by Guest Contributor Jenn Fang, originally published on Reappropriate
JabbaWockeez — a predominantly Asian American dance crew — won the title of America’s Best Dance Crew.
Here’s their routine from last week, “Evolution”.
[Ed Note: Jenn's original video was no longer available, so I went with this one - LDP]
I still preferred Kaba Modern’s style to Jabba’s, but I can’t deny Jabba’s skill. And there was something politically-conscious about Jabba’s use of masks, which seemed to lament the stereotype of the Asian American geek and demand the audience judge them on their dancing skills, and not on racist prejudgement based on their Asiatic features. This was underscored by Jabba’s final dance, when they started by discarding the masks to demonstrate that they were no longer necessary.
I’m thinking that Jabba’s victory definitely helps challenge the stereotype of Asian Americans as geeks, nerds and science-oriented. Jabba’s Asian American members were artists, who expressed themselves phenomenally through dance. Congratulations!
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