American Idol Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew coming to MTV

Santa Monica, CA– MTV rocks the floor with the new competitive group dance series “Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew” beginning Thursday, February 7 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Mario Lopez (“Dancing with the Stars”) will host the exhilarating weekly series, and giving their feedback each week to the dance crews will be judges JC Chasez (N*Sync) and choreographer Shane Sparks (“You Got Served”). With exclusive content on-air, online, on demand and on mobile, viewers will have the opportunity to learn more about the individual dancers in each crew and how to copy some of their intricate moves.

Following a nationwide search in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, MTV and executive producer Randy Jackson welcome 12 of the very best dance crews to the stage during a LIVE two-hour casting event on Saturday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m. ET/tape delayed PT. However, with dreams on the line, crews need to impress the panel of judges, as only the elite eight will move on to compete each week.

“Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew” promises to be one of the most visual and inspiring performance competition shows to ever hit television. It is the first dance competition series for dance crews rather than individual dancers. The top hip-hop crews from around the country will battle it out on the stage floor for dance supremacy, a cash prize and touring contract.

Shot on location in Los Angeles, each dance crew of five to seven members will rehearse and demonstrate their most innovative choreography and skills as their intimate life stories and personal drama unfold within the show. Every performance themed episode will tap into the crews’ emotion, spirit and inspiration – from recreating dance music videos seen recently on MTV, to using dance to tell the story of a favorite feature film, to paying homage to the classic grooves of the past.

Viewers from around the country will vote for their favorite crews via text messaging, phone and online (http://dancecrew.mtv.com). The two weakest teams as determined by voting will enter the battle zone to show their best moves for the judges – and the chance to advance to the next round. One crew will be eliminated each week, ultimately revealing the nation’s best dance crew.

Cranking up the funk, MTV.com gives viewers an inside look into “Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew” with photos and bios on all the crews, judges and hosts at http://dancecrew.mtv.com. Plus, step-by-step instructions will be posted so that one can learn the dance moves seen performed by the crews. After the episode premieres on-air, the voting polls will immediately open online for people to show their support for their favorite crew. In addition, viewers can discuss on the official Dance Crew blog what they thought about the performances and the crews and whether or not the weakest team did indeed deserve to leave. MTV.com also will offer full episodes online to view.

Verizon FiOS TV will be the only MTV On Demand provider to make the series available to its subscribers after the episode premieres on-air. Additionally, beginning January 24 for two weeks, Verizon FiOS TV will offer bonus dance instructional video segments as well as features on dance trends hosted by MTV News correspondent and hip-hop icon Sway.

Partnering with various distributors, MTV Mobile will make available dance instructional segments, audition highlights and full episodes, after they air on linear. Cast bios and episode guides may be viewed at http://wap.mtv.com.

“Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew” is executive produced by “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson, Rob Lee (Bayonne Entertainment), Hip Hop International’s Howard Schwartz and Karen Schwartz (the creators of the USA & World Hip Hop Dance Championships), Harriet Sternberg (Dream Merchant 21) and Joel Gallen (Tenth Planet Productions). David Auerbach and Brooke Karzen are the executives overseeing the project for Warner Horizon Television (“The Bachelor;” “The Search For The Next Pussycat Doll”). Drew Tappon and Lauren Dolgen are the executives overseeing the project for MTV.