Tag Archives: Michael Jackson

No comments

11/27/14 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Alphonso Ribeiro

  By , ,

 By Walter Rutledge

AP699674304659

Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro, Sr. is an actor, television director, dancer, and game show host. Ribeiro is most notably known for playing Alfonso Spears on the sitcom Silver Spoons, and Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he hosted the GSN show Catch 21 and the ABC Family show Spell-Mageddon. He also starred in the title role of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid, and appeared as a dancer in a Pepsi commercial also featuring Michael Jackson. On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 Ribeiro won Dancing With The Stars 19. Continue reading

No comments

10/31/14 O&A Throwback Thursday Halloween Edition: Michael Jackson’s Thriller

  By , ,

Throwback Thursday logo 2

michael-jackson-thriller.14052

Michael Jackson’s Thriller is an American 13-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983. It was directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Jackson. It was MTV’s first world premiere video.

Voted as the most influential pop music video of all time, Thriller proved to have a profound effect on popular culture. It was named “a watershed moment for the music industry” for its unprecedented merging of filmmaking and music. Guinness World Records listed it in 2006 as the “most successful music video”, selling over nine million copies.

Continue reading

No comments

Up in the Air- Honoring Louis Johnson

  By

Up in the Air is a feature-length documentary about legendary dancer, choreographer and director Louis Johnson. Narrated by Johnson, with additional commentary by his colleagues and friends- people he’s known and influenced for over six decades. The artists who have committed to share their experiences with Johnson include as luminaries as: Chita Rivera, George Faison, Carmen De Lavallade, Sylvia Waters, Desmond Richardson and Troy Powell. The initial goal is to raise $30,000 for the pre-production and production costs through a Kickstarter campaign. Continue reading

No comments

10/16/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Diana Ross- Standing Room Only Live At Ceasar’s Palace (1980)

  By , ,

Throwback Thursday logo 2

diana-ross-standing-room-only-1

The HBO special, first aired in early 1980 as part of the network’s Standing Room Only series. It was taped in 1979 at Caesar’s Palace as Ross promoted her then-current album, The Boss. The album, featuring writers/producers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, featured songs that showed off a range and power that many had forgotten Diana Ross possessed. This was a peak time in the diva’s career; Ross dazzled audience around the world with her demanding, Tony Award-winning An Evening With Diana Ross stage show, and starred with protege Michael Jackson in the 1978 film The Wiz.  Continue reading

No comments

9/19/14 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Michael Jackson- Smooth Criminal

  By , , ,

Shall We Dance

SmoothCriminal-1

Smooth Criminal is the seventh single from Michael Jackson’s 1987 Bad album. The song contains a fast-paced beat intertwined with Jackson’s lyrics. It was released as a single on October 24, 1988, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Continue reading

No comments

9/15/14 O&A Hollywood Monday: The Band Wagon: Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse

  By , ,

Hollywood Mondays

The_Band_Wagon-669013880-large

The Band Wagon is a 1953 musical comedy film that many critics rank, along with Singin’ in the Rain, as the finest of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals despite only a modest box-office success. The film tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway play will restart his career. The play’s director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of Faust, and brings in a prima ballerina who clashes with the star.

The songs were written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, and some were created for the original 1931 Broadway musical also called The Band Wagon. The Broadway production featured a book by George S. Kaufman and starred Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. The movie’s dances and musical numbers were staged by Michael Kidd.

Continue reading

No comments

The King of Pop Is Back! Michael Jackson performs Slave To The Rhythm live at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards

  By

1L9K5I_michael-jackson-crown

The King Of Pop, Michael Jackson returns to debut the World Premiere of his new song Slave To The Rhythm from his New Album  Xscape Live at The 2014 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday May 18, 2014. Jackson was on stage wowing the audience with a small army of dancers. It was made possible  through the magic of the hologram.

Continue reading