Jerkin’ Dance Craze Dips to Myspace, ‘Jerk All-Stars’

Skinny Jeans: The Movement is the web series that was supposed to expose the Jerk dance craze to the online masses.

Candor Entertainment announced plans to debut the 20-episode series back in July 2009. Camera crews were to follow around jerkin’ musical groups like New Boyz, Pink Dollaz, The Bangz, and Kream Kidz, and document their dance offs, 80’s-inspired fashion choices, too-tight jeans, and the evolution of a body movement characterized by loose freestyle motions peppered with dips, pin drops, and fancy lower body work.

But a year after the intended debut date, nothing’s been released. Skinny Jeans: The Movement went AWOL, which leaves an opening on the floor for MySpace.

Ben Silverman, the IAC-owned “next generation studio” Electus, and the internet’s “place for friends” have teamed up for the original web series, Jerk All-Stars. Here’s how the reality dance competition works:

From November 1-17, MySpace users can submit their dance crews to be featured on the show. The online community will weigh in, and four All-Stars judges – known talents BB the Jerk, Sabi, Indigo Vanity and Young Ace – as well as a panel of judges from Electus, MySpace and Sprite will pick 10 crews to compete on the weekly show, which premieres November 30….The winning crew from each episode moves on to the finale.

Jerk All-Stars will release a total of 14 episodes, all sponsored by Sprite.

The series is the latest in a string of online, reality programs from MySpace. In the past 18 months, the social network has ditched financing scripted series like Roomates in favor of inexpensive, unscripted fare like BFF and Married on MySpace. Jerk All-Stars is also the latest of several web original announcements from Electus, which entered the online entertainment space in June with Jason Bateman’s Orbitz-sponsored Dirty Shorts.