Fans of "America's Best Dance Crew" will recognize that the JabbaWockeeZ have added four members to their group since winning the reality show in 2008.
However, if you ask founding member Joe Larot, he'll tell you the group has 11 members, even though there are only 10 on stage.
Gary Kendell, another founding member, was with the group when they tried out for the MTV series, but he died unexpectedly before taping began. Nicknamed "Yoda" because he was viewed as the wise one of the group and the person who helped pull them all together, the remaining JabbaWockeeZ pay tribute to him during every show by pointing up to the sky, signifying that they believe he's still with them.
"It helped push us to do even better," Larot said. "It wasn't really about winning America's hearts. It was about doing this for our friend and putting his name out there and representing him."
But they did win America's hearts - and the inaugural season of "America's Best Dance Crew." Their victory has led to a national tour with the TV show, commercials with Pepsi and now a spot as the opening act for the New Kids on the Block concert tour.
"Our big, big break was ‘America's Best Dance Crew.' That was the one that sent us over the top," Larot said. "It put us in a whole different bracket and opened a bunch of doors for us as far as creativity and avenues that we can perform in."
The members of JabbaWockeeZ, while all based in California, were not originally in one central location. The "Dance Crew" win forced them to spend more time together in one spot, which, in turn, stepped their dancing up to a new level, he said.
"We're always trying to figure out how to change our style and how to improve our style," he added. "Right now our style is more defined. We kind of know ourselves well enough to define our style because before it was just a very sloppy picture."
The JabbaWockeeZ, who take their name from the term "jabberwocky" in author Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" sequel, "Through the Looking-Glass," are known for performing in matching outfits while wearing gloves, hats and masks. The uniformity of the members puts the focus on their moves, which are a combination of modern and contemporary styles with an emphasis on locking, popping and breaking.
"We cater to the music. We develop a relationship with the music," Larot said. "We kind of have this code that we try to do where, if you were a deaf person and you couldn't really hear music, how could I show you music through my movements?"