JR Hawbaker, aged 28, shed her Pronovias gown for a fedora and a sleek white H&M pantsuit when she and husband Leo Bolanos surprised guests with a tribute to Michael at the end of their wedding last August.
“I had to change or how else will I show off my moves,” Hawbaker said, laughing. “I couldn’t Moonwalk or triple spin and do all the Michael Jackson moves in my dress!” But she kept on her stiletto platform sandals.
A ballerina as a child, Hawbaker says she’s always had a fantasy of performing Michael’s hit ‘Smooth Criminal’ in public. She studied online versions of both Michael’s and fans’ performing the dance and practiced in her Silver Lake apartment, making sure the window shades were tightly drawn.
Est. 1998
