Philippine convicts, who became famous for dancing to Michael Jackson tunes, gave a tribute performance on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the death of the “King of Pop.”
About 500 foreign tourists and local dignitaries watched as more than 900 prisoners in the high-security jail in the central island of Cebu danced to some of Jackson's biggest hits, prison officials said.
“It was a wonderful presentation. I was very impressed. Their concentration was really there and they were really serious about their dance,” said Mils Bonnen, a teacher from Denmark.
“This will set an example for other rehabilitation centres in the country. It will also give people a different view of the inmates,” said Geraldine Faith Econg, who led a delegation of judges to the event.
The prisoners, led by a dancer dressed like Jackson, performed a variety of the star's hits including Thriller , Ben and They Don't Really Care About Us .
The dancers, wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with This Is It — a reference to the tribute movie to Jackson — topped their performance off with Billie Jean . The provincial government, which first organised the mass dances, provided free transport and access to the prison for foreign and local guests to see the two-hour event.
The convicted murderers, rapists, and drug dealers became an Internet phenomenon in 2007, after jail authorities posted a video of them doing the zombie dance from Jackson's Thriller music video. The footage on the video-sharing website YouTube has become one of the most watched clips on the Internet, registering more than 42 million hits.
Saturday's show was staged in homage to Jackson, who died at the age of 50 from a drug overdose at a rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25 last year, and video footage of the performance is expected to be posted online next week.
