America’s Best Dance Crew is back and this season — just like every other season — practically every crew has an Asian member and the all-Asian crew. The all-Asian crew this season is Poreotix (aka Poreotics); these guys got the name from popping, choreography and robotics. Can Nguyen, and his other Vietnamese crew members Dumbo and Charles are from Orange County, known for having one of the biggest Vietnamese population in the United States. Making news in the dance scene at competitions such as Hip Hop International, their first performance on the show got very positive comments from the judges, especially from Lil Mama. She said that their performance was the best of the night, and also took into account their elements of theater and lyrical. WOW! I didn’t expect that from Lil Mama. Overall, I enjoyed their performance and was entertained by the fact that they would dance to a song by Taylor Swift and even throw in the Kanye West’s VMA comments. They seem to really enjoy what they do and try to put on a good show with their various forms of comedy as well.
Their appearance on ABDC didn’t go without some questions about their humor, however: before their performance, Can Nguyen (incorrectly labeled as Lawrence Devera in the video) responded to a question about why they wear sunglasses. He responds in a Vietnamese accent saying,”because we da Asian … we have da small eyes … and we like robot.” I’ve seen previous performances where he uses the Vietnamese accent for comedy purposes, so I expected this, but questions of his humor being degrading or enforcing stereotypes have been discussed on other blogs. I personally don’t think he meant any harm and was just trying to get a laugh, even a stupid one if he had to. Can Nguyen, and his other Vietnamese crew members Dumbo and Matt are from Orange County, known for having one of the biggest Vietnamese population in the United States.
I’m anxious to see what Poreotix can bring further in ABDC. Many past winners in ABDC has some breakdancers or crew members who show great athleticism with their tricks; it will be interesting if Poreotix can use their style and win it all.
