Michael Jackson Wanted His Kids to See This Is It

Michael Jackson was looking forward to his three kids watching the London “This Is It” shows…

There are most likely a million different reasons for why Michael Jackson poured his heart and soul into his upcoming series of concerts in London, titled “This Is It.” Kenny Ortega, Michael Jackson’s creative partner, director of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” concerts and one of the producers of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” movie, says the reason is “because it’s meaningful, because there are powerful reasons behind an idea.”

However, Michael Jackson was also eager to perform for his three kids, Prince Michael I, Paris and Blanket, and show them what a fantastic, passionate performer he was.

“This is It” Choreographer Travis Payne

“When I first came onto the project, he said it was important that This Is It is the time for us to remind the planet of all of our responsibility to the earth and to each other,” choreographer Travis Payne told MTV News. “And he also said he was excited to do it because he was still young enough to do it and his children were now old enough to appreciate what it was that he had loved for so many years.”
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Michael Jackson’s “This Is It,” a documentary based on footage recorded during Michael Jackson’s last days as he rehearsed for the London performances, opens for a two-week run on October 28th.

Travis Payne worked closely with Michael Jackson for over a decade, choreographing Michael Jackson’s HIStory world tour in 1996 and Michael Jackson’s 1997 short film “Ghosts.” Travis Payne told MTV news that there was never a moment in working on the This Is It shows that Michael Jackson didn’t remain a “consummate professional.”

“Every time we set out to create a production, he wanted it to be the best that it possibly could. There was no exception,” choreographer Travis Payne explained. “He wanted it to be the best show the world had ever seen, and he wanted it so much, and it was such a loss that he wasn’t able to make it to that first night.”

Michael Jackson and Travis Payne reconnected while working on This Is It. The two dancers spent downtime hanging out and looking on the Internet for source material to inspire their newest effort.

“I really enjoyed being able to go on the Internet with him and show him performances we had done in, like, 1993 in Mexico City. And just to be able to pull up anything he could think of — all types of music and imagery and inspirational footage that helped in preparation for the show,” Travis Payne recalled. “And he was so fascinated by what was available now with the new technology — he just loved that.”