Tag Archives: Choreography

124: Travis Payne Special

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Travis Payne, one of Michael Jackson’s most significant, long-time collaborators, joins host Jamon Bull for a very special interview. A world-renowned choreographer, director, and producer, Payne worked closely with Jackson beginning in the “Dangerous” era, all the way until Jackson’s tragic passing in 2009. Over the course of his career, Payne has been honored with the MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography four times, and is the recipient of a wide range of other nominations and awards, many of them related to his work on seminal Jackson projects, such as “Dangerous”, “Scream”, and “Ghosts”. Payne toured with Jackson on the “Dangerous” and “HIStory” World Tours, and was involved in many special performances as well, including the phenomenal 1995 MTV Music Video Awards and the ill-fated HBO Special, “One Night Only”. In 2009, Payne was brought on board as Choreographer for “This Is It”, working directly alongside Jackson and Kenny Ortega to conceive of the much-anticipated comeback concerts. After Jackson’s passing, Payne was extensively and intimately involved in the making of the “This Is It” film, serving as its Associate Producer.

In this in-depth discussion, the guys chat about Payne’s experience working with the King of Pop, choreographing some of music history’s most iconic videos, and getting to know MJ well over the course of many years. Plus, Payne gives frank insights into the “This Is It” era—a time which still remains shrouded in mystery and controversy for many fans.

Additional Links
• Travis Payne’s Twitter, Instagram and website.

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• Crack Corn – Delicious premium puff corn.
• The MJCast’s official shop. Support The MJCast and Michael Jackson all at the same time by buying some of our merchandise.

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If you have feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Keep Michaeling!

122: Eddie Garcia Special

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Eddie Garcia joins host Jamon Bull for an incredible discussion in celebration of the King of Pop’s 62nd birthday. A world-renowned dancer, choreographer, and director, Eddie exploded onto the scene at just 16 years old, when he was hired to dance in several of Janet Jackson’s most iconic music videos. A year later, Michael Jackson hand-picked Eddie to join his team, bringing him on to perform in short films such as ‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ and ‘Speed Demon’. Eddie also spent five years traveling the world as a principal dancer for the ‘Bad’ and ‘Dangerous’ world tours, and appeared on stage for Jackson’s Superbowl performance. In addition to working with Jackson, Eddie has collaborated with a wide range of superstars over the years, including Jennifer Lopez and Paula Abdul, and has appeared on stage and screen. He also directs a summer camp for young dancers.

In this deep-dive chat, the guys discuss Eddie’s memories of being hired by the King of Pop, appearing in some of the most famous music videos ever made, performing on stage with Jackson, and much more. Eddie also drops a couple of exclusive stories that are sure to get even the most hardcore Michael Jackson live performance aficionados speculating.

Additional Links
• Eddie Garcia’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages.
• Camp Me’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube pages and website.
• Be sure to check out MJ Radio‘s original interview with Eddie in Spanish. We’re proud to have partnered with MJRadio for this dual language release in honor of Michael’s birthday.

Sponsors
• Instacart – Convenient, inexpensive, and reliable same-day personal shopping for U.S. and Canada-based #MJFam.
• The MJCast’s official shop. Support The MJCast and Michael Jackson all at the same time by buying some of our merchandise.

Connect with Us
• TheMJCast.com
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube

If you have feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Keep Michaeling!

064: Vincent Paterson Special

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Choreographer Vincent Patterson was at Michael Jackson’s side for many of the key moments which helped cement his status as an entertainment legend, first working with Michael as an assistant choreographer and lead dancer on the pioneering Beat It and Thriller music video shoots. When it came time to devise the videos for Michael’s next album, Bad, Vincent was brought back into the fold, working on the short films for The Way You Make Me Feel, Speed Demon, Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal.

But it wasn’t just short films he collaborated on with Michael. He also helped shape some of the most historic live performances of Michael’s career, from directing the Bad World Tour to helping to choreograph Michael’s 1988 Grammy Awards performance.

Vincent’s association with Michael continued throughout the 1990s. He choreographed for the Black or White music video and Michael’s MTV 10th anniversary performance, helped devise Michael’s groundbreaking Superbowl half-time show and directed the Blood on the Dance Floor music video.

