Roxanne Wilson

Call me zany, but if you take a moment and watch the news, there is something strange about watching ‘serious’ news oriented reporters getting in depth about the intricacies of Micheal’s life. It is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.

I enjoyed Michael’s music, and wanted to celebrate that, but not by watching the news, by dancing! Enter Jazzercise. To me, that was the perfect place to commemorate.

So I spent my Friday afternoon and evening (until 11:30) learning Michael Jackson Jazzercise routines from the last 30 years. 16 routines in all — I wanted to be ready for rock it on Saturday.

When Saturday rolled around can you believe I had cold feet? I was afraid that my students wouldn’t get it, or were tired of Michael Jackson tributes after 48+ hours of coverage.

I walked into class and decided to commit to it. Can I just tell you it went better than I could have expected. When the students found out it was a Jackson tribute class they are amped! Students who typically take the class before mine even decided to stay and do two classes.

I gave a few ground rules before we started:
Have Fun
Sing Along
Don’t be afraid to spontaneously yell “Shamo”

We danced through the ages to songs as early as Rockin’ Robin and I’ll Be There, favorites like Beat It, Thriller, Bilie Jean, Black or White, new songs like Rock My World, and One More Chance.

They sang along, moonwalked, and just had a good time.

Seeing them enjoy themselves made it worth it. After class a number of students thanked me for the class…it meant more to them than watching it on television.

I am so glad I did it. For me and for the students it was a great walk down memory lane as we paid tribute to Michael’s amazing music.

In the great words of Meredith and Christina on Grey’s Anatomy, whenever you have stress, sadness, etc., Dance it Out!
And dancing we did…