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Multiple Spins and Aging

threatened2020

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Not a negative thread!

I'm just curious if Mj found it harder to do the multiple spin with speed and precision the older he became?

I noticed during the HIStory tour when he did a fast spin in Scream it was never as precise as previous tours.

MITM 2001 we will never know, and in This Is It rehearsals I can't remember any multiple spins.

The last multiple spin where I think he nailed it was 'Billie Jean' MSG 2001 performance.

As you age does it become harder to spin with speed and precision? I, myself have found it much more difficult now I am in my 40s, where as in my 20's I had no issues.

Thoughts on this?
 
Age was probably a big factor, still great dancer for his age but I do think he had slowed down and wasn't as slick as his prime.

Those sidewalks he does also looked a bit more stiffer and more clunky.
 
The physical side of age is even smaller than the mental side of age; people tend to be more cautious in movement, there is more fear instilled
 
His multiple spins were actually at its smoothest from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s. I have noticed during the 90s and even starting from the Bad tour he would not do the multiple spinning as often as he did earlier in his career (clear exception during the MITM performances obviously). I also saw he tends to lose his balance more easy later in his career which makes the spin look a bit clumsy so it was a good choice to perform them more sporadically.

His overall dancing and movement got really mediocre from the 2000s onwards imo. That cameo he did with NSYNC, the 2001 MSG shows, This Is It rehearsals, YRMW video, his 2nd James Brown on stage moment in 2003, it was all quite disappointing.
 
Michael was at his peak in terms of dancing in the 90s. Let's talk about balance. I remember a documentary where a ballet expert raved about his dancing and the many trademarks he had in dance. He had no fear of touching things and took the best from everything and perfected it. Ballet dancers perfect dancing on pointe. Michael Jackson had the toe stand. It is much more difficult, it is twice the force of gravity. I think in the 1999 MJ-friends-concert it was perfect. I agree that there were major declines in the early 2000s. But there other reasons than age, considering that he was in top form in 1999. TII, on the other hand, had some great dance-rehearsals.
 
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Annita said:
Michael was at his peak in terms of dancing in the 90s. Let's talk about balance. I remember a documentary where a ballet expert raved about his dancing and the many trademarks he had in dance. He had no fear of touching things and took the best from everything and perfected it. Ballet dancers perfect dancing on pointe. Michael Jackson had the toe stand. It is much more difficult, it is twice the force of gravity. I think in the 1999 MJ-friends-concert it was perfect. I agree that there were major declines in the early 2000s. But there other reasons han age, considering that he was in top form in 1999. TII, on the other hand, had some great dance-rehearsals.
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His 90s dancing was still good but I dislike the moves he did then. I preferred his 80s style. Also I kind of missed the ferocity and speed of movements, it was slower but I think that was a deliberate stylistic choice of Michael and not because of limitations.
 
filmandmusic said:
His 90s dancing was still good but I dislike the moves he did then. I preferred his 80s style. Also I kind of missed the ferocity and speed of movements, it was slower but I think that was a deliberate stylistic choice of Michael and not because of limitations.
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I actually prefer his slower dancing style.

While his explosive dancing style during the 80s was impressive, I find it really distracting and repetitive. I feel dizzy watching some of his 80s live dancing at time. It felt his mission to cram in his entire dance repertoire within 30secs..

His measured and deliberate dance moves became more refined and smoother in the 90's. Much more pleasant to watch compared with his break neck moves in the 80's..
 
threatened2020 said:
Not a negative thread!

I'm just curious if Mj found it harder to do the multiple spin with speed and precision the older he became?

I noticed during the HIStory tour when he did a fast spin in Scream it was never as precise as previous tours.

MITM 2001 we will never know, and in This Is It rehearsals I can't remember any multiple spins.

The last multiple spin where I think he nailed it was 'Billie Jean' MSG 2001 performance.

As you age does it become harder to spin with speed and precision? I, myself have found it much more difficult now I am in my 40s, where as in my 20's I had no issues.

Thoughts on this?
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Keep in mind that in 'Scream' (during the HIStory Tour), Michael Jackson wears a heavy outfit that even has metal parts on it, which clearly hampered his ability for doing precise, fast spins.
 
I believe I made a thread many years ago and posed a similar question. Starting with the History Tour MJ’s spins seemed to have slowed down in speed and duration, especially the latter. Though I’ve noticed that towards the end of the Dangerous Tour MJ opted for shorter spins on MITM.

There were some brilliant spins he did on the History Tour such as this one in Bucharest at 4:16


I believe his spins peaked in the mid to late 70’s all the way up to the Victory tour. This one from The Victory Tour in Kansas city is among my favorites. Just look at the speed and duration of this one. It’s absolutely perfection.

