American hip-hop dance crew
Quest Crew is an American hip-hop dance crew from Los Angeles, California who were declared winners of the third season of "America's Best Dance Crew". They made their first few appearances individually on shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" and at events such as Kollaboration 8 and World of Dance. They helped with the choreography for well-known duo LMFAO and have previously toured with them as well. On August 29, 2015, Quest Crew was declared all-star champions of Season 8 of "America's Best Dance Crew" (ABDC) receiving $100,000 and the ABDC trophy again. This is the crew's second time being declared champion of MTV's hit show.
History.
The name "Quest Crew" reflects the support that the Quest Learning Center, located in Artesia, California, has had on growth within the team and individually. Quest Crew won the title of America's Best Dance Crew on the third season of the show and consists of eleven members. Team members originally performed with the "SickStep" dance troupe, but later disbanded to recreate and include dancers to form Quest. D-Trix and Victor Kim are also part of the b-boy crew Fallen Kings, formally known as Flexible Flave, which won Freestyle session.
The entire crew appeared in the Far East Movement music video "Dance Like Michael Jackson" and LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem", "Champagne Showers", "Sexy And I Know It" and "Sorry for Party Rocking". Quest Crew also performed on "Idol Gives Back" in 2008.
So You Think You Can Dance.
Five out of the ten active members of Quest Crew have appeared on "So You Think You Can Dance". Ryan and Hok auditioned for season one with another member of their former crew Sick Step; crew member Ryan 'Ryanimay' Conferido appeared on the first season as a finalist and Hok did not make it. Ryan was eliminated in the fourth week of season one. Steve Terada, Victor Kim, and Hokuto 'Hok' Konishi had all auditioned for the second season (this being Hok's second time). Steve and Victor were both eliminated in the choreography rounds. Hok nearly made it to the top 20, but was only in the United States on a student visa, and was ineligible to be employed which led to his dismissal from the program. After obtaining a work permit, Hok had returned for the third season along with Dominic 'D-Trix' Sandoval. This time, both made it to the top 20. Hok was eliminated during the fifth week of competition and D-Trix was eliminated in the seventh week. Both D-Trix and Hok went on tour with the rest of the top 10 dancers with D-Trix as a featured dancer and Hok serving as a substitute/swing dancer. In 2008, Victor auditioned again for the fourth season but was cut early on in the choreography rounds. In 2017, Mark Villaver auditioned and made it all the way to the top 10 for the fourteenth season alongside his all-star Comfort.
America's Best Dance Crew Season 3.
In 2009 Quest Crew became the winners of season three of "America's Best Dance Crew". The seven members who competed were Hok, Feng, D-Trix, Brian, Victor, Steve, and Ryan. Lydia Paek, who is also a member of Quest Crew, decided to perform with the Boxcuttuhz due to the show's 7 member limit rule, meaning she could not dance with Quest. Aris Paracuelles and Andy Luo did not compete due to the seven member limit. Quest Crew originally auditioned for season one but were unable to take part of the show because crew members D-Trix and Hok's original contract with "So You Think You Can Dance".
Week 1: Sudden Death Challenge.
During the , Quest Crew performed to their own master mix featuring Hero by Nas. They received overwhelmingly positive comments from the judges and were saved from elimination. Kid Rainen, a member of the JabbaWockeeZ served as a guest judge in place of JC Chasez. He complimented D-Trix's double halos and shoulder halos b-boy moves. Lil' Mama complimented Ryan on performing a highflip and landing on his head (describing him as 'crazy'). Shane Sparks also praised them, and said, "The battle is on."
Week 2: Fit Test Challenge.
During the , Quest Crew was given the challenge of Kickboxing. This challenge was performed to a master mix of Kevin Rudolf ft. Lil Wayne's "Let It Rock." Steve is a martial arts instructor, and he took them through all the basic punches and kicks. The crew relied on him to deliver those heavy blow ups. JC said they had great moments but thought the performance seemed a little too "Tae Bo" and said they had too much posing. Lil Mama agreed. However, Shane Sparks thought there were many moments in their performance where they killed the show and praised them. Nevertheless, they were saved from elimination that night.
Week 3: Britney Spears Challenge.
During the , the Britney Spears song that Quest Crew received was "Toxic". For this challenge, they had to perform a portion of their routine blindfolded.
Their performance was given positive remarks from the judges with judge JC Chasez calling it his favorite performance of the night. Shane Sparks, stated that the crew "killed the stage" when they incorporated a little feminine vibe into their routine. Shane Sparks also complimented Ryan on his "Shablam," and calling him 'crazy' for doing that. Originally, Dominic was supposed to do the solo, performing fouettes into airflares, but injured his shoulder in rehearsal. At last minute, Ryan created the back flip "Shablam", but after the episode he injured his knee. After the airing of the episode, Dominic and Ryan both commented that the Britney Spears Challenge was cursed on account of both getting injured.
