WilldaBeast's Michael Jackson Tribute

April 18, 2015

Who inspires you to dance? It’s a tough question—because there are so many possible answers. Here at DS, Misty Copeland encourages us to be ourselves, and to never let the phrase “I can’t” pop into our heads. Ricky Ubeda makes us want to stretch for days in hopes of coming close to his gorgeous extension. Kyle Hanagami inspires us to be courageous and honest as artists. Justin Peck motivates us to exercise our creative brains on a daily basis. Chloé Arnold inspires us to harness our #girlpower. Seriously, we could go on for ever…

For many dancers, it’s their teachers who inspire them the most. This is definitely the case for the students of Will “WilldaBeast” Adams. (And unless you’ve been under a rock for the past year or so, you know WilldaBeast is on our inspiration board, too.) Just a quick scan through his Twitter feed will give you a sense of just how many hip-hoppers look up to him, from his crew of LilBeasts to his fellow pros.

WilldaBeast’s LilBeasts (photo by Helton “Brazil” Siqueira)

So who inspires the great inspirer (please pretend that’s a word)? This week, WilldaBeast released a video answering that question. It opens with the quote:

“Michael Jackson inspired me to inspire others. This project is made out of the respect and love for him and Janet. Show love not hate. Enjoy.” —WilldaBeast Adams

The video is a remake of Michael and Janet’s 1995 music video “Scream.” Janelle Ginestra plays the Janet to WilldaBeast’s Michael, and the two pay homage to the original choreography for much of the video. The bottom left corner of the frame plays the original music video, so you can see how the remake matches up. But we couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a little fun with Photoshop.

We’ve got WilldaBeast and Michael…


…Janelle and Janet…


…some classic MJ choreo…


…and just utter fierceness.


Notice how that last picture of WilldaBeast and Ginestra is in color? That’s because about a minute through the video, they break away from the original choreo to really make it their own. And, tbh, that’s my favorite part. Enjoy!