How Janet Jackson Snapped Back into Concert Tour Shape Post-Baby
Janet Jackson is bouncing back after baby, and is more than ready to kick off her upcoming State of the World Tour with a bang.
The iconic songstress's tour creative director Gil Duldulao spilled the secrets of how she's been transforming her body as they've prepped for the tour along with details of what fans can expect as the crew embarks on the 56-city series.
When the tour kicks off Sept. 7 in Lafayette, La., Jackson plans to take fans on "an emotional journey through choreography," Duldulao told Entertainment Tonight. He addedv that the entertainer has been working even harder to make sure fans get the most out of the experience.
"Despite how life has changed for her ... if anything, she is even more dedicated and more focused for some reason," Duldulao said. "That's just the professional she is. If she loves what she does—and she loves being onstage—the work ethic doesn't change. I think just timing of the day is different, but other than that, she's still going strong."
Now that the tour is getting closer, Jackson and her team are spending the bulk of the day in rehearsals—a whopping 16 hours a day to be exact—to nail down choreography and other performance aspects.
As far as a typical rehearsal day, they start out in the morning with stretching and an hour workout with their trainer. Then in the afternoon, they perform the show full out. Each dancer performs in front of Janet and the crew, and while they are getting notes from Duldulao, Jackson works with his assistant on her own.
Once night hits, Jackson and her dancers perform the whole show all over again. "I'll run it from top to bottom—an hour-and-45-minute show maybe five times in a row," he said. "And we repeat that process until everything is perfect and everyone's clear." Then, they hop on the treadmill after rehearsals at around 11 p.m.
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That is dedication and good reason why Jackson has slimmed down just seven months after welcoming her first child, Eissa. Duldulao told ET that the singer credits their intense rehearsals and healthy diet to her svelte figure. "She is dedicated," he said. "I mean, she is really strict with her diet."
"Honestly, I told her...'You're skinny. You're really thin,'" he continued. "So, if anything, I think we're going to have to have some seamstresses on hand to bring [the costumes] in more. Because she's losing weight every day. I'm telling her, 'Girl, you're skinny. Are you sure [you don't want to wear this]?'"
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In addition to her slimmer physique, Duldulao said fans will be able to see how Jackson has matured through motherhood. "You'll see a lot of her journey through concept and creative direction on how and what takes place in certain times of her life to get to this place [she's at] now, and I think that's beautiful," he said.
