Can America's Gay Dance Crew Become "America's Best Dance Crew"?

Jorel, Pony, Malechi

AE: So who heard about the audition and who suggested you guys go for it?
Leyomi: Basically, Pony was the one who told us about the audition, and we all got together and decided on auditioning.

AE: What's been the most surprising thing about the experience so far?
Malechi: Just meeting new people and everyone being so supportive. It's not surprising that they're so supportive, but just that we all come from different walks of life, and everyone just embraces each other. We all have the common talent of dance, so it's been surprising, the really warm welcome.

AE: Have you had a chance to interact with the other dance crews much at this point?
Leyomi: Yes. It's actually been warming. Everyone is comfortable, open, and just gets along.

AE: Was there any apprehension about what kind of reception you guys were going to get coming out here?
Jorel: I don't think we really cared how other people would react, because we were coming here for us, and other people who are the same as us. We're actually enjoying ourselves. Everybody is cool. It's going to be fun. All the other dance crews are getting to know each other, and it's going to be a good experience.

AE: How are you different from the other crews?
Pony: The difference between us and all the other crews is that you can tell a crew by their team, not the individual. The left girl looks like the right girl. You don't know the difference. Cindy looks just like Cassie. With us and our community, we're all leaders. It's like an All-Star cast, a league of extraordinary gentlemen, as we like to say.

My clips have a hundred thousand views, Leyomi's clips have a hundred thousand views, our MySpace is packed. We're already legends in our community. That's why this is big for us. Our community is like, "Wow. The big ones are getting bigger." It's not like, "Oh, we're survivors."

The problem with voguing is that it's always been portrayed as coming from a sad place, and that's not really what it is. We're here to show the beauty of the scene, and the art, and the happiness and the joy. We're the good news. It's not like Paris is Burning where at the end of it you go, "Aww...that's sad." This is like, "Work! It's over!" That's where we're at with it.

AE: What do you most want viewers to take away from watching you?
Pony: Be true to yourself, be comfortable in your own skin, and stay authentic. Dance is just the form that we're grabbing everybody's attention with, voguing, but it's really the story that we have to tell.

AE: What's your strategy for the competition? Do you have certain routines worked out that you'll try to adapt, or will you just be really flexible and roll with whatever comes your way?
Malechi: We're more than ready for any challenges that come our way, but we definitely want to stick to what we're known for and what we came here to do, which is teach everyone about voguing, where it came from, and where we're going to take it. We're definitely embracing all challenges.