One is to have great choreography; the other, dance that matches. That’s about it. For me, it was always a question of “can we capture the beauty of each element of your body?” What you learn from dance is “can I work to the body as a source of energy?”
Karen Lainez: What about your parents, who raised you?
Michael J. Fox: My parents raised me like it was their business, which it was. I think my father is a very passionate human being, and we lived in California for a few years. He wanted me to be a veterinarian; I was thinking of myself as a veterinarian. So we traveled a lot. For years we visited people in New Orleans. He loved to travel. I’ve been to Paris, and he said he wanted to go to Russia, to Siberia to go to the Far East and see the culture. He always took it personally when his wife was sick in their house or couldn’t help. He wanted to be the one to raise her because that’s who he was. That’s also why there’s so little that he’s ever said to me.
Karen Lainez: What’s the closest you came to the show?
Michael J. Fox: There’s a piece called “My Father’s Love.” After having my first child, I was so embarrassed to be alone with the baby. My own father was one of our closest friends in school. I think it was like my dad never wanted to lose him. My father always talked about how lucky he was and how happy his family was. He said that if he could only find someone that he could really be for, he would be ready to jump out of a window. And I kind of do feel like that’s when one of my father’s words came out. I was doing a live performance of that piece at New York City Art Fair, and I was so embarrassed. I was like, “I don’t know why you want me to do that.”
Karen Lainez: That’s amazing to hear!
Michael J. Fox: I thought it was so good that it took off and got popular. I saw that the New York Times was running a story after. So I went and bought my Dad’s books. When you’re raised in a home with his books, that’s like a kind of sanctuary. When I was doing the “How Do I” video, this was before the VH-1
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