioned a seven-member contingent for the first season of America's Best Dance Crew, because of crew member limits imposed by the show. Originally, the ABDC group was supposed to consist of Gary Kendall, Phil Tayag, Kevin Brewer, Joe Larot, Rynan Paguio, Chris Gatdula, and Phi Nguyen. However, Gary passed away and Joe suffered a knee injury during the audition rounds. The group chose Ben Chung to replace Joe on the show and left Gary's spot vacant.

Career

They received an incredible amount of exposure and success on season one of America's Best Dance Crew when they were crowned the winners on March 27, 2008. Their win earned the crew $100,000 (USD) .[3] JabbaWockeeZ' final performance on the show was to Kanye West's "Stronger", which marked their first public unmasked performance.[4]

Success After ABDC

Since ABDC they appeared in a Pepsi and Gatorade commercial,[5] performed on Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, The Ellen DeGeneres Show,[6] and on Live with Regis and Kelly, made a cameo in Step Up 2 The Streets,[7] toured with New Kids on the Block,[8] and launched their own clothing line. Along with the ABDC season 2 winner, Super Cr3w, JabbaWockeeZ were the opening act for the Battle of the VMAs ABDC special.[9][10] The group also made an appearance on Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model during the episode "Dance With Me" to help the girls learn how to convey emotions with their bodies.

In February 15, 2009, they accompanied and danced with NBA all star Shaq in his NBA All-Star Game player introduction[11]. On October 16, 2009, they performed in front of a crowd of 35,000 at the University of Florida's Gator Growl.[12]

As they joined the Full Service Tour with New Kids On The Block, they built a very close relationship with the band. Donnie Wahlberg used to call them "The Naked Ninjas".

On May 7, 2010, JabbaWockeeZ will headline their own live stage special at the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theater in Las Vegas. Entitled "MÜS.I.C", the show is scheduled for a 20-day run. In press releases, the group is describing the theme of the special as "the audio-visual story of inspiration brought to life through the harmonization of sound and movement."

Connection with Super CR3W

Several members of JabbaWockeeZ and Super CR3W have close personal connections. Chris Gatdula and Super CR3W's Ronnie "Ronnieboy" Abaldonado are members of the Las Vegas b-boy crew Full Force. In 2010, Kid Rainen also joined the Full Force crew.

Members

* Benjamin (Ben) "B-Tek" Chung Korean-American
* Rynan Shawn "Kid Rainen" Paguio Filipino-American
* Kevin "Keibee" Brewer African-American
* Christopher (Chris) "Cristyle" Gatdula Filipino-American
* Phillip (Phil) "Swaggerboy/SB" Tayag Filipino-American
* Jeff "Phi" Nguyen Vietnamese-American
* Joseph (Joe) "Emajoenation/Punkee" Larot Filipino-American
* Saso "Saso Fresh" Jimenez Hispanic American
* Randy "Wish One" Bernal Filipino-American
* Eddie "Eddiestyles" Gutierrez Hispanic American
* Gary "Gee" Kendall African-American