The name Cheryl Sington might not ring the bell but if I tell you she was in the biggest Music Short Film ever made, you will say “Oh she was in Thriller!” and you will be correct!
“Thriller” video has revolutionized the music video genre, directed by John Landis and 13 minutes long is still to date a key element of Music history.
But we often forget who were those involved in the video so this is a great chance with “Where are they now?” to put names on faces… well, ghoul faces!
Cheryl is the one on Michael’s left shoulder in the famous group shot.
Since an early age, Cheryl didn’t want to go to college and pursue her dream to become a dancer. And she did in 1982 when she was casted to be part of the new Michael Jackson music video. She recall “I was surprised to learn that it was to be so long”.
The dance cast worked for two weeks before they learnt that it was for Michael Jackson.
“He proved to be very easy and pleasant to work with. Nobody at the time dreamed of the lasting impact this video would have, much less the album would sell 70 million copies”.
She said that the production, from start to end, took six weeks to complete. “We were well paid for our work, but as there was no dance union back then, we never received royalties from all those sales,”
Cheryl also danced in videos for Natalie Cole, Kenny Loggins and she then went on national tours for months at a time.
Along the way, she decided to go back to college and was asked to stay on to develop a full performing arts department — which led to her earning a master’s degree in Educational Administration from Middle Tennessee State University. She later earned a degree in Psychology, then ultimately a doctorate in that field, both from California Coast University in Anaheim.
She has now done a lot of mediation work, personality testing and guidance counseling plus teaching at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Department of Arts and Sciences in Fort Myers and operating her own dance studio in that city.
You can connect with Cheryl Sington on Twitter
