Parsippany hip hop dancer staging show with MTV

But when he was away from the rink, East, now 21, practiced his footwork in another area, honing his growing skills as a break dancer at clubs and studios in central New Jersey.

It was more or less a hobby, which a lot of people knew me for, the township resident said. It wasn't as serious until my senior year.

Three years removed from his high school graduation, East, a college student in Baltimore,, got the chance of a lifetime for a young dancer and the thrill of performing for a national televised audience.

As a member of a hip hop dance troupe that recently vied to be America's Best Dance Crew on MTV, East strutted his stuff with his five-member group, the Boogie Bots, while millions across the country tuned in.

The Washington, D.C.-based group was eliminated from the competition in the seventh episode, but East found the experience -- which taped on a Los Angeles soundstage over the past two months -- to be amazing and humbling.

It really was probably the biggest learning experience of my life, said East. We grew a lot as a group together; individually we matured a lot more and learned a lot about Hollywood ... everything that goes along with the entertainment industry, the good and the bad. We definitely had to deal with it.

The Boogie Bots' growth included enduring weekly criticism from the judges of the show -- hip hop choreographer Shane Sparks, rapper L'il Mama and pop star J.C. Chasez of 'N Sync -- as well as coping with their newfound fame.

We were the youngest group on the show and had the least amount of people, explained East. All the other groups had more members, and a lot of dancers were more established, in terms of their experience and training.

The format of the show, which airs on Thursday nights and is hosted by Dancing With the Stars alum Mario Lopez, allows viewers to vote for their favorite street dance crew.

The show, now in its second season, is produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson. It began in June with 10 dance troupes who were chosen out of thousands who auditioned nationwide. The competition currently is down to the final two groups.

During the Boogie Bots' final week, the group performed with guest rapper Missy Elliott, but were physically and mentally spent by the grueling schedule, East said.

America's Best Dance Crew tapes two days before the show airs on MTV, and the time before and after the shoot is spent choreographing new routines to music selected by the producers for each weekly challenge, East said.

Depending on the challenge and the music and the story we were trying to tell, (choreographing) could take one night or a whole week, East said. It was 14-hour days and maybe four or five hours of sleep every night. You'd wake up and go back to dancing.

Each member of the all-male Boogie Bots brings his own specialty of hip hop to the group. For East, who was known as Boogiemind on the show, his forte is locking, a highly energetic technique that has its roots in Soul Train. Hip hop music in MTV

Boogie Bots member Miguel J Migs Almario said East has an innate sense for the music.