Interview: MTV’s ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’ winners–Poreotix!

Poreotix, the six-member robotic dance crew hailing from Westminster, California, were crowned the fifth season champs of MTV’s ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’. Comprised of Can Nguyen, Lawrence “Law” Devera, Andrew “Chad” Mayate, Justin “Jet Li” Valles, Charles Nguyen, and Matt “Dumbo” Nguyen, the robotic force continued the trend of the West Coast’s dominance on the show.

Their dance style consists of popping, choreography and robotics—hence the name Poreotix (Po-re-ot-ics)—and a touch of comedy to throw in the mix. From the start, Poreotix captured the judges and viewers and quickly became a fan favorite.

Justin “Jet Li” Valles of Poreotix spoke to The NYLA Report to give us the lowdown:

I know you’ve been getting this a lot, but how did it feel once your crew was named ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’?

I have to say, it felt amazing. A lot of pressure was lifted off our shoulders.

Week after week you guys came up with new and fresh routines. How long did you guys practice each day?

We practiced roughly 6-8 hours a day, just about a work shift.

I noticed you guys paid tribute to the Kanye West-Taylor Swift VMA controversy, but what made you guys perform to Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”?

It’s a funny story because one of our members Charles is a huge fan of Taylor Swift and that’s what inspired us to create the routine and plus, it’s a popular song.

JC Chasez criticized you for only doing robotic moves and nothing else. You guys kinda poked fun at it in the last show, but what did you initially think of JC’s “tick tick tick” harsh critique?

When he first said, we were thinking “what the heck?” We took it as an insult, but then, it became funny to us and we used it to our advantage and we also made t-shirts from it too.

Now titled as ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’, what made you guys stand out from the competition?

I feel that we screwed around the most and it seems like we had the most fun off camera and onstage. We were just being ourselves most of the time and a lot of the other crews kept a composure. They were kind of serious about it and they didn’t have as much fun.

Congrats Poreotix and I wish you guys much success!

P.S. Jet Li, don’t forget my “tick tick tick” t-shirt too!

Didn’t follow ABDC from beginning to end? Don’t worry, we got you! Check out this Poreotix compilation vid: