Every four years the IBC (Technically The USA International Ballet Competition) comes to Jackson Mississippi. (The competition currently rotates among five venues: Jackson, Varna (Bulgaria), New York, Helsinki, Shanghai.) The contestants come from among the best young dancers in the world. The performances, which I have been privileged to see many times, can be said to be, without overstatement, breathtaking. Next month the competition returns to Jackson. The style of dancing at the IBC ranges beyond classical ballet, which remains the foundation for all the other forms of dance that have their roots in classical, formal training. To put it succinctly, Ballet teaches control of one's center of gravity and how to speak with one's body. I saw today Michael Jackson's performance in his "Smooth Criminal" video, which was posted on the NPR site*. When we think of Michael Jackson, we may think first of his music, but this video below is proof that he was every bit as talented a dancer as he was a musician and singer. What you will see in the video below is dance and choreography at a level never exceeded and seldom equaled, regardless of the dance form. Of course such a production can not be the work of one individual. It requires contributions from many talented artists. But nevertheless Michael Jackson remains the inspiration behind this incredible triumph of music, choreography, lighting, and staging. This video is proof that when we lost Jackson to an untimely death, we lost an amazing artist, quite obviously one of the best to walk the face of the Earth. *https://www.npr.org/sections/therec...s-gravity-defying-lean-continues-to-fascinate