Kriyss Grant, the first dancer Michael Jackson hand-picked to back him up onstage, speaks with Charles Thomson, exactly an year after Michael sold out 50 concerts at London’s O2 arena.

“He [Frank Gatson] called me around a year later. Beyoncé was starting up her tour and he said he couldn’t think of a better person to audition because he wanted something new, something high energy. So I flew to LA and I danced in front of Beyoncé. She loved it. She said I had to be on her tour.”  The pair bonded immediately due to their shared work ethic, says Grant. “Beyoncé is a very hard worker and she’s very hard on herself. It’s funny because we both think the same way. We never think what we do is good enough. We always think we could do better. We say ‘OK, it was good enough for that day’ or ‘that was the best I could do at that moment’ but we are never really satisfied.  “Beyoncé always enjoys doing what she’s doing. I mean, she doesn’t use the bathroom or nothing when it comes to work. She’s just always on it and she never wants to eat, she doesn’t want to do anything – she just wants to work, work, work.”

It was during Grant’s time with Beyoncé that Michael Jackson announced his comeback concerts. When Frank Gatson got word of the audition, he told Kriyss he had to go. A lifelong Jackson fan, Grant jumped at the chance. But did he feel apprehensive about leaving behind such a big opportunity on the off-chance that he could dance for Jackson?  “No, it was Beyoncé who pushed me,” he laughs. “She told me she was gonna slap me if I didn’t go! She was rooting for me and so was Frank. If I didn’t make Michael’s concerts, I would have met up with the others and been one of the captains on the Beyonce tour.”