November 4th, 2009 by soullldiva

God bless Michael Jackson for filming all of his rehearsals (all three months of it) for his sold-out 50 show run of This Is It. And God bless Kenny Ortega for being such a great caretaker of that footage that was the last creations Michael was to give us.

I initially wasn’t going to go see This Is It in the theater. I thought, well, my husband isn’t a fan like I am, and there’s the kidlet (my son), and yada yada. But my dance teacher got hold of me and said “you MUST see it in the theater.” So I decided to go see a late show, after the fam was fed, bathed and jammied. Originally I picked the 10:50pm (yikes) show, but opted for the 9:30 show, even though it was in IMAX, and the ticket was $5 more. Worth every penny, I guarantee.

The film opens with thoughts from the dancers, and if you ever were in doubt of just how much an influence Michael Jackson was in the world of music, dance and performance, all you have to do is look in the shiny, star-struck eyes of those dancers. Their hearts are in their eyes, this is their wildest dream. They are DOING this because of Michael Jackson.  And I’m sure that all of them were not even born when Michael was singing and dancing on stage with the Jackson 5.

You of course get to see Michael, King of Pop, do his thing.  But you also get to see Michael hands-on at work.  And disarmingly normal: slightly unshaven, chewing gum or sucking on a lollipop, talking shop in that lower voice that is probably his normal speaking voice.

Eleven dancers were chosen for the tour, 9 boys and 2 girls.  Kenny tells them that they are a direct extension of Michael as a performer.  Extensions they are.  Such precision in their dancing and strength, doing the choreography created by Michael and his choreographer Travis Payne.  But also the heart comes through: they are loving every minute of the experience and the creation, getting to dance with him and also watching him create his show from scratch.  When they are not on the stage, they’re not on their iPhones or smoking a cigarette.  They’re watching, wide-eyed, and waving their arms.  And cheering, throwing their fists in the air, cheering for Michael.

I’m sure that all the singers, dancers, musicians and technicians woke up every day and said “oh yeah, work!”  I know I would. For sure every musician that they featured had a look of pure enjoyment on their faces as they interacted with him.

The technical side was also great fun to experience.  They show you all the “extra” material they produced for the concert, including a 3D filming for “Thriller” and a fantastic bit for “Smooth Criminal” where Michael watches Rita Hayworth sing “Put the Blame onMame” (love that).

It was wonderful seeing all the old choreography as well, from “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” and “Thriller”, all the way back to the Jackson 5 classic moves.

As they rolled out all the hits, I remembered why I loved them in the first place and moved my body as much as I could in the seat. I think my favorite point was “The Way You Make Me Feel”, which just has an undeniable groove to it. Michael trots out one of the female dancers for this song, who struts her stuff across the stage with so much enjoyment you can’t help but just grin.

Kenny Ortega did a masterful job of assembling Michael’s footage into a fitting farewell.  You can feel his love, care and admiration for Michael as he interacts with him during rehearsals, and in the actual film itself.  Well done and thank you, Kenny.

Don’t miss your chance to see This Is It in the theaters, while you still can. It’s just like you got a front row ticket to the concert that never was.

Image courtesy of michaeljacksonlive.com

November 3rd, 2009 by soullldiva

So in my last post I didn’t really talk about the team dances, I thought I better come back and do that.

Team Tango had a couple of advantages over Team Paso, unfortunately (or fortunately, however you see it).  The Paso team had 4 couples, Tango had 3.  Paso is mostly done out of hold, Tango in (this helps for synchronization).  The Paso pros decided to hash (and I mean HASH) things out with the stars in the room, the Tango pros handled the choreography beforehand and then taught it to the stars. Team Paso did a good job of making Team Tango look much more professional and a TEAM.

That said, the Paso didn’t turn out badly at all, it had real power, force and energy, everything a Paso Doble needs.  Plus, Mark redeemed himself from his individual dance earlier and Mya caught the judges eye.

But the Tango really came together and was spectacular, garnering better scores than the Paso.  Just goes to show that “leaving the egos at the door” really helps when being a professional artist, and I wholly support that school of thought.

Both teams, in the end, should be commended for undertaking a difficult task!

November 3rd, 2009 by soullldiva

It’s getting down to crunch time on Dancing With the Stars.  Time to see who is really in for the long haul.

Last night each of the remaining stars (Mya, Aaron Carter, Kelly Osbourne, Joanna Krupa, Michael Irvin, Mark Dacascos, Donny Osmond) did one dance and a team dance where they performed with other couples, either the Paso Doble or the Tango.

In the individual dances, I was once again blown away by my “little” Aaron Carter.  Last week it was proclaimed that he became a man. He continued his journey tonight by turning in an amazingly energetic Jive.  As I watched this guy, I said to myself: “he WANTS this.” And I don’t mean just that mirror ball trophy.  I mean he wants DANCE.  He loves it, he loves getting it right then reveling in it and having fun.  Sure, he has his frustration moments, but that’s just because of his drive.  And as Michael Irvin told him early on in the competition when he was being beaten down, “there’s nothing wrong with being real and being serious about winning.” (great locker room pep talk Michael!)

Aaron’s Jive delivered fantastic sharpness and energy (essential in a Jive), plus great chemistry with Karina Smirnoff and the crowd. Their song happened to be “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister, which added a great rebel attitude to their dance. The Jive takes real strength to make all those flicks hit with precision (and not look wimpy), and Aaron’s “young man strength”, coupled with the great precision workout she got him with Elite Athletics trainer Jade Molina gave him that edge.

Bruno Tonioli said he “kicked ass,” Carrie Ann Inaba said he’s a “roadrunner,” and Len Goodman said it was “wild but clean,” (high praise from Len). In fact, he was inspired to “dust off” his 10 paddle and Aaron was given his highest scores to date: 9-10-10!  I said it before and I’ll say it again: this kid has it.

Kelly Osborne finally broke through last night after her initial amazing performances followed by a 5 week slump. As I watched her rehears with Louie Van Amstel and cry and stomp and get frustrated, all I really wanted this girl to do was R-E-L-A-X!! I can’t say what’s going on with her, but what I see is a girl who is letting her nerves and frustration get in her

Kelly and Louie week one (photo courtesy of ABC)

way of letting the natural dancer out (because she is a natural dancer). Her Salsa was refreshing and cheeky, and free from odd faces she makes whenever she stumbles.  The judges were very happy with her performance and said she had mastered her nerves, but NOW needed to bring her technique up a few notches.  I’m looking forward to even better performances from Kelly, as she was an early favorite of mine after her week 1 performances.

Other dances of note were Mya and Dmitry Chaplin’s Foxtrot, which really had old school hollywood style and grace, and Donny and Kym Johnson’s Quickstep, which Donny performed so well, I missed ALL the mistakes the judges say they saw.

Who will be eliminated next?  Watch tonight on ABC to find out!