Today he joins Jamon and Q to discuss Michael Jackson as both an artist and a man, explaining their collaborative working process and telling the stories behind some of pop culture’s most historic moments. He also discusses his involvement in the documentary, The Man Behind the Throne, which is the focus of his work with Michael Jackson, Madonna and other celebrities.

Links
• Vincent Patterson’s website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
• Madonna’s Blonde Ambition World Tour
• Strike a Pose documentary trailer
• Mikail Baryshnikov in Giselle
• Alvin Ailey – Cry
• Evita film trailer
• Michael Jackson – Beat It
• Making of Michael Jackson’s Beat It
• Michael Jackson – Thriller
• Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller
• Michael Jackson – Black or White
• Making of Michael Jackson’s Black or White
• Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal
• Making of Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal
• Girl Hunt Ballet from Fred Astaire’s Bandwagon
• The Man Behind the Throne documentary website
• The MJCast – Episode 011: June 25th Special with Darren Hayes

Music Breaks & Ads
• Michael Jackson – For All Time (Eric Hudson Remix)
• Cyrano, Esq – Peace For Your Soul (Michael Jackson Tribute)
• LaToya Jackson – Home
• Michael Jackson Orchestral Medley – London Symphony Orchestra

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• Facebook
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If you have any thoughts, opinions, or feedback on the show, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Keep Michaeling!

Thanks to listener Cody Covington, we now have a full transcript available for this episode. Our deepest thanks and gratitude, Cody.

Episode 019 – Thriller Night Halloween Special with LaVelle Smith Jr.

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Episode 019 - Thriller Night Halloween Special With LaVelle Smith Jr. YouTube Art‘Cause this is Thriller…Thriller Night… Happy Halloween, listeners! To celebrate Halloween 2015 we are releasing this special episode with none other than LaVelle Smith Jr.

LaVelle Smith Jr. is one of the entertainment industry’s most decorated and influential dance choreographers. Known for his work with artists such as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Beyoncé Knowles, Smith has won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography five times. In addition to these accolades he is also a two-time recipient of the Bob Fosse Award and Music Video Producers Award for Outstanding Choreography. Smith has been inducted into the DuPont Manuel Hall of Fame and was the youngest inductee into the Millers Gallery of Greats.

Smith’s work with Michael Jackson began in the late 1980s, during the Bad era. Jackson recognised Smith’s unique style and began incorporating his collaborative efforts into works such as The Way You Make Me Feel and other Bad era pieces. Smith also toured with Jackson on The Bad World Tour which sparked a collaborative relationship around live performance that would endure two additional world tours (Dangerous and HIStory), the Michael Jackson and Friends benefit concerts in South Korea and Germany in 1999, and ended with the 2008 private rehearsal sessions for what evolved into Michael’s ill-fated tour, This Is It.

Smith has collaborated with Jackson on most of his dance-heavy music videos, all of his adult solo tours, and a range of other projects including his seminal horror musical film Ghosts. This interview will take you inside the mind of LaVelle Smith Jr. and his collaborative and creative process with the King of Pop. Topics include Smith’s origins in the entertainment industry, his initial work with Michael, their creative process around Ghosts, their work together in the late 2000’s and lastly, Smith’s views on choreography. We also delve into what his hopes and dreams are for the future of his already incredible career. So sit back, relax, and enjoy our Thriller Night Halloween special for 2015!

Links
LaVelle Smith Jr.’s official website and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Syl Mortilla’s halloween article Visionary: An Article on Michael Jackson’s Long Game
Michael Jackson’s Ghosts
Michael Jackson’s Thriller
Nick*’s Threatened (The Dementor’s Kiss Remix)
Dangerous live. AMA’s 1993, Wetten Das 1995, Munich 1999 & American Bandstand 2002.
Damien Shields article Inside the King of Pop’s 1995 HBO special that never was; ‘Michael Jackson: One Night Only’
Glee’s Thriller/Heads Will Roll video
Michael’s Dream Foundation
VH1’s Making of Ghosts
Michael Jackson’s The Making of Thriller
Jamon’s Halloween movie recommendations. Sinister and The Babadook.

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If you have any thoughts, opinions, or feedback on the show, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Michael On!