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Michael Jackson ‘This Is It' movie audience danced in the aisles: slideshow
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Michael Jackson rehearing for 'This Is It' at the Staples
Center in LA. (AP Photo/Kevin Mazure, AEG/Getty Images)
Crowds from around the world celebrated the hit movie ‘This Is It’ Michael Jackson’s final rehearsal footage for his upcoming tour. The movie quietly showed a genius at work as well as the respect and awe of the people working with him. Kenny Ortega’s film topped box office sales this weekend at $21.3 million. The movie was compelling and revealed a brilliant perfectionist King of Pop. He kindly told a dancer who apologized for making a mistake, “That’s what rehearsals are for.”
Watching him perfect his show was inspirational. His voice was pitch perfect. His dancing skills and innovations came alive in his nearly 50-year-old body. His innate understanding of showmanship and communication was apparent as he discussed musical cues and dance moves. At one point during the rehearsal he worked with a musician who continued to bring the pace up too fast. Jackson finally shared, “Let it simmer.” Then he perfected it more by asking for an additional bar before hitting it harder.
Michael Jackson knew when to be intense, when to be soft, when to pause and how to excite the senses. During his plea to protect the environment, explaining the earth was sick and rainforests were being depleted at an alarming rate, a menacing bulldozer appeared on stage. It stopped directly behind him. There was almost a Tiananmen Square face-off feeling of a lone man standing up to an army. At that point Jackson directed the music to stop. The bulldozer dwarfed him and the silence was more impactful. When he cued a simple melody on the keyboard to begin the beauty was heart pounding.
‘This Is It’ showed audiences around the world what they missed by his untimely death. One can only imagine how brilliant his show would have been had he been singing and dancing full out in his rehearsals. Jackson's musicality flowed from him and his superb voice, timing and rhythm seemed effortless. The audience in Dallas occasionally called out and clapped during the film. Smooth Criminal, Beat It and Billie Jean moved children to dance in the aisles using some of his moves. Many knew his lyrics word for word and they began singing with him. When the credits rolled, fans shouted, “Thank you Michael. We love you.”
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