Fanny Pak

Fanny Pak
Season	2/7
Episode Eliminated	Season 2: Eighties Theme Challenge Season 7: Rihanna Challenge
Region	West
City	San Fernando Valley, California
Place	Season 2: 3rd Season 7: 5th
Members	Matt Cady Megan Lawson Glenda Morales Cara Horibe Beau Fournier Preston Mui Natalie Gilmore Sohey Sugihara Gerald Espinosa Tiffani Grant
Past Members	Phil Collins

Crew Members

• Matt Cady
• Megan Lawson
• Glenda Morales
• Phil Collins
• Cara Horibe
• Beau Fournier
• Tiffani Grant

Before the Show

All of the members of Fanny Pak had either taken classes from or danced with Matt Cady before they officially formed. Cady decided he wanted to form a crew for the show, and ran a mental audition of all the dancers he knew. He chose six dancers that he felt were six of the best he knew, and invited them all to join his group. Some of them already knew each other while others had never even seen other members of the crew before, but they felt that they clicked well from the beginning. Cady choreographed a piece, an early version of their routine from the live auditions, and they went out to casting under the name "Top Ramen". The producers felt that they were excellent dancers, but they didn't think that they had a good enough niche, and scrapped their name because it was copyrighted. One of the producers saw Cady wearing a bright sports jacket, and suggested that they try an '80s motif, to which Fanny Pak obliged. They had trouble coming up with a name, but Collins suggested that they get fanny packs to go with their '80s gig, and they decided to name their crew "The Fanny Pack". Lawson claimed that it was a great name because they were a "pack of dancers", but people tease that nobody thinks of their name that way. The Fanny Pack, which they later changed to "Fanny Pak" before going on the show, went back to the producers once again, and they were taken onto the show. The producers asked them if they had a special symbol or logo. Fanny Pak claimed they didn't have one, so the producers created their lightning bolt symbol. This caught Fanny Pak off guard, as they were expecting their symbol to be an actual fanny pack, but they came to love it later on.

Live Auditions

Fanny Pak auditioned live with the other thirteen season two crews in the first episode of the season. They were one of the four west coast crews to try out, along with Super CR3W, Supreme Soul, and Team Millennia. They auditioned in bright, retro clothing that gave them a misleading "Nothing but 1980's" label. Their routine, set to "11h30" by Danger, was a modified version of the routine they performed for the MTV casting directors. It featured their usual intricate choreography, as well as poses, interactions with the audience, and humorous moments such as when they flashed everyone on tune with the song. The judges enjoyed their piece, comparing their complicated style to that of season 1's Kaba Modern. The audience gave a relative amount of applause. However, things got sour quick; Supreme Soul and Super CR3W were saved, leaving Fanny Pak and the well-known Team Millennia fighting for the last spot. Fanny Pak was the last crew saved from the west coast, and the audience booed them off the stage, mad that Team Millennia wasn't chosen over them.

Week 1 - Crew's Choice

Fanny Pak was voted into the bottom two in week one along with Houston crew Distorted X. Many people didn't take them seriously as they felt they were too silly and not 'hip-hop' enough. They chose to choreograph a routine to Kylie Minogue's "Speakerphone". Once again dressed in retro garb, Fanny Pak performed a raw routine with strict, complicated choreography and formations. This routine was also the first appearance of "Elektra", a boombox prop that Fanny Pak would feature in routines outside of the show. The judges once again offered nothing but praise; they felt that the best moment of the routine was when they created an illusion that Lawson was defying gravity and felt that the trick was something people would see the JabbaWockeeZ do. Though Distorted X put up a good fight, the judges chose to save Fanny Pak.

Week 2 - Music Video Challenge

It became apparant that America was beginning to take Fanny Pak seriously as they were safe this week and the second crew to perform, falling just behind Super CR3W. This week, their challenge was to emulate Gwen Stefani's "Wind it Up" music video. They had a little trouble learning the difficult choreography, particularly the "Knee Float" move; the video also had a b-boy do a flare, which none of them knew how to do. To give their routine a Stefani feel, all of the Fanny Pak girls wore short, blonde wigs, and every member of the crew wore a similar outfits to the dancers in the music video. The routine recieved positive feedback; the judges felt like they were watching the music video and loved a human throne that Fanny Pak made for Grant to sit on and imitate Stefani. However, the judges pointed out a couple flaws, such as a sloppy knee float and a "whack" attempt at a flare. They performed it without their fanny packs.

Week 3 - Rock the Title Challenge

Once again, Fanny Pak was voted safe, but they performed much later in the episode than they did in week 2. For their challenge this week, Fanny Pak was to become a human manifestation of the idea of the "Toy Soldier"; they were to dance to the song of the same title by Brittany Spears. Every member of Fanny Pak wore green army uniforms and hard hats for their routine, and they began the routine with their feet locked into place by a green platform similar to the flat bottoms of actual toy soldiers. They also had the guys use the girls as machine guns, built an outline of a giant soldier with their platforms, and had Morales, posing as a drill sergeant, pretend to blow them up with a grenade at the end. The judges were impressed by the routine, particularly JC, who commended them for challenging themselves with the difficult platform props. Shane also applauded them, calling them the underdogs of the season and urging them to keep fighting.

