Halloween Horror Nights 2022: Jabbawockeez bust a move with an all-new show

Since 2015, hip-hop dance crew Jabbawockeez has entertained crowds at Universal Studios Hollywood’s annual Halloween Horror Nights with its fast-paced, high-energy performances.

Happening multiple times per evening in the Castle Theatre located on the upper lot of the park, the roughly 20-minute shows feature the masked dancers performing various styles of dance along to multiple genres of music. Each year, the program is themed and with the 2022 installment, they’re exploring multiverses during the seasonal event, which runs select dates through Oct. 31.

“The concept is kind of a nod to ‘The Twilight Zone’ and all the multiverse movies and shows coming out,” founding member Joe Larot said during a recent phone interview. “So it’s like going into the Jabbaverse and we have all of these ways of going into different music genres. That was a fun play on the times, with everyone having their multiverses coming out these days.”

Jabbawockeez was formed in San Diego in 2003 by Larot and Kevin Brewer. Along with Phi Nguyen and Rynan Paguio, the guys recruited others to form a dance group that would go on to win the first season of “America’s Best Dance Crew” in 2008. Since then, the group has performed on several television shows, made appearances at high-profile sporting events and taken up residency in Las Vegas with multiple shows, including its latest, “Timeless,” at MGM Grand Hotel.

To keep the business running smoothly, Brewer said they seek local talent to join the crew for the nearly eight-week run at Universal Studios.

“We reach out to the community and find dancers that we are aware of and up-and-coming people as well, and bring them in and train them for the shorter stint at Universal,” he said. “Meanwhile, we can keep our production in Las Vegas and keep that going continuously because we don’t want to disrupt that. It’s our main point of contact in terms of sustaining our business and having a regular flow throughout the year.”

Since Jabbawockeez crew members all wear plain white masks — eerily similar to the one Michael Myers wears in the “Halloween” horror films — dancers can be swapped in and out as needed and Nguyen said it’s now a large crew “that we’ve been able to teach and spread that Jabbawokee ideology of movement to over the years, so it’s pretty cool.”

Paguio said the show serves as a bit of a palate cleanser during Halloween Horror Nights. It gives guests a second to catch their breath after screaming through all of the mazes and scare zones, he said.