DETROIT – Lisa McCall has an unmistakable passion for dance choreography. She worked with Aretha Franklin for more than a decade.
"Y'all got to have that sassiness," McCall said to students in her class.
She is strict but encouraging, in the same way Franklin was with her.
"You got singers and then you got Aretha -- see the difference?" McCall said to students in her class.
McCall choreographed and managed Franklin's dancers.
"I didn't even realize that I was a choreographer until she told me I was a choreographer," McCall said, "Because I started off as a dancer and she said 'No, you're a choreographer,' so I said, 'Yes, ma'am.'"
McCall was diagnosed with cancer 14 years ago and the two bonded over their fights with the disease.
Last year, the two shared a moment that still resonates with her.
"She said, 'Lisa, you've been through this before, I hope that I end up like you,'" McCall said. "I don't really concentrate on the illness, I concentrate on her perseverance."
She spent years creating memories with the Queen of Soul.
"She would say, 'Lisa, I need you to get this number together. Choreograph 'Respect.' Have the girls ready to roll,'" McCall said.
She said Franklin believed in the dancers, which made them believe in themselves.
"I'm honored, because if the Queen of Soul thinks you're good enough to choreograph her show, then you have arrived," McCall said.
The celebration of Franklin's life will start with a two-day public visitation from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 28 and 29 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
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