Michael Jackson is a polarizing figure. Whether or not you like him or his music personally, it can’t be denied that he had a major cultural impact on popular culture in the later part of the twentieth century. Labeled the King of Pop many of his songs have stuck around for many generations and informed and inspired countless new artists.
Oftentimes those artists are musicians, but sometimes they may have a different skill set altogether…
I present to you for your viewing pleasure, Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres, two figure skaters who thrill with their Michael Jackson themed routine.
They get off to a strong start in their routine for “All That Skate 2019″with that steady snare at the beginning of “Beat It”.
With Vanessa center ice, and Morgan crouched at the back, she taps her heal in time with the music. This is a pretty tame way to introduce what turns into a mind-blowing performance, but it does the job and sets the tone.
While they do pepper in a few classic MJ moves, they sure don’t shy away from other classics.
Some such moves are a few of the infamous Single Ladies (Ring on It) moves from Beyoncé. Now that’s how you spruce up a skating routine. I challenge you to try keep up with these two as they glide over the ice with superhuman coordination. I don’t know about you, but the thought of rocketing across the ice at 50 miles an hour BACKWARDS, put a few beads of sweat on my brow.
Not to mention going 50 while UPSIDE DOWN!
And don’t get me started on being thrown high into the air!
As if she’s nothing more than a dove being freed to the wind, Vanessa is tossed high into the air and at speed. Once she’s up there she spins like a top, before landing gracefully as ever.
Halfway through the routine the song changes, and Morgan loses his jacket, revealing the arms which are powerful enough to rocket Vanessa into the air. The song changes to another MJ classic, “Black or White”.
I’m convinced these two are not bound my the natural laws of the Universe.
Gravity, for instance seems to have no bearing on their routine. Vanessa is folded around Morgan as they spin, and twirl and race around the ice. It seems so effortless for them, that it almost makes you want to strap on a pair of skates and give it a go yourself. Although we probably know better, and we’d sooner find ourselves eating the ice than doing back flips over it at speed.
But then the final big moves send the audience wild.
Morgan grabs Vanessa by the ankles and begins to spin her. FAST. They spin at an incredibly high speed, and Vanessa’s head gets very, very close to the ice. It is clear that Vanessa trusts Morgan a lot.
And Finally, Morgan wears Vanessa as a hat while they spin.
I presume that’s a normal thing to do while figure skating…right? Even if it’s not, it obviously takes tremendous skill, and is one seriously impressive way to finish off an already mind-blowing routine.
Watch the full video below to enjoy this spectacular duo’s fancy-footed-figure-skating!
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