At 5:18

 
threatened2020 said:
Not a negative thread!

I'm just curious if Mj found it harder to do the multiple spin with speed and precision the older he became?

I noticed during the HIStory tour when he did a fast spin in Scream it was never as precise as previous tours.

MITM 2001 we will never know, and in This Is It rehearsals I can't remember any multiple spins.

The last multiple spin where I think he nailed it was 'Billie Jean' MSG 2001 performance.

As you age does it become harder to spin with speed and precision? I, myself have found it much more difficult now I am in my 40s, where as in my 20's I had no issues.

Thoughts on this?
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✨ The important thing to know about Bambi is that maintaining his dancing abilities was actually why he preferred being skinny and always tried to stay within the same range of weight. He had to gain more weight during the Dangerous Tour and HIStory Tour than he ever would've allowed himself to, if he had any other choice. Then, the 1999 accident made everything worse when it destroyed his spine. His back was permanently damaged from then on in 1999 to 2009, and it would've remained that way even if he hadn't been k!lled. This is partially why he disagreed with touring even MORE, even though he already hated touring back in the 1980s. Michael was in serious chronic pain all the time. Following his original passion, film acting or movie directing, was his next move and it would've been WAY less stressful on his body. That's a guarantee. Michael was a soldier because many people don't know that all those times that you saw him doing anything after 1999, he was often feeling severe pain. Plus; his skull was still in pain from the 1984 Pepsi Commercial Accident, too. There's a clip of him wincing in pain in 2007. 🥀

Aging affects us all, of course. But Michael always kept the energy of that bright-eyed kid from Gary, Indiana. 😂 He usually refused to let his age get in the way of anything he wanted to do lol. The only things that could stop Bambi from doing anything dance related was weight or pain. Other than those, he would've reworked on his spin over and over until he almost passed out and perfected it again for the new age. That's simply the life of us being perfectionists and workaholics. Michael and I loved working so much that we could work ourselves onto the ground. 🥴 Can't help it.
 
PRINCESS MJ said:
✨ The important thing to know about Bambi is that maintaining his dancing abilities was actually why he preferred being skinny and always tried to stay within the same range of weight. He had to gain more weight during the Dangerous Tour and HIStory Tour than he ever would've allowed himself to, if he had any other choice. Then, the 1999 accident made everything worse when it destroyed his spine. His back was permanently damaged from then on in 1999 to 2009, and it would've remained that way even if he hadn't been k!lled. This is partially why he disagreed with touring even MORE, even though he already hated touring back in the 1980s. Michael was in serious chronic pain all the time. Following his original passion, film acting or movie directing, was his next move and it would've been WAY less stressful on his body. That's a guarantee. Michael was a soldier because many people don't know that all those times that you saw him doing anything after 1999, he was often feeling severe pain. Plus; his skull was still in pain from the 1984 Pepsi Commercial Accident, too. There's a clip of him wincing in pain in 2007. 🥀

Aging affects us all, of course. But Michael always kept the energy of that bright-eyed kid from Gary, Indiana. 😂 He usually refused to let his age get in the way of anything he wanted to do lol. The only things that could stop Bambi from doing anything dance related was weight or pain. Other than those, he would've reworked on his spin over and over until he almost passed out and perfected it again for the new age. That's simply the life of us being perfectionists and workaholics. Michael and I loved working so much that we could work ourselves onto the ground. 🥴 Can't help it.
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bambi?..
 
Immortal MJJ said:
bambi?..
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Yes, that's been my nickname for Michael for what feels like forever. 😂 I used to always see him and think he was so adorable like Bambi, since we both loved Disney so much. Plus, he literally looked like Bambi. 🤣 Long skinny legs, brownskinned, huge brown eyes, and cute. 🥺 The character Bambi also has white spots on him all over his fur, and Michael's Vitiligo brought that together with the character, too. 💖 He was really Bambi. 🤭
 
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It's crazy thing to say but perhaps it's down to Michael's weight, in no way was he overweight at the start of the HWT, but he was bigger physically than he's been previously, especially compared with the YANA short film and the Ghosts motion capture stuff in 95/96. He wasn't as much overweight, as was not under weight or as slim as he normally seemed.

If you compare his agility in the HWT (particularly 96 show) compared to say the 1999 concerts he moves differently
 
SmoothCriminal1995 said:
It's crazy thing to say but perhaps it's down to Michael's weight, in no way was he overweight at the start of the HWT, but he was bigger physically than he's been previously, especially compared with the YANA short film and the Ghosts motion capture stuff in 95/96. He wasn't as much overweight, as was not under weight or as slim as he normally seemed.

