Shabba- Doo On Working With Madonna!

You’ve choreographed and staged all musical sequences and numbers for the Madonna: Who’s That Girl?

World Tour and danced for Michael Jackson’s video. How was the experience of working with them? Both of them – MJ and Madonna– are very special people and my encounters with both have been different. But both of them want to present the highest level of their ability. I also choreographed Lionel Richie’s All Night Long video and subsequently provided choreography for the world tour and starred in the concert too. None of them accepts mediocrity. They all have the urge to do much more than what is expected.

This is what I’ve been able to absorb by working with them. I could have done something ‘normal’ too – could have shot the movie in Chicago. But then that’s not pushing the creative envelope. I worked on the Madonna: Who’s That Girl? tour in 1987. Besides great songs and her mind-blowing performance, what I found interesting was Madonna’s childlike behaviour. During sound checks, Madonna would skip across the stage like a kid, with her hands in the air. I want to work with her again. As far as MJ goes, just like there’ll never be another Gandhi or Martin Luther King, there’ll never be another Michael Jackson. During the shooting of Black Or White, when Michael was called to shoot, he would come to the sets wearing an oversized white shirt. He’d be very shy on the stage, with that ‘I wanna run right now’ expression on his face. All of a sudden, Michael would say ‘ok’ softly to indicate that he was ready – and then he’d perform. I swear, when I saw him perform with that unbelievable energy, I was moved. When I was young, I’d tell my friends, ‘I can beat MJ. If I ever get a chance, I’ll teach him a lesson.’ When I saw him perform that day, I couldn’t help saying, ‘MJ is number one and I’m number two.’ I was brought back to reality."