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