Lynn brothers dance to MTV show’s groove

LYNN – What started as sheer family entertainment for two Lynn brothers has evolved into a nation-wide craze. And after watching the locals work their magic on TV, there’s no wonder why.Ernest Phillips, 21, and Jayjion Greer, 18, are part of the 15-member Boston dance group Status Quo that’s currently competing on “Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew,” which airs Thursday nights on MTV.Each week, Status Quo competes against other dance troupes from across the country for a $100,000 cash prize and a touring contract. Viewers vote for their favorite performance, and the two with the lowest votes are tossed into the battle zone to vie for one more shot at the grand prize. Celebrity judges JC Chasez of N*Sync, renowned choreographer Shane Sparks, and female hip-hop artist Lil’ Mama decide which group stays and which one is sent packing.”It’s been very, very nerve-wracking,” said Greer of their current gig in Los Angeles. “And kind of scary.”Phillips agreed.”Back in Boston, we were the big fish, the sharks,” he said. “Out here, we’re the goldfish in the ocean.”The men grew up in some of the roughest neighborhoods of Dorchester and Roxbury, but moved to Lynn in an effort to escape some of the violence.The men said they’ve always used dance as a way to keep out of the crime game and stay positive. When Phillips started the group back in 2003, he saw it as another option for kids in their free time.”A lot of my boys come from rough areas, so if they can be in practice or at a show instead of walking down the street, arguing with parents?getting jumped, then so be it,” he said.The crew itself has evolved just as much as their dancing. Originally a rap group that went by the name “SQ”, members have since come and gone, as has the rapping component. To date, 15 male dancers make up the group, although only six appear on the show due to size restraints.”My mission was to get the boys out of Boston,” said Phillips, the group’s unofficial leader. “Getting to New York was good, it’s out of Boston, but to get out here is like a big, big step.”The men originally auditioned for the show in New York with little idea of what they were getting themselves into.”It’s a dance show, it’s MTV, it’s hip-hop, let’s go,” Phillips recalled. With little money to spare, they pooled together $5 here, and $6 there to purchase their bus tickets to the Big Apple. The rest is history in the making.Since their audition, Status Quo has wowed audiences and judges, but two weeks ago, their remake of the MC Hammer’s classic video “Can’t Touch This,” landed them in the bottom two.With a fractured ankle, Phillips brought his crew back last week with an energetic, heart-felt performance to Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat,” which involved half the members dancing while hanging upside from the shoulders of their teammates, as well as a human jump rope.”I’m not going to lie,” said Phillips about his choreography ideas. “I don’t think like a human. When we go to a show, I want to entertain, so I try to think of stuff that’s not possible?If it’s not possible, then it’s Status Quo.”With no formal training, the group would like to think of themselves as pretty good dancers. And, without studio space like other groups on the show, Status Quo practices in fields and parks, wherever they can find a big enough space.With all that they’ve been through, the group somehow remains to stay positive and confident that they have what it takes to be America’s Best Dance Crew.”We’re going to do whatever we need to do to make America realize we need to be here,” said Phillips. “We’re going to bring nothing but hotness.””It’s a once in a lifetime thing,” said Greer, who not to long ago was pursuing an education in directing movies. “You gotta take it while you still can.”The group hopes to promote a positive image of unity and non-violence to their younger viewers.”Stay positive no matter what happens,” said Greer. “You gotta keep doing what you do in order to make it in life.”Status Qu