Michael Jackson
Cirque du Soleil
The Immortal Tour; Review

By: Franciney Horodyski

Almost every person, at one point or another, was a Michael Jackson fan. Whether it was when he was younger in the Jackson Five, or his more recent days, Michael Jackson was a worldwide phenomenon. This proved to be true at the Immortal tour. People of all races and ages attended. Memorabilia continues to circulate.  I, myself have dolls, folders, and a record player that represents Michael Jackson and his sensational imagery; my favorite being the cover of the Thriller album, where he is holding the baby tiger.  

“Let us dream of tomorrow where we can truly love from the soul, and know love as the ultimate truth at the heart of all creation.” ~ Michael Jackson.  Cirque du Soleil is known for their daring feats and unbelievable shows, but director, Jamie King, created in the Michael Jackson tour something that was beyond imaginable.  To take songs from a legend like Michael Jackson, and create dance and movements that were visually stunning, was something that Michael Jackson would have loved and been proud of.  The show went along with his dream of peace and love.  It was candy for the eyes and ears, and left you with so many different emotions. 

Cirque du Soleil seemed to have taken ideas from the documentary, This is It. This documentary shows in which direction Michael Jackson was headed for in his concert.  His vision did not die along with him, because his loyal fans, followers, and visionaries carried his legendary music on a crazy, imaginative journey throughout the whole spectacle.  The first song they covered was “Working Day and Night”.  This was the first time we see Cirque du Soleil work their magic with their amazing acrobatics. A very simple scenery, but truly remarkable, the dancers are seen to be spray painting along to the music horizontally atop a digital screen.  Then they dive into “Have you Seen my Childhood”, where the main dancer, Salah Benlemqawanssa, who plays a mime, dances around people who appear to be statues sitting on a bench. Here we also get the first glimpse of a young, one-legged marvel, Jean Sok. Amazing! is all I can say.  He break dances and moves with ease.  They did not forget Michael Jackson’s lovable chimp, Bubbles, either.  Sok plays the chimp throughout the show as well.  We also see a very talented young lady, Desiree Bassett.  She is the lead guitarist, along with Taku Hirano, who plays percussion, and Tina Guo who plays the electric cello.  All the vocalists and percussionists are simply marvelous, but these are the people we see the most often on the stage. 

“Dancing Machine” was another Michael Jackson song wildly covered.  Picture a contraption from the movie Saw, being used to make a person dance.  That was what I was reminded of when I saw this number.  It was somehow a little disturbing, but so entrancing, that you couldn’t take your eyes off the stage.  There was also a pole dancer, but before you get upset, it was more about the acrobatics than sex.  This was done to the song, “Dangerous”. It just went to show that you need tremendous upper body strength to work the pole.  There was some frightening imagery in the song, “Is it Scary” as a very talented gymnast moves flawlessly on a giant story book.  This is followed by “Thriller”, which similarly follows Michael Jackson’s original video for this song.  “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” was also represented by two very brilliant dancers, who reminded me of fire and ice.  Their daring air acrobatics were so mesmerizing, as their moves flowed dazzlingly to the music.  Some other songs that were exemplified with astounding choreography and costumes were “Scream”, “Jam”, Human Nature”, and “They Don’t Really Care About Us”.  “Black or White” was just another reminder of Michael Jackson’s message for unity and peace. 

This whole exhibition left the audience with so many emotions; happiness, excitement, and sadness, but hopeful sadness.  Michael Jackson’s face was seen throughout the whole show, and it was almost like he was there watching and waiting for us to finally grasp his message.  “In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe” ~ Michael Jackson.

For more information on the show and to purchase tickets, please go to http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/michael-jackson-tour/default.aspx.