MICHEAL JACKSON

Michael Joe Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958, the fifth of Joe
and Katherine Jackson's eight children. The house was always filled with music.
Jackson's mother taught the children folk and religious songs, to which they sang
along. Jackson's father, who worked at a steel plant, had always dreamed of
becoming a successful musician. When this failed to happen, he decided to do
whatever it took to make successes of his children. He tried to control his children's
careers even after they were adults. The struggle for the control of the musical
fortunes of the Jackson family was a constant source of conflict.
The Jackson boys soon formed a family band that became a success at amateur
shows and talent contests throughout the Midwest. From the age of five Michael's
amazing talent showed itself. His dancing and stage presence caused him to become
the focus of the group. His older brother, Jackie, told Gerri Hershey in Rolling
Stone, "It was sort of frightening. He was so young. I don't know where he got it. He
just knew. "

Discovered by Motown
The Jacksons' fame and popularity soon began to spread. While performing at the
Apollo Theater in New York City's Harlem neighborhood in 1968, Motown recording
artist Gladys Knight (1944–) and pianist Billy Taylor discovered them. Later that year
singer Diana Ross (1944–) became associated with the boys during a "Soul
Weekend" in Gary. With Ross's support, the Jacksons signed a contract with
Motown Records. Berry Gordy (1929–), the famous head of Motown, took control of
the Jacksons' careers.
By 1970 the group, known as the Jackson Five, was topping the charts and riding a
wave of popularity with such hits as "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There,"
each of which sold over one million copies. The group also appeared on several
televised specials, and a Jackson Five cartoon series was created. Gordy quickly
recognized Michael's appeal and released albums featuring him alone. These solo
albums sold as well as those of the Jackson Five. The group managed to survive
Michael's voice change and a bitter break with Motown Records in 1976, but as the
Jackson family they continued to fight with each other and with their own father.
In 1978 Michael Jackson appeared in The Wiz, an African American version of The
Wizard of Oz. He sang the only hit from the film's soundtrack album ("Ease On Down
the Road") in a duet with the star, Diana Ross. His success as the Scarecrow was a
preview of what was to come in his videos, for Jackson seemed to care most about
dancing.
Unbelievable success
While working on The Wiz, Jackson met producer Quincy Jones (1933–). They
worked together on Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall, which sold ten million
copies and earned critical praise. In 1982 Jackson and Jones again joined forces on
the Thriller album. By 1983 Jackson was the single most popular entertainer in
America, debuted his iconic dance move, the moonwalk. Unlike anything seen
before, the moonwalk was a dance move that solidified Michael as a pop culture
legend. It also epitomized the extent to which Michael would drive himself to
succeed. He painstakingly practiced all of his dances and songs until he could not
think of any other way to improve upon them.
In 1985 Jackson reunited with Quincy Jones for USA for Africa's "We Are the World,"
which raised funds for the poor in Africa. Jackson's next two albums, Bad (1987)
and Dangerous (1991), were not as hugely successful as Thriller, but Jackson
remained in the spotlight throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s.

Rocked by scandal
Despite Jackson's popularity and good works, he became the subject of a major
scandal (action that damages one's reputation). In 1993 a thirteen-year-old boy
accused Jackson of sexually abusing him at the star's home. Jackson settled the case
out of court while insisting he was innocent. The scandal cost Jackson his
endorsement (paid public support of a company's products) contract with Pepsi and
a film deal. His sexual preference was called into question, and his public image was
severely damaged.
In 1995 Jackson was criticized following the release of his new album HIStory: Past,
Present, and Future, Book I. One of the songs on the album, "They Don't Care About
Us," seemed to contain anti-Semitic (showing hatred toward Jewish people) lyrics
(words). To avoid further criticism, Jackson changed the lyrics. He also wrote a letter
of apology to Rabbi Marvin Hier, head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust
Studies, who had protested the lyrics.

Having reached the age of 50, Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at his
residence in Hombly Hills, Los Angeles, due to cardiac arrest due to acute propofol
and benzodiazepine intoxication.
FRED ASTAIRE
Fred Astaire is regarded by many as the greatest popular music dancer of all time.
Astaire is usually remembered for his pairings with Ginger Rogers, who starred in
several films with him, including Swing Time (1936).

Light on his feet, Fred Astaire revolutionized the movie musical with his elegant
and seemingly effortless dance style. He may have made dancing look easy, but
he was a well-known perfectionist, and his work was the product of endless
hours of practice.

Astaire started performing as a child, partnering up with his older sister Adele.
The two toured the vaudeville circuit before making it to Broadway in 1917.
Among their many productions the brother-sister team starred in the 1927
George and Ira Gershwin musical Funny Face. He had done a screen test, but he
failed to attract any interest. A studio executive wrote at the time, "Can't sing.
Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little."