If you compare his agility in the HWT (particularly 96 show) compared to say the 1999 concerts he moves differently
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In what way?
 
threatened2020 said:
In what way?
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Well early on in the HIStory Tour it looked like Mike had put on some weight compared to previous tours, not that it's a bad thing, he was human and getting older like the rest of us. I think most of the weight he'd put on was muscle, he looked stronger but he was wasn't as agile as he always was.

I think by the 97 leg, especially later on in the year, he'd lost quite a bit of weight, probably why his wedding ring kept flying off 😅
 
SmoothCriminal1995 said:
Well early on in the HIStory Tour it looked like Mike had put on some weight compared to previous tours, not that it's a bad thing, he was human and getting older like the rest of us. I think most of the weight he'd put on was muscle, he looked stronger but he was wasn't as agile as he always was.

I think by the 97 leg, especially later on in the year, he'd lost quite a bit of weight, probably why his wedding ring kept flying off 😅
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A wedding ring is worn on the left hand because this side is closest to the heart (heart is slightly on the left side of the human body).

Michael Jackson wore that ring (on stage, during the HIStory Tour in 1997) on his right hand, which suggests that it was not a wedding ring.
 
mj_frenzy said:
A wedding ring is worn on the left hand because this side is closest to the heart (heart is slightly on the left side of the human body).

Michael Jackson wore that ring (on stage, during the HIStory Tour in 1997) on his right hand, which suggests that it was not a wedding ring.
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Maybe he just liked wearing it on his right hand.
 
SmoothCriminal1995 said:
It's crazy thing to say but perhaps it's down to Michael's weight, in no way was he overweight at the start of the HWT, but he was bigger physically than he's been previously, especially compared with the YANA short film and the Ghosts motion capture stuff in 95/96. He wasn't as much overweight, as was not under weight or as slim as he normally seemed.

If you compare his agility in the HWT (particularly 96 show) compared to say the 1999 concerts he moves differently
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I think you’re right on the money brother, especially with your observations of the 1999 concerts. I watched Seoul 99 not too long ago and it reminded me of his Dangerous days. There was much more fluidity and dexterity in his moves compared to the HWT.

Another example is to compare the MTV awards in 95 to the HWT. It’s day and night imo.
 
Watching that Munich History tour and Michael has a fat ass.

Might just be the gold pants syndrome but his arse looked bigger for sure.
 
As a dancer, I can say, age will slow you down! Lol. But also, in the early 2000's Mike wasn't practicing, doing shows, dancing on tours like he was in previous years. Though he was a pro, as with athletes, one has to train or there will be a decline in performance. Michael was going through alot and that takes a huge toll on the body. Even if he was doing nothing no different than the 80 and 90s, in terms of diet, meds, practice and just life in general, a younger body is equipped to handle more stress as opposed to an older one that has been through some stuff in life. But when you train and prime that engine, a older body can still purr like a kitten. And plain ole muscle memory is an beautiful thing even when not training. Old skool energy and pacing yourself is everything! Though Mike wasn't doing well during This Is It, that good ole muscle memory, oldskool energy was still there. But let me not think about that time because I'll start to cry. A prime example is Janet! Janet is out here doing the thing and even with her, I can tell that she gets better and better with every tour since she came back after having her baby and the pandemic. Janet got energy and still moves wonderfully and can still out dance some of the younger girlie's! But she's also not 25 anymore. I'd rather her pace herself and be careful. She has nothing to prove and if MJ was still with us physically, neither would he. I found that Michael moved wonderfully no matter what stage he was in life but he was also human. ❤️💯
 
PRINCESS MJ said:
Yes, that's been my nickname for Michael for what feels like forever. 😂 I used to always see him and think he was so adorable like Bambi, since we both loved Disney so much. Plus, he literally looked like Bambi. 🤣 Long skinny legs, brownskinned, huge brown eyes, and cute. 🥺 The character Bambi also has white spots on him all over his fur, and Michael's Vitiligo brought that together with the character, too. 💖 He was really Bambi. 🤭
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I read your explanation of this nickname for Michael in another thread and I find it adorable. ❤️
 
Galactus123 said:
I hope we get to see the 2001 Man in the Mirror performance. Photos show him doing a spin and being on his knees.
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Are you talking about at "United We Stand?" I was there and remember the performance but not all the specifics. I was told I had stars in my eyes after seeing him, lol. But I wish I could see it again also. That was a long day!
 
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