Week 4: Whack Track Challenge.
During the , Quest Crew got You Got It (The Right Stuff) by New Kids on the Block as their whack track.
The crew chose to do the crotch grab pendulum and their routine featured Hok looking like he was on his hands but in reality he had switched his clothes around and eventually changed back into regular attire. The performance was again praised due to Quest's creativity and getting Hok in and out cleanly.
After this performance, there were controversies by some fans of the show throughout the internet. It was pointed out that the move done by Hok had been performed by Korean B-Boy crew, Project Seoul. Quest was accused of being "biters", however D-Trix soon issued an apology through a bboy forum.
Week 5: Illusion Challenge.
During the , Quest Crew had to put an object through their body. The crew chose to perform to a master mix of Got Money by Lil Wayne feat. T-Pain. In their performance, Feng "stabbed" Brian Hirano with a coat rack and broke it off.
JC criticized their performance by pointing out that there was too much posing. JC also criticized Quest on their transitions. Some fans in the audience did not approve of JC's comments and responded with 'boos.' However, Lil Mama responded by instructing the fans in the audience not to boo because that would not enable Quest to listen to their "Words of Wisdom." Shane Sparks also stated to Quest that "Beat Freaks are on y'all butts", with Victor jokingly looking behind him and responding backstage saying "I'm honored that they're on our butts. I like them there, actually."
Week 6: Battle of the Sexes Challenge.
During the Battle of the Sexes Challenge, it was between two male crews, and two female crews. Quest Crew had to dance to the song "Forever" by Chris Brown. The crew decided they would imitate the smooth moves and gliding from the video. The judges complimented their performance and Shane complimented D-Trix (Dominic Sandoval) on having the cleanest air flares on the show.
Week 7: Hip-Hop Decathlon and Last Chance Challenge.
During the , Quest was put into the bottom two for the first time against Fly Khicks. The crew had to incorporate five styles of hip hop into their routine: threading, krumping, housing, tutting and waving. Hok was familiar with tutting and Ryan Conferido knew how to thread so the crew depended on them to work on those sections. Songs performed in the Hip Hop Decathlon were: Poker Face by Lady Gaga (Threading), Love Lockdown by Kanye West (Tutting), I'm in Miami trick by LMFAO (Waving), Closer by Ne-Yo (Housing), and Get Up by 50 Cent (Krumping). The performance received a standing ovation from the judges and audience. The judges highly praised the crew. D-Trix performed elbow airflares, which received compliments from Shane Sparks, Hirano receiving compliments for being buff - since he ripped his shirt off during the krumping section - and Steve Terada performed a backflip from a sitting Indian-style position. Victor Kim performed threaded handhops, and Hok Konishi choreographed the tutting section. JC praised Hok in his tutting by calling him a true Egyptian and stating that Hok should be called "King Tut".
The second challenge involved creating their own song, much like season 1 and season 2's last chance challenge. Quest's song was titled "orQUESTra". The song included Ryan Conferido's own piano piece. Ryan actually played the piano during the middle of the performance while D-Trix performed headspins to the alternating tempos on top of the piano. After a box split and locking solo by Hok, Victor Kim performed a hollowback into an invert. At the end of the performance, D-Trix pushed Steve Terada who was in the middle of a vertical back flip sideways over Hok and Victor, and ended with the Quest Crew Salute. This performance is number two on Randy Jackson's list of top 10 performances of all time.
ABDC Finale.
For the finale Quest performed in a dance collaboration with Strikers All Stars and Dynamic Edition. This group which was chosen by Shane Sparks had to dance to the song "Right Round" by Flo Rida. Later that same night Quest performed a routine with fellow finalist Beat Freaks to a mastermix "Beggin'" by Madcon. After nearly 20 million votes were cast, Quest was declared the winners of "America's Best Dance Crew" season 3. Their victory dance was to "On Top of the World" by T.I. ft Ludacris.
Special: Champions for Charity.
On April 15, 2010 America's Best Dance Crew held a special charity episode featuring the winners of the first five seasons. Each dance crew was partnered with a charity organization. Quest Crew supported the DoSomething.org volunteer organization which inspires young people into action to better their community. Quest spent time with Jordan Coleman, the fourteen-year-old from Hackensack, NJ, who developed and released the film “Say It Loud” to promote the importance of education. Hok held the honor of presenting Jordan with a donation check worth $10,000. They performed to "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Swing Kids.
ABDC Season 6 Finale.
On June 5, 2011, Quest Crew performed on the sixth season finale of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. The crew performed to "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. This was the first performance where D-Trix did not dance with Quest Crew on ABDC, as D-Trix himself was on the judging panel. Naturally, D-Trix gave Quest his judging commentary, where he praised their routine as well as the bond they share as a dance crew that caused them to pull off their performance.
References.
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