CEBU CITY, Philippines?(UPDATE) The inmates of Cebu who became famous for dancing to Michael Jackson tunes gave a tribute performance on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the death of the "King of Pop".

Supreme Court Deputy Court Administrator Jesus Edwin Villasor was one of the estimated 2,000 people who gathered at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center to witness the 1,500 inmates pay tribute to Jackson, who died on June 25, 2009.

Foreign tourists also watched as the ?Cebu Dancing Inmates? in the high-security jail in the central island of Cebu performed dances to some of Jackson's biggest hits, prison officials said.

"It was a wonderful presentation. I was very impressed. Their concentration was really there and they were really serious about their dance," said Mils Bonnen, 58, a teacher from Denmark.

"This will set an example to other rehabilitation centers in the country. It will also give people a different view of the inmates," said judge Geraldine Faith Econg who led a delegation of judges to the event.

The prisoners, led by a dancer dressed like Jackson, performed a variety of the star's hits including "Thriller", "Ben" and "They Don't Really Care About Us".

The dancers, wearing black T-shirts with the title "This Is It" -- a reference to the tribute movie to Jackson, topped their performance off with "Billie Jean", another of the singer's biggest hits.

The provincial government which first organized the mass dances provided free transport and access to the prison for foreign and local guests to see the two-hour event.

The convicted murderers, rapists, and drug dealers at the prison became an Internet phenomenon in 2007 after jail authorities posted a video of the prisoners doing the zombie dance from Jackson's "Thriller" music video.

The footage on the video-sharing website YouTube has become one of the most watched clips on the Internet, registering more than 42 million hits.

Saturday's show was staged in homage to Jackson, who died at the age of 50 from a drug overdose at a rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25 last year, and video footage of the performance is expected to be posted online next week.

Villasor arrived ahead of the 3 p.m. performance and stayed for several minutes after the show ended at 4:30 p.m.

Vince Rosales, the choreographer of the inmates, said Villasor even posed for pictures with the inmates and heard their grievances and concerns.

The event has also become an opportunity for the Cebu dancing inmates to air their grievances and concerns to the Supreme Court official.

Rosales said some inmates asked Rosales to help them speed up the stalled hearings of their cases.

?The Supreme Court also wants to know who among the inmates have yet to have hearings conducted on the cases filed against them,? said Rosales in Cebuano, paraphrasing the assurance given by Villasor to the dancing inmates.

Sam Costanilla, media affairs consultant to the Cebu Provincial government who served as emcee, affirmed that Villasor promised to take action on the concerns of the inmates.

?He told me that he will try to listen and help what he can do on the concerns of the inmates?, Costanilla said.

The presence of Villasor was part of the high tribunal?s inspection of the different jail facilities in the country.

Villasor was accompanied by former Cebu Regional Trial Court judge and now Judicial Reform Program Administrator ) Geraldine Faith Econg and Cebu City/Lapu-Lapu City RTC Judge Gilbert Moises.

Costanilla said Villasor even told him to write to the Supreme Court on the various concerns raised by the inmates, but he said he could not do it since he is the warden of the jail.

The performance of the 1,500 inmates started with a marching dance to the tune of ?Do the Hustle,? with the inmates bringing the flags of the country and the provincial government.

Thereafter, they danced to different popular tunes before dancing to four songs of Jackson.

Rosales said the inmates danced to 10 dance music pieces that were not recorded or popularized by Jackson following requests of visitors who wanted to see them perform to other artists? music.

But it was during the final numbers, when the inmates danced to Jackson?s music, that the audience exploded with applause.

The inmates started their Jackson tribute dancing to ?Thriller,? the dance which became their first hit on YouTube in 2007.

Then they danced to ?This is It,? the performance that was choreographed by Jackson?s choreographers and back-up dancers who came to Cebu to shoot the dance routine.

But the final two songs??Ben? and ?Billy Jean??sent the crowd roaring, with some of them saying it was the inmates? most outstanding performance.

?Billy Jean? was the most applauded after the inmates did Jackson?s moonwalk.

Rosales selected 40 inmates to wear Jackson?s attire from the cap, gloves and everything.

One inmate with complete Jackson attire danced on top of a table with an image of Jackson as backdrop.

Rosales said the dancer had at least two days to practice the steps.

Rosales said the inmates have been rehabilitated because of their regular dance practices and performances and the provincial government, which operates the facility, is proud to say that these inmates have largely become ?harmless,? that even the crowd could approach and pose with them for pictures.

?There is a big change among the... inmates. They are no longer feared,? he said.