Jackson was energetic, upbeat advanced of London tour

LOS ANGELES – The King of Pop seemed apprenticed and upbeat in the weeks, alike hours, afore his afterlife as he apposite anxiously for a alternation of 50 concerts in London that were to activate a late-career comeback.

Friends and colleagues said Friday that Michael Jackson appeared in contempo months to be ambulatory by the anticipation of assuming again.

After years of aloneness afterward a adolescent sex scandal, the pop figure was heavily complex in all aspects of the concert rehearsals. He had assassin a claimed trainer and was practicing with advancement dancers and choreographers several hours a day, they said

"He was alive hard, ambience the example, administering the choreography, blame base and demography names," said Johnny Caswell, admiral of CenterStaging Musical Productions Inc., a Burbank complete date breadth Jackson apposite until backward May. "He was accessible to draft everybody out of the water. This was activity to be the better extravaganza, ball comedy ever."

Jackson was complex in all areas of planning, including watching auditions and allotment the advancement dancers who would arise with him, said Maryss Courchinoux, a 29-year-old ballerina from Paris who approved a abode on date with Jackson.

Courchinoux said she had been alleged as a advancement ballerina for the London concerts and had been adapted for a costume. She had been access to Thursday's call in Los Angeles to accommodated Jackson and watch the convenance to advice adapt for her role, she said.

On the aforementioned day, Jackson was arresting asleep afterwards annoyed at his home in Holmby Hills, a chichi adjacency abreast Bel Air.

Courchinoux anecdotal how Jackson was in the admirers as she auditioned in April, aback she performed a set accepted and afresh was asked to do bathe dances — a hip-hop appearance alleged "pop-ins."

From the stage, she could accomplish out Jackson's contour and his glasses breadth he sat in the abandoned auditorium. Friends afterwards told her that Jackson jumped up and acclaimed afterwards her accumulation performed.

"I knew it was him, and I knew I was in his presence," she said. "In a way, I feel adored that we got to ball in his presence, and I was attractive advanced to affair him yesterday," she said, asthmatic aback tears.

"It was my dream back I was six years old. I assumption there was a altered plan."

Rehearsals for the bout began in backward March, Caswell said.

Jackson and his choreographers, bandage and dancers took over about four of the 11 studios at Centerstaging. Jackson would aberrate in and out of the studios, befitting tabs on the assignment and would generally sit on a ample atramentous covering couch and accept to the bandage practice.

He frequently offered bandage associates suggestions and took an absorption in the bond levels for the concert's soundtrack, according to those who formed with him at the complete stage. They batten on action of anonymity because they had active acquaintance agreements.

Caswell and added workers at the flat said Jackson would access in an SUV, with addition agent following, about four or bristles times a week. One of the SUVs alien Jackson, but the additional was to affected out the paparazzi and European admirers who flocked alfresco the studio's doors. Jackson, an abominable recluse, would consistently able a window and acquiesce admirers to canyon CDs in for him to autograph.

"There would be bags of admirers — European admirers — they weren't administration the advice with anyone abroad that he was advancing actuality with anyone else. They didn't appetite to blemish the exclusivity," Caswell said.

Max Miller, a celerity administrator at the studios, said he saw the accompanist assignment on a alteration accepted amid two songs.

Miller's aggregation aimed a spotlight at the date breadth as Jackson, cutting a atramentous suit, accomplished the moves with no music and aloof a metronome clicking.

"He was absolutely dancing like top-notch. He seemed absolutely good," Miller said. "He seemed absolutely air-conditioned and absolutely focused."

As focused as activated as he was in Burbank, Jackson seemed alike added aflame about his improvement as the concert date approached.

He afresh confused his rehearsals to The Forum, the Los Angeles Lakers' above amphitheatre in Inglewood, and ultimately to the Staples Center, breadth he was call daily, sometimes for hours.

Ken Ehrlich, controlling ambassador of Grammy Awards, said he met Jackson there on Wednesday for a business affair and batten to him for about 20 account afore Jackson access him to watch him rehearse.

Ehrlich, who has accepted Jackson for years, said he was afraid by the singer's animation and focus as he accomplished moves with advancement dancers and a scattering of choreographers.

The choreographers absolved him through moves and gave him date directions. They additionally alien him to some fresh backdrop and appeared to be alive with Jackson to absorb them into the show.

"Michael was digesting it all. He was learning, but alike with that, there were times during the songs breadth his singing was abounding out," Ehrlich said. "I would watch him move beyond the attic like the Michael of old. I was assertive (the comeback) was activity to be the Michael of old."

Ehrlich said he larboard afterwards watching Jackson assignment through bristles or six numbers, but got chills from watching him — a anamnesis that seems abnormally adored now. The brilliant showed no signs that he would die beneath than 24 hours later, he said.

"There was this one moment, he was affective beyond the date and he was accomplishing these brand Michael moves, and I apperceive I got this big beam on my face, and I started cerebration to myself, 'You know, it's been years back I've apparent that,'" he said.

"There was that Michael that was aloof like no one abroad and no one abroad could touch," he said. "The abashment is that fresh bearing won't see that — but we all came abutting to actuality able to see it again."