JabbaWockeeZ

JabbaWockeeZ

  is an all-male modern dance/hip hop crew from San Diego, California who won the first season of the reality dance competition America's Best Dance Crew.

Since winning, the group has gained greater exposure by appearing in various music videos and 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 movements as a group instead of on individual dancers. Their name is derived from the Lewis Carroll poem "Jabberwocky" about the eponymous mythical dragon.

Before America's Best Dance Crew

Phil "Swaggerboy" Tayag, Kevin "KB" Brewer, and Joe "Emajoenation" Larot began performing as a trio called "Three Musky" in Sacramento, California while wearing white masks and gloves. The mask and glove motif was adopted as a tribute to the 1960's San Francisco strutting crew Medea Sirkas. Most of them are half-Filipinos who were raised in the United States.

Established in 2004 in San Diego, California, JabbaWockeeZ is the brainchild of the "Three Musky" who wanted to showcase freestyle dance. The name JabbaWockeeZ, coined by Joe Larot, was inspired by the fantastical monster from the Lewis Carroll nonsense poem.

The white masks and gloves from Phil, Kevin, and Joe's performances as Three Musky were adopted as the visual signature of the group. In San Diego, through Gary's connections, the JabbaWockeeZ added b-boys Rynan "Kid Rainen" Paguio and Chris "Christyle" Gatdula to the group. The original seven member iteration of JabbaWockeeZ began performing as a group in 2004. This lineup consisted of Gary, Randy, Phil, Kevin, Joe, Rainen, and Chris.

JabbaWockeeZ rounded out their numbers with additional members, bringing their total to eleven. Phoenix native Jeff "Phi" Nguyen had met Rynan Paguio at various Los Angeles area auditions imaryand performances, and earned a spot in the JabbaWockeeZ by battling Kevin Brewer. The JabbaWockeeZ also brought Kaba Modern alumnus Ben "B-Tek" Chung and b-boys Eddie "Eddiestyles" Gutierrez and Saso "Saso Fresh" Jimenez into the fold.

Members of JabbaWockeeZ also formed their own hip hop dance groups in California. Phil Tayag founded Boogie Monstarz in 2003, Kevin Brewer founded SuperGalacticBeatManipulators in 2005, and Joe Larot founded Press P.L.A.Y. in 2006. These three groups became part of a larger dance collective with JabbaWockeeZ called Family Royale.
The JabbaWockeeZ now also have a show in Las Vegas at the Monte Carlo hotel and casino.

Monday, July 11, 2011 by Amidanah Rohmah · 0