With rumors abounding that Academy of Villains is set to return to HHN (as rumored by us back in May this year), we wanted to look into their history, who they are and what we might be seeing at HHN27.
Academy of Villains is an illusion dance company that artistically employs special effects and some out-of-the-world stunts to wow their audience. Established in 2009, Academy of Villains has taken the world of dance by storm and won several awards and accolades along the way. Based in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Academy of Villains is directed and choreographed by Christopher “Pharside” Jennings and Krystal “Phoenix” Meraz. Assistant choreographers are Percy Agoncillo, Anthony Lewis and Austin Gumban. Their performances are a sight to behold as they create an illusion of magic and mayhem to create a story through their art. To see them perform is like seeing energy manifest itself in human form. The Academy of Villains dance members have such fluidity and grace in their performance that the audience stays mesmerized in their seats till the final beat. Academy of Villains have blown away their competition in every dance competition they’ve entered and have a long list of well-deserved awards. They take dancing to another level where it is not just dance but story-telling and enchantment at the same time. The dance company has performed at several shows and garnered a huge fan following over the years.
Americas Got Talent- Season 7
Academy of Villains submitted its audition onto YouTube and were sent to the Quarterfinals along with eleven other auditioning dance companies. In the Quarterfinals, Academy of Villains performed to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Whuteva.” The group got through to the semi-finals due to their spectacular performance. The Semifinals performance was a mime-themed group dance to “Cinema” and One Republic’s “Secrets’. Even though the performance was a piece to watch, the group couldn’t make it to the finals.
2013-Elvira’s Sinema Seance (Knott’s Berry Farm)
Knott’s Berry Farm is a theme/roller coaster park with a twist located in (Buena Park, CA). It is famous for hosting the annual scare fest “The Halloween haunt”. This event begins at the end of September to the start of November and scare junkies from all over America flock to get their fix. The main attraction is Elvira- the legendary Mistress of the Dark and her troupe who has garnered a great fan following and looks amazing in her low-cut black gown. In 2013, Elvira’s Sinema Séance was held at the Ghoultime Theatre at Knott’s Berry Farm and featured mind-blowing dance numbers by The Academy of Villains. Their performance was their signature freestyle dance that involves over-the-top props and make up to turn their dance routine into a theatrical performance.
2014-Elvira’s Big Top
In her 2014 show, Elvira becomes the Ring-Mistress of the Park as she hosts a freak carnival of macabre performances and scare zones. The show saw a return of the Academy of Villains with another thrilling performance with an explosive dance routine. The dance company stuck to their guns and gave the audience a thrill of a lifetime, successfully combining an artistic performance with a good scare.
2014- Nacion Muerta (California’s Great America)
California’s Great America is a huge amusement park situated in Santa Clara, California. Halloween Haunt is an annual event at California’s Great America where monsters roam the dark and the victims get lost in spooky mazes and scare zones. One of the main attractions here are the shows put up by various entertainment companies- the most notably being Academy of Villains. In 2014, Academy of Villains put on an electric performance where the stage turned into a cinema reel. The dance sequence brought several characters to life and included a marching band of the dead, a mirror man and a zombie queen. The performance left the audiences glues to their seats as the dancers took over the stage and created one of the most macabre performance of the event.
2015-A Beautiful Mime and Dia De Los Muertos
Dia de los Muertos is an annual event at Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles, California and translates to ‘The day of the dead’. Jampacked with crazy performances and spooky attractions. In 2015, Dia de los Muertos saw an outstanding performance by Academy of Villains that fused the art of theatre to the art of dance. The make-up and props combined with the phenomenal stunts and sneaky moves created an out-of-the-world performance that blew away the audiences’ minds.
A beautiful mime was a performance with a message- to let the world see your smile and never back down. The performance featured a theatrical act in which a mime gives a little boy a balloon which he loses when he runs into a group of bullies. Distraught and down on his knees, the boy seems to lose hope. That is when a mime steps and he snaps his fingers to great an army of mimes that performs to put a smile on the face of the boy.
So there you have it, some the group’s greatest performances! Could any of them be coming to HHN27… we’ll soon find out! Whatever the show we’ll be sure of one thing – it will be unmissable!!
Are you looking forward to AOV’s rumored return? Let us know in the comments!
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