Week 4 - The Speed Up Challenge

Fanny Pak were deemed the last crew safe this week. Though that is never a good sign, many people consider this week the turning point for Fanny Pak. The challenge of the week was to choreograph a routine set to a song that would transition from an extremely slow tempo to an insanely quick pace; the challenge required a smooth and creative transition from the slower half to the faster half. Fanny Pak chose to set their routine to Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" and chose to tell a story this week. The plot of the routine was that the three guys were going to their school's prom with three of the girls; Cady was going with Morales, Fournier was going with Grant, and Collins was going with Horibe. Dressed in traditional prom garb, the six of them danced a slow, cute piece together in the first half (the slow half) of the routine while Lawson, acting as a rebellious, rocker goth who wasn't invited to the prom, decided to spike the punch bowl with "poison". The poison caused everyone who drank it, including the other six members, to go nuts and dance insanely (the second, quick half of the routine) before collapsing, apparently dead. This routine was the crew's most praised routine yet; Shane Sparks went on to say that they were now his favorite crew and that Cady was "the man" for choreographing this piece. 'Lil Mama felt that their transition, drinking the poisoned punch and throwing their cups in the air before dancing wildly, was extremely bold and powerful, while JC claimed that they had the best fast-half choreography of the night.

"Touch My Body", also known as "The Prom Routine" is one of Fanny Pak's most well-known pieces. Many consider it one of Fanny Pak's best, and it was one of the routines that Fanny Pak performed at every performance of the American live tour. A year later, in an interview, Morales claimed that this week was the changing point for her crew, but ironically stated that this week was the worst and most difficult week for Fanny Pak.

Week 5 - The Janet Jackson Challenge

Things were getting good for Fanny Pak, as they were the first crew revealed safe this week; week 5 was the first time that this happened for them. They were given Janet Jackson's "All Nite (Don't Stop)" and challenged to choreograph a routine that brought the spirit of Jackson to the stage. This routine was one of Fanny Pak's most raw routines, featuring nothing but pure choreography. The judges once again offered nothing but praise. The highlight of the routine, which Shane Sparks asked for a slow-mo replay of, was when Grant and Horibe leaned in for a short kiss, which caused a little controversey among viewers. JC Chasez went on to say that the routine felt like a "group orgy", and the judges agreed that it was one of the sexiest routines ever done on the show.

This routine was also performed by Fanny Pak in American live tour show, as every crew did their Janet Jackson/Michael Jackson routine.

Week 6 - Bring The Beat Challenge

For the second time in a row, Fanny Pak was the first safe crew. Their task this week was to create a piece in which the crew would be using a variety of props to create sound effects that would form a tune. Every routine this week would also have a sports/school theme to it, and Fanny Pak was given gym class as their theme. In their routine, they utilized lockers, bleachers, gym bags, lacrosse sticks, and jump ropes to make various noises while they parodied various high school stereotypes. For example, Cady was "the fat kid" and Horibe was "the nerd" while Fournier was their gym teacher. The crew once again caused a little controversey as they had Grant and Collins imply they were having sex in between the lockers; a handful of people questioned if that was okay for a "family show". The judges gave the crew a mixed response; JC felt they didn't own the props and things got a little chaotic. Sparks, though agreeing with Chasez, enjoyed the humor and charm they put into the routine, and 'Lil Mama praised Morales and Lawson for performing various jump rope tricks, though she said she wanted to see the crew pull more stuff out of their fanny packs, throwing the idea of red ribbon out there (the crew would fulfill her wish next week). Though several feel this routine is underrated, many agree that this was Fanny Pak's weakest routine of the season.

Week 7 - The Missy Elliot Challenge

Fanny Pak, along with the other three top four crews, performed a group number while Missy Elliot performed on stage.

