This Is It

We knew Michael Jackson was shaping history as he was doing it. His influence on music began when he was a child and continued throughout his life until he had molded pop music into what we know it to be today. There are few pop artisits who don't claim him as an insipiration, few performers who don't look to capture audiences the way that he did. And I would bet that there are even fewer people who would say that he hasn't touched their lives in some way or another, whether through his music, his performances, or his philanthropic endeavors.

While controversy surrounded the latter part of his life, This Is It gives us a glimpse into the artist that millions grew up with, respected, and loved, and the man that I hope and believe he truly was. I was so moved by the documentary. Seeing it through the eyes of the dancers that got a chance to work with him, that had all of their years of dedication to dance culmniate in this magical experience, broke my heart. To have that ultimate experience as a dancer, to work with one of the most amazing movers that we have ever seen, it took my breath away.

Watching Michael create the show as the musicians, dancers, and crew lived it, rehearsed it, learned it, that was incredible. It was watching a genius in action. Michael Jackson knew music, he knew dance, and he knew how to put on a show. He knew what a song should sound like before it had been arranged. He felt the music in his body before choreography was created. He could sense what an audience would want before they even filled the seats. He was a true master of his art and we were lucky to bear witness to it.