The six remaining groups competing in American Samoa’s Best Dance Crew (ASBDC) contest breathed a sigh of relief last week when the show’s host, DJ J-Smooth announced that all six of them will be moving on to perform this coming Thursday, during the ASBDC finale set to be held at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium in Utulei at 7 p.m.

Two groups were supposed to be eliminated last Thursday.

Overall, last Thursday’s show was a disappointment to most of the fans and locals who have been following the eight-week long competition. Groups that were in the running for placement in the ‘Top Three’ delivered lackluster performances that left the audience, the judges, and even the home viewers, stumped.

The challenge for the evening was “Salute the Troops”. All of the groups came out dressed in Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), better known to many as ‘camies’ or ‘camouflage’, with some of them sporting dog tags, face paint, and brandishing the US flag.

HUMBLE, who placed third the week before, kicked off the show with a routine that one of the judges described as ‘bland,’ and featured a lot of theatrics and not enough dancing.

The judges reminded the Humble dancers that they are one show away from the finale and they needed to ‘tighten up’ and bring their ‘A’ game.

The biggest disappointment of the night came from Air Gear Studio that placed second the prior week with their levitating act and smooth moves that mirrored pop icon Usher.

Everyone was preparing to see what Air Gear Studio was going to bring to the table last Thursday, but about a minute into the routine, it was evident that this group of five guys wasn’t the same ones that performed the week before.

They looked unrehearsed and out of their element. They weren’t on cue and the routine looked outright sloppy. The dancers looked lost and it showed. When the routine was over, some of the dancers took their BDU caps off, looked down, and started shaking their heads in disappointment at themselves.

It was definitely a rough night for them.

The mood changed during the next act when the high flying, energetic Flower Power group took the stage with a performance that started off with a faafafine in a red dress lip syncing “God Bless the USA” while waving a mini-sized US flag.

When the song was over, the other six faafafines — some wearing daisy dukes and black fish net stockings while others wore BDU bottoms and a black shirt — joined in and started an energetic, but entertaining, routine that featured a lot of head bobbing, deep shoulder action and cartwheels that showed off solid choreography.

The New Boys from Petesa, who were on the bottom the Thursday before and on the verge of elimination took the stage next and showed everyone that they refuse to go down without a fight.

The group incorporated Samoan music into their routine — a musical selection by Vania — that garnered a lot of positive reviews from the judging panel.

Judge Princess Ariana Auva’a told the New Boys that since the beginning of the competition; they have never failed to surprise her, as they always bring with them so much energy during each challenge.

Rock Solid 2 was definitely the crowd favorite as they were the only ones that received a standing ovation, from both the crowd and the judges that night. The week before, the group from Afao racked up the most points for that night and this past Thursday, Rock Solid 2 made it harder for the other groups to take the spotlight away from them.

The group of nine guys displayed precision and energy. After the performance, Judge Ernest “Ice Cream Man” Salave’a described it as “perfection” and said, “This is how all the other crews should dance.”

Another judge, Lologa Olo added by saying “that was awesome!”

The last group to perform was Mount Zion. The group of six boys from Leone was told by the judges to “up the level of difficulty” for their routines. But it was their last pose that captured a lot of emotion, as they depicted the historical ‘raising of the flag on Iwo Jima,’ a photograph that was taken on February 23, 1945 showing five US Marines and a US Navy corpsman raising a US flag atop Mount Suribachi.

The night ended with a special performance by the CCCAS Pago Pago Youth who also performed the week before.

This week’s finale will be aired live on KVZK-TV Channel 2 and can be viewed at the Fale Laumei free of charge. The prize giving ceremony will take place that same night. The grand prize includes $2,000 cash, provided by the show’s main sponsor, McDonald’s American Samoa. The second, third and fourth place winners will receive $1,500, $1,000, and $500 respectively.

The ASBDC is being hosted by the Dept. of Youth and Women’s Affairs (DYWA).

Tune in Thursday to see who will be crowned “American Samoa’s Best Dance Crew”.