As a consquence of a lukewarm reponse from the judges in week 6, Fanny Pak was put in the bottom for the first time since week 1 against Washington D.C.'s Boogie Bots. They were given "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliot; they displayed much excitement and delight upon learning that was their song. The crew particularly wanted to highlight the partner dancing featured in Elliot's music video for that song. They also felt that the song was cold and tribal, which inspired the weird and creepy atmosphere of this week's routine. Fanny Pak literally dressed like freaks for the routine; the girls wore torn, ugly garments while everyone messed up their hair, wore no shoes, and donned eye contacts that turned their eyes a scary, pale blue. The dance routine is similar to African Jazz with Hip Hop because the mastermix shows it's african themed. The mastermix, made by District 78, features tribe-like drums, Egyptian tunes, and frightenning screaming; Fanny Pak incorporated all of these into their routine. Significant moments and aspects included a backwards spiderwalk similar to a scene from "The Excorcist", usage of red ribbon and tape ('Lil Mama threw the idea out there last week), a religious ritual scene that also served as a shoutout to Super CR3W, and a triple back-hand spring done by Morales across the stage. The routine was also the first to begin off stage and was, significantly, the first to be given a standing ovation by all three judges and the entire audience; Missy Elliot also gave the routine a standing ovation. The judges gave Fanny Pak more praise than ever, highlighting the red tape, the powerful entrance, the excorcist walk, the Super CR3W shoutout, and the entire atmosphere they set by taking it as far and extreme as they possibly could. The Boogie Bots' routine, however, was completely torn apart by all of the judges, and Fanny Pak was saved by the judges once again.

Many consider this Fanny Pak's best routine ever; it was another one of the routines that Fanny Pak performed at every American live tour show. It was also deemed the 9th best routine of ABDC history by the MTV producers, though many question the entire list.

Week 8 - The 80's Challenge

Before finding out who was safe and guaranteed a spot in the finale, the final three crews - Fanny Pak, Super CR3W, and SoReal Cru - had to perform the first of the two routines they had to put together this week. The first routine was to feature a megamix of three popular tunes from the 1980's/early 1990's; the challenge was to take a fad dance from the 1980's and put a twist on it. Fanny Pak chose to do the dance from Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" music video, and their challenge was they had to do the entire dance horizontally. This posed a problem for Fanny Pak, as one part of the Vanilla Ice including them to spin around while throwing their arms up, which was physically impossible to do horizontally. Fanny Pak dressed in all black, gray, and white 80's clothing while their routine featured the songs "Lean on Me", "The New Jack Swing", and "Ice Ice Baby". The answer to their challenge was to do the spin on the floor, but they jazzed it up by having Collins pose as Vanilla Ice and lip sync the song while the other six members created a ripple and did the entire dance in a syncronized train. This routine was arguably praised the most of the first three routines. JC Chasez called Morales Fanny Pak's "secret weapon" and "the most athletic female of the season" because she did hand hops and scissor kicks at the same time, and he felt that any other crew would have had a guy do that. He also praised Collins for doing a great job as Vanilla Ice and loved that Fanny Pak gave their mothers a shoutout at the end of the routine.

In the 2nd half of the show, Fanny Pak found out that they were in the bottom against fellow west coast crew Super CR3W. For the crews' second routine, they were given a popular 80's dance movie that they had to bring to the stage. Fanny Pak was given the famous "Flashdance" movie, and chose to zone in on the famous scene where the lead girl practices her dancing to "She's a Maniac". To tackle their challenge, Fanny Pak decided to have Horibe pose at the girl from Flashdance and pretend that she was auditioning for ABDC; Fournier, Cady, and Lawson were also auditioning while Collins, Grant, and Morales posed as JC Chasez, 'Lil Mama, and Shane Sparks, respectively. The highlight move of the routine was a group double-pirouette. The routine recieved massive amounts of praise and huge amounts of applause from the audience. However, it was apperantly not enough, and Fanny Pak was eliminated in one of the most emotional and questioned eliminations of ABDC history. Fanny Pak were still proud of themselves for winning over the same audience that booed them at the beginning of the season, and many call Fanny Pak the "Cinderella Story" of ABDC.

This episode is considered one of the most controversial in ABDC history. Initially, many people questioned if it was fair that there was an '80s challenge, as Fanny Pak was originally an " '80s " crew in the beginning of the series. Fanny Pak countered that they simply dressed '80s, and their precise dance style is actually the complete opposite of the individualistic '80s dances. The controversy built when it was revealed that SoReal Cru was safe because they had the most "cumulative votes" throughout the season; people charged that it wasn't fair to the other crews, especially Fanny Pak as they had no fan base entering the show and recieved very little votes the first couple weeks compared to SoReal Cru. Some people don't believe that Fanny Pak was ever even in the bottom, let alone against Super CR3W, because the two crews had their best routines of the season in the previous week. Several compared Super CR3W and Fanny Pak being in the bottom to season 1's controversial top 3 episode, when top contenders JabbaWockeeZ and Kaba Modern were forced to battle in the bottom 2 while Status Quo was safe. Some felt that the producers were trying to prevent a west coast vs. west coast finale. JC Chasez stated that Fanny Pak's "She's a Manic" routine and Super CR3W's "Footloose" routine blew SoReal Cru's "Breakin'" routine away. Many went on to question if Fanny Pak deserved to go home against Super CR3W; Chasez said after the show that they chose to send Fanny Pak home because their first routine of the week had too slow of a beginning, but many didn't find that to be a credible reason.

Audience Appearences

• They appeared in the Championship Showdown as the audience supporting SoReal Cru's Smash it Up.
• They support Team Millennia.