In 1932, Astaire suffered a career setback. His sister Adele retired from the act to
marry a British aristocrat. He floundered a bit professionally without his usual
partner, but then decided to go to Hollywood to try once more to break into film.

Finally, Astaire landed a small role in 1933's Dancing Lady with Joan Crawford.
The role opened the door to new opportunities, and Astaire signed a contract
with RKO Radio Pictures. He was matched up with another Broadway talent,
Ginger Rogers, for Flying Down to Rio, also in 1933. Cast as supporting players,
their dance number stole the movie. Astaire and Rogers appeared in several
more films together, including The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Top Hat (1935). The
duo became film's most beloved dance team. Their routines featured a hybrid of
styles—borrowing elements from tap, ballroom and even ballet.

Off-screen, Astaire was known for his relentless pursuit of perfection. He thought
nothing of rehearsing a scene for days, and Rogers eventually tired of the
grueling schedule.

As his movie roles tapered off, Astaire worked more in television. He often
appeared as himself for special tribute shows. Astaire had a growing interest in
dramatic parts, working on such series as Dr. Kildare. He also worked with
another legendary dancer, Gene Kelly, on the documentary That's Entertainment,
which explored the golden era of the movie musical.
Around this time, Astaire received his only Academy Award nomination for his
supporting role in the 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno. He also won an
Emmy Award for his work on the television special A Family Upside Down in 1978.
More accolades soon followed. Astaire received a Lifetime Achievement Award
from the American Film Institute in 1981.

A few years later, Astaire was hospitalized for pneumonia. He died on June 22,
1987, in Los Angeles, California. With his passing, Hollywood had lost one of its
greatest talents. Former actor and president Ronald Reagan, upon learning the
news, called Astaire "an American legend" and "the ultimate dancer." Rogers said
Astaire "was the best partner anyone could ever have."
ANNA PAVLOVA
Anna Matveyevna Pavlovna Pavlova was born on February 12, 1881 — a cold and
snowy winter's day — in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her mother, Lyubov Feodorovna
was a washerwoman and her stepfather, Matvey Pavlov, was a reserve soldier.
The identity of Pavlova's biological father is unknown, though some speculate
that her mother had an affair with a banker named Lazar Poliakoff. As a child,
Pavlova preferred to believe she was a product of an earlier marriage. She told
people her mother had once been married to a man named Pavel, who died
when she was just a toddler. Yet this Pavel remains something of a mystery to
historians and biographers.

From early on, Pavlova's active imagination and love of fantasy drew her to the
world of ballet. Looking back on her childhood, Pavlova described her budding
passion for ballet accordingly: "I always wanted to dance; from my youngest
years...Thus I built castles in the air out of my hopes and dreams."

Although they were poor, Pavlova and her mother were able to see a
performance of The Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg
when she was 8 years old. Captivated by what she saw, the wide-eyed little girl
declared she was resolved to become a ballet dancer. Her mother enthusiastically
supported her pursuit. Within just two years, Pavlova was accepted at the St.
Petersburg Imperial Ballet School, after passing the entrance exam with flying
colors. The school was directed by famed ballet master Marius Petipa.

Because Pavlova graduated as a coryphée, she was able to skip right over dancing
in a corps de ballet. In other words, she bypassed the usual initiation rite of
dancing in large groups and was permitted to dance in smaller groups right away.
Fresh out of dance school, on September 19, 1899, the gifted young ballerina
made her company debut, dancing in a group of three in La Fille Mal Gardée. The
performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg—the same
theater where, as a child, Pavlova had first decided to become a dancer.

Pavlova's career soon blossomed. With every performance, she gained increasing
critical acclaim and subsequent fame. But it was in 1905 that Pavlova made her
breakthrough performance, when she danced the lead solo in choreographer
Michael Fokine's The Dying Swan, with music by Camille Saint-Saëns. With her
delicate movements and intense facial expressions, Pavlova managed to convey
to the audience the play's complex message about the fragility and preciousness
of life. The Dying Swan was to become Pavlova's signature role.
Accompanied by a handful of other dancers, in 1907, Pavlova took leave on her
first tour abroad. The tour stopped at capital cities throughout Europe—including
Berlin, Copenhagen and Prague, among others. In response to the critical acclaim
her performances received, Pavlova signed up for a second tour in 1908.

It was a snowy evening, and Pavlova was only wearing only a thin jacket and
flimsy silk pajamas. Once in Holland, within days of the accident, she developed
double pneumonia and her illness quickly worsened. On her deathbed, Pavlova,
passionate about dance until her final breath, asked to see her swan costume one
last time. She died in The Hague, Netherlands, in the wee hours of the morning,
on January 23, 1931.