This page was created by fans for fans of the amazing AXI series. This page however is sanctioned as the official fan page by both entities. The Avengers of eXtreme Illusions, commonly called AXI, is an ongoing web series about the power of dance to fight the forces of evil. It is the brainchild of Welling Films and Planet Funk Academy founder Shawn Welling. The AXI series idea started in 2002, wh
en creator Shawn Welling began his stage show, the ELC (Electric Light Circus), starring dancers such as Wade Robson, Chachi Gonzales, and Phillip Chbeeb. Welling, himself a dancer and hired performer for Cirque du Soleil's Dralion show, decided, influenced by the experience, to adapt the Cirque du Soleil format to a hip-hop style. The ELC company began in the Houston Theater District and then expanded to a 28-city tour. The bi-annual ELC shows became more and more well-attended as time went on, and eventually, after the I.aM.mE dance crew, primarily Welling's students, won America's Best Dance Crew, he decided to commit the routines to film with high production values, as noted by YouTube dance celebrity, YAK Films. In 2009, Welling conceived of the idea of taking his filming of the performances to the next level, and the AXI series was born. Each episode runs about 10 minutes, and contains athletic dancing as well as dramatic plot content. The series has hosted guest stars as varied as MTV superstar dancer Brian Friedman and film and TV legend Lee Majors. The series, noted as "popular" by the Houston Chronicle is almost exclusively filmed in Houston, Welling's hometown. The Tree of Light, Season 4 episode 2, was filmed in Los Angeles, California. The series has accumulated 27 IMDb accredited awards to date. AXI Season 1 E. 1 Eye of the Beholder Phillip Pacman Chbeeb 2011
AXI Season 1 E. 2 Professor M Moon di Zhang 2011
AXI Season 1 E. 3 The Switch I.aM.mE Crew 2011
AXI Season 1 E. 4 The Wish Arielle Coker 2012
AXI Season 1 E. 5 Perchance to Dream Olivia Chachi Gonzales 2012
AXI Season 1 E. 6 Tunnel Creature JaJa Vankova 2012
AXI Season 2 E. 1 Book of Records Geo Hubela 2012
AXI Season 2 E. 2 The King and I Katerina Hansen 2012
AXI Season 2 E. 3 Red Rum JaJa Vankova Phillip Chbeeb 2013
AXI Season 2 E. 4 Game Over Brandon Harrell 2013
AXI Season 2 E. 5 Big Tall Wish Les Twins 2013
AXI Season 2 E. 6 Amnesty Brian Friedman 2013
AXI Season 2 E. 7 The Game Olivia Chachi Gonzales 2013
AXI Season 3 E. 1 Alive Olivia Chachi Gonzales 2014
AXI Season 3 E. 2 5 Second Rule Emilio Dosal 2014
AXI Season 3 E. 3 Adamo Dominic Walsh / Reuel 2014
AXI Season 3 E. 4 Salvator Les Twins 2014
AXI Season 3 E. 5 The Serf Phillip Pacman Chbeeb 2014
AXI Season 3 E. 6 The Gift Olivia Chachi Gonzales / Lee Majors 2014
AXI Season 4 E. 1 The Mechanic I.Am.Me Crew / Lee Majors 2015
AXI Season 4 E. 2 The Tree of Light JaJa Vankova 2015
Overall, the reception of the series in the dance world has been positive. In 2012, World of Dance began tracking the series and reporting on its episodes. In 2015, the series won the coveted World of Dance Industry Awards for best directing and cinematography. Before the first episode was released, the series was described as similar to The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers and Shaun Evaristo's Movement Lifestyle. In 2014, Dance Magazine publication Dance Spirit referred to the series as “Once Upon a Time” meets “The Twilight Zone” meets insanely good hip hop—with a Tim Burton-esque quality that’s just creepy enough." Although the Twilight Zone connection has been noted by Welling himself, it has not gotten in the way of the dancing, as Diane Sawyer referred to the dance team as "legendary". Season 1 was the darkest season of the show, using elements of Gothic fiction and dark fantasy. Featuring plot-heavy dance sequences and frightening horror creatures like the Naga and the Tunnel Creature, the series started out on a "heavy" note. Season 2 began dark, with the horror fantasy Book of Records, but became more whimsical, featuring episodes such as Game Over, in which bullies are forced to live through Nintendo games like Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. and The Game, AXI's first comedy episode. Season 2 also featured the introductions of dancing celebrities Les Twins and Brian Friedman. Friedman's appearance in Amnesty also constituted the first group-choreographed dance number in the series, forgoing the usual athletic solo acts. The Season 3 episode "Adamo" changed the reception of the series forever. Not only was it the first episode to feature balletic dancing, but it was also the first episode to mix in a live performer. The episode won the Best of Festival award at the Gulf Coast Film and Video Festival, where it was well-received for its lyrical dancing and strong plot. This cemented the versatility of the AXI format. Season 4 began with new writers, Nathan Carliner Goldman and Miriam Esther Goldman, a father-daughter team based in Houston, TX. Up to that point, the series had been penned by show creator Shawn Welling. This season also marked the first appearance of living legend Lee Majors as The Mechanic.
