Induction National Museum of Dance
“A Special Affair”
Written and photographed by Elizabeth Olney- cawobeth
Saturday October 16th 2010
I had the opportunity and privilege to attend
the induction of Michael Jackson to The National Museum of Dance,
in Saratoga Springs, NY. My original purpose for going was to
hand out factual information regarding Michael’s innocence
of allegations because a dark cloud still looms over his legacy
due to the perverse sensationalism of media. As it turned out,
the fanatical “religious” group who threatened to
protest this high honor to Michael did not show up. I don’t
know if this was because this particular group is known to make
a lot of noise and fail to act on their words or because the
museum happens to be situated next door to a NY State police
station. I like to think that all the fellow supporters who
sent letters opposing this threat penetrated through the ignorant
attitudes of the group.
Thanks be to God, Michael, Marlon Jackson, contributing artists,
the employees, volunteers, supporters, board and founder of
the museum, Honorable MaryLou Whitney, the event was a glorious
success. It was an especially pleasurable evening.
The entrance was fit for only one king.
Nothing about this event was too elaborate,
grandiose or superficial. It was a class scene from the decor
to the exhibit; in good taste that I feel sure Michael would
appreciate.
As I gazed at the seven tall cone-shaped vases of lilies and
roses, that adorned the front porch and entrance to the event
area, I envisioned open triangles. I thought of seven features
of life that offer hope for the future. To me, the elegant vases
were glorious symbols which represented history/legend, dance,
music, the unifying force of The Arts, creativity, peace and
love; all in the spirit of one man who has glorified all of
this with every dance step and synthesized note of his song(s).
We were a small, sold-out crowd of, I’d guess, about 120
guests. As prestigious supporters of the museum gathered inside
for Marlon’s press-release, the rest of us congregated
on the porch out front, where we were greeted with champagne,
friendly smiles and the upbeat notes of Michael’s music.
It was great to see familiar bracelets from the Million Trees
for Michael group, of The American Forests Organization. This
was a fun way to actually meet Facebook friends. I noticed Kim
Bailey amongst three other ladies wearing the bracelets. We
hugged and she showed me the proposal display for the museum’s
MJ garden project. She has been working along-side of Rena,
of Rena’s Fine Flowers, and MJ fans in order for the design
to come to fruition.
The garden is to be in front of the museum which had a vase
of flowers from Rena on behalf of MJ fans, beneath the mosaic
horses sculpture for the event. When it came time to proceed
inside, most guests went to the hallway of the featured exhibit.
There are paintings and framed memorabilia on one side facing
a mural, four video screens and a 3D Thriller display along
the opposite wall. The screens showed This Is It, Black and
White, Thriller and early TV shows of The Jackson Five. The
exhibit will be up for one year until the next induction.
It was a little mind-blowing to see little Michael in his purple
hat, singing “I Want You Back”. having seen The Jackson
Five debut, on The Ed Sullivan Show, over 40 years ago. That
beautiful vibrato, uncanny sense of phrasing and natural synchronization
of full-body rhythm only to be perfected by Michael, over the
years.
Onlookers were as astounded then, as we are today. Since I had
seen the exhibit, when I toured the museum three days before,
I decided to go see Marlon. I’ll never forget what he said
at the LA memorial. “We would never understand what he
endured…How much pain can one take ?” I was somewhat
hesitant to approach him as I realized that many others cared
to greet him also. As I stood near him, next thing I knew, he
stepped up to me, with his hand out-stretched and introduced
himself.
A little taken aback, it was truly a pleasure to meet Marlon
and come to know how affable he is. We spoke briefly and later
I introduced him to Kim Bailey. He was obviously grateful for
what she is doing for the garden in honor of his brother.
The charming and lovely MaryLou Whitney also graced the evening.
She founded this museum which is the only museum, in The USA,
solely dedicated to dance. Fred Astaire was the museum’s
first inductee, in 1987. Incidentally, Fred Astaire’s words
for Michael were, ”I didn’t want to leave this world
without knowing who my descendant was. Thank you Michael.”
Tasty hors d’oeuvres were served as everyone shared their
reflections in awe of Michael; dancer extraordinaire of the
hour. Utmost respect and love radiated the atmosphere.
As I was talking with a fellow artist, Assist. Director Sarah
Weaver let us know that the ceremony was about to begin. Everyone
there was so friendly. I went up next to the stage because most
people had already situated themselves facing it. This turned
out to be good for photographing purposes
Dancers Martin & Facundo Lombard, of Buenos Aires, were
fantastic. It was quite apparent, from their astounding performance,
that they both have a deeper understanding of Michael’s
choreography than just mastering his steps. Both men expressed
much gratitude for MJ’s influence of their dance style
and ability.
The Lombard Brothers dance performance-
We were given quite a treat for this event.
Since Marlon had not attended the gala, the night before, both
pairs of dancers returned to perform a second time in his honor.
Dance Instructors, Iraida Volodina and Ricardo Sopin, known
for Dancing With the Stars, also danced superbly. This couple
gave us many moments of surprise with contrasting moves of finesse
and dramatics.
Museum President Michelle Ricci then took the stage and read
a letter from Mrs. Jackson. At one point, Mrs. Ricci had to
hesitate in order not to start crying. In the letter, Mrs. Jackson
expresses gratitude for the honor given to her son and mentioned
that Prince, Paris and Blanket also said thank you. A huge crystal
bowl, from the new Waterford Crystal plant in Ireland, was then
offered to Mrs. Jackson. This bowl is the very first commemorative
piece inscribed by the company’s new site. It was as if
Michael giggled when Mrs. Ricci suggested that it could be filled
with candy. The Michael Jackson poster, designed for permanent
display was then unveiled. At this point, I think Michael would
have cried had he been able to personally accept his place in
The National Museum of Dance.
Marlon graciously accepted this honor, on behalf of Michael,
and then gave us a wonderful speech. The highlights were when
he spoke of children. He told us stories about when he and Michael
visited children in hospitals together when The Jackson Five
toured. Tears welled-up in me and dripped as he said, “…and
then he uh, started a place where kids could come and dream”.
The somber mood-swing in the room was lifted again when he went
on to say that he has a project underway building playgrounds.
He gave us a direct glimpse of how grateful, loving and philanthropic
The Jackson Family is.
The beginning including highlight of Marlon’s speech-
Again, I am grateful to Marlon for speaking of the painful truth
of Michael rather than speaking as if everything has been all
lovey-dovey and glorifying for Michael.
The ceremony ended with people hugging, taking more photos and
exchanging contact information.
I was left in a daze after Marlon spoke . . .
. . . I said my good-byes to a few new friends and gathered
a few fallen rose petals.
Pictured is the quote chosen for Michael’s poster.
ceiling display
top of poster
left and right lower side of poster
“Michael is the first rock/pop dancer to now be honored
amongst the dance greats in ballet, modern, jazz and all of
The National Museum of Dance.”
by Elizabeth Olney- cawobeth
LMJ reporter
all photos taken by Elizabeth eve of event 8-15-10
Source: Legendary
Michael Jackson
