WOW Pinoy

EWP Awards Jabbawockeez

Written by Ms. Confuse on Monday, May 05, 2008

“It’s really a blessing. Everything that’s been going on right now has been crazy,” said FilAm Chris Gatdula of the Jabbawockeez. “It’s our hard work that has put us on the map.”

People just can’t seem to get enough of Gatdula and the other members of the Jabbawockeez crew. On April 26, the East West Players (EWP) awarded the dance crew the Breakout Performance Award at its 42nd Anniversary Visionary Awards Dinner.

Since winning the inaugural MTV show Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew a month ago, the members of the Jabbawockeez’ world like their dance move has flipped upside down.

More than 38 million people voted for the six-member dance group, giving them a $100,000 and fame. At the EWP Awards dinner, they performed a set titled Enter the Rabbit Hole wearing their signature plain white masks. After the performance, the Jabbawockeez were mobbed everywhere they went by photo hungry fans.

“It’s been the busiest few weeks of my life,” said Ben “B-Tek” Chung, who finished off the dance set with a head spin. “We’ve been traveling back and forth from the East Coast to the West Coast, hanging out with different celebrities at parties, it’s been great.”

“I’m more amazed at the fact that those celebrities actually come up to us and say that their big fans of our dancing,” added Chung.

Randy Jackson, who was in attendance to witness the awarding, also gave the crew much love after their performance. Jackson told the Asian Journal that he’s glad America voted for the right dance crew.

“I’m just so happy for these guys,” said Jackson. “They are so incredible. The choreography, styles, and their sets are different all the time. They have a mixture of everything from b-boy (break dancing), jazz, and everything. They got everything.”

Chung said the group split the winnings evenly and gave some money to the four other members of the Jabbawockeez that did not compete in the MTV television series.

“It gave me a chance to pay off my bills,” said Chung of his share of the money.

Bittersweet

With their successful performances, the Jabbawockeez crew draws inspiration from their former crew member, Gary Kendell, who succumbed to pneumonia and meningitis just a few months before their MTV performance. The crew competed for six gruelling weeks against other great dance crews around the nation. Although Kendell is gone, his spirit is still part of the Jabbawockeez, said Jeff “Phi” Nguyen. “It’s been bittersweet,” he said. “We wish he was here to celebrate and party with us but I know he’s here in spirit.”

The JabbaWockeez is a 10-member dance crew but only six competed in the MTV event. There are three FilAm members in the crew. The group was named after a character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland Jabberwocky,” a character in Lewis Carroll’s book Alice in Wonderland.

Other EWP awardees

Besides the JabbaWockeeZ, EWP also awarded the Made in America award to USC Professor Velina Hasu Houston, for her contributions in art and theatre; and, the the Visionary Award to Carrie Ann Inaba of Dancing with the Stars. The Three Filipino Tenors compose of Antoine Diel, Randy Guiaya and Lito Villareal, hosted the event.

East West Players is a non-profit group that promotes Asian-American art and theatre.

Macy’s, Fox and Paramount Studios were among many sponsors who donated wonderful gift baskets to help raise funds for the Asian American theatre group.