KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Michael Jackson’s death stunned fans in the metro, especially a northland dance studio where the “King of Pop” literally left his mark.
“I really was upset,” said Diane Henderson, owner of Diane’s Dance Studio. “It was really a sad moment.”
Henderson has ties to Michael Jackson fans envy. Almost 21 years ago, he walked into her dance studio.
“They whisked him right in, these big burly guys,” Henderson said.
Jackson needed a place to rehearse routines for his first performance of the famed “Bad” tour, which opened in Kansas City, February 23, 1988.
“It was unexpected,” Henderson said. “The music hall called and said we’d like to rent like to rent the studio. I said we can’t cancel classes. Then we found out a famous dancer was coming. So, we said we’ll cancel classes.”
Jackson did not allow her to watch. Henderson remembers where he stood.
“The doors closed immediately and they had covers over them,” Henderson said. “There were people on the roof and people outside.”
A glimpse of Jackson’s intensely, sometimes strangely private side, Henderson wasn’t even allowed to take pictures. Henderson remembers listening and waiting in her lobby for six hours.
“It was a thrill,” Henderson said.
Eventually, Jackson signed a poster, reserved concert and after-party for Diane’s family, then personally thanked Henderson.
“He had a magical quality to him,” Henderson said. “Just shaking his hand was quite a deal, I thought,” Henderson said.
She never forgets that day. So, when she heard of Jackson’s passing, Diane built a memorial in her lobby in Michael’s honor.
“I was saddened, very saddened,” Henderson said. “The world has lost a leader.”
