03.28.08
Editorial: America’s Best Dance Crew, and America’s Most Humble Dance Crew
I was so relieved when I learned that the JabbaWokeez (an Asian American male dance crew) won the grand prize and title of America’s Best Dance Crew. I was on my cell phone sending in my votes via txt message all day. Part of their unique style is the matching masks which served as a vehicle for delivering some of their pantomime-like (the art or genre of conveying a story by bodily movements only) dance routines. They showcased their precision “bodily movements” week after week without fail. As one judge mentioned, the JabbaWokeez “set the standard for the next 10 seasons” of America’s Best Dance Crew.
Is this merely a blip in pop-culture on some two-bit dance show that nobody watches? I don’t think so. This is a sweet victory for Asian American men. Why? What kind of message does this single victory show? Think about what dancing represents– physical mastery, coordination, teamwork, competence, charisma, and sexual prowess. Yes, sexual prowess. Ladies, let’s not pretend that a man who is good at dancing is not thought of as being 100 times sexier than a man who isn’t.
But it’s also a bitter-sweet victory, because the masks enabled this crew to be seen for what they are– awesome dancers. It allowed them to not be pigeon-holed as “the Asian dudes.” It’s kind of sad that the masks were needed in order to convince the public that, in the end, they really weren’t just “the Asian dudes”.
I can’t begin to tell you how great I felt to be Asian at the very moment that they completely tossed the masks aside during their final performance. More than a physical gesture, it was a symbolic gesture to exert their dominance as the winners of this competition, despite their total and absolute humility. When asked to give a victory speech, what did the JabbaWokeez do? The very first thing that came out of their mouths was to give props to the other crew.