VIA WASHINGTON POST:
About 3 p.m. Thursday, as people sat in front of the fountains on the Georgetown waterfront taking their afternoon breaks, Michael Childs, 18, emerged from a group of about 20 people and snapped his fingers, starting a choreographed routine to Michael Jackson’s “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).”
It was their fourth performance of the day, and they wanted to go out in style, as the youths pointed their fingers in the air, shimmied and glided across the concrete.
The performance might not become an overnight YouTube sensation as some similar tributes to the King of Pop have. But Thursday’s turned some heads. The idea for the roaming dance tribute came in the aftermath of Jackson’s death June 25.
But that wasn’t the point, said Maria Jones, lead instructor of the Multi-Media Training Institute that coordinated the tribute. Her goal was to boost the self-esteem of the young people the organization mentors. The Northeast Washington organization helps teens and young adults tap into their creativity through such skills as video production, Web design and technical theater.
“We wanted to have a day honoring Michael,” Jones said. “A day in front of the public.”
Thursday was definitely that.
The young people appeared at four District locations: Rhode Island Avenue NE, Chinatown, Dupont Circle and Georgetown.
