By Robin Leach
Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 | 6:06 p.m.
Life for Jamie King in his relationship with the late Michael Jackson has gone full circle. His first professional gig as a dancer was on the King of Pop’s Dangerous tour. That 1992 experience launched his career. He credits two years of working with Michael for everything he knows about dance and choreography: “Michael is ‘Immortal’ because he lives on in all of us.
“Michael believed in me and gave me the gift of seeing the world for 24 months by his side center stage. Those are memories I will never forget. The most important thing he taught me was to always give above and beyond to the fans -- give until you drop, give it all you have, and those words have guided my career.
“I only wanted this show to be the best celebration of his life. Directing this show, creating this show, has been a dream-come-true experience. It’s been an extraordinary opportunity for me to work with Cirque and this passionate team of dedicated, hard-working talented people. Their incredible contributions will forever be the heart and soul of this show.”
Jamie has created and choreographed shows and videos for Madonna, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Elton John and Celine Dion. He assembled a team of 12 of his favorite choreographers for “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour,” including Travis Payne, who was a co-choreographer for the aborted This Is It shows and is a four-time MTV Video Music Awards winner.
Jamie will lead them into Mandalay Bay for tomorrow night’s star-studded red carpet Las Vegas premiere. As we wrap up our five-part series in advance of the unprecedented 33-performance run through Dec. 27, Jamie wanted me to be sure that fans understand that “Immortal” is not a cover of Michael’s greatest hits. Instead, it’s an invitation to enter the Neverland universe.
In fact, when Jamie put his creative team together, the first thing he insisted was that they all went to Neverland to immerse themselves in that magical word -- he even had them climb into the giant Giving Tree there, which now forms the centerpiece of the show from the moment the curtain goes up.
I joined Jamie onstage in the Montreal arena the morning after “Immortal’s” world premiere in October, and here is our conversation:
Jamie King: This has been a huge undertaking, and it’s been really a year of my life. It was a big night last night; I didn’t sleep. I haven’t slept yet. I’m very exhausted, but mostly excited. It’s kind of that adrenaline thing is still going for me, that energy carried over, and I wasn’t able to sleep. I’m still kind of just running on oxygen.
Robin Leach: Did it turn out exactly the way you thought it would be when you set the first brick in at the meeting with the entire team at Neverland?
J.K.: I think it’s really close to what I envisioned. I always go back to what I’ve talked to you before, which is the heart of the show, what mattered the most, was to make sure the fans really felt like Michael was here, that he was present, and that we felt his humanity, his heart. And I feel like that he is definitely here with us.
R.L.: What do you think he would have said to you afterward?
J.K.: I did know him, and what I know of him is he changed my life -- because of him, I am able to do these shows, and now his show. I just hope that he’s proud. I don’t think of this in terms of topping my career. You know life changes, the world changes, so I always try to incorporate that in my shows, to reflect where the world is now. I think of it as an education.
R.L.: Why did you deliberately not tell this story in a chronological, normal way?
J.K.: I felt like that would be too normal -- someone else could do that. This was about living and breathing through Michael Jackson’s eyes, and the whole first section of the show is child-like. It’s all about going into Michael’s head and seeing the world how he saw it -- that anything is possible. There can be the promise of peace and the optimism of a better world.
He was very child-like and innocent in his beliefs of how the world can be a better place and everything could be a magical fairytale. So this show is really a journey, more fantasy driven than chronological, because we all know Michael’s life story. It was just a moving, a very emotional kind of experience to get to this place.
R.L.: Does it normally take you a year to mount a show, or this took longer because of the marriage between Cirque and rock ’n’ roll?
J.K.: This took longer. Typically in my shows, it’s about 3 to 5 months max mostly based on the artist’s schedule. They don’t have a lot of time to sit and put a show together, so we fast track. Now in Cirque’s world, they can spend up to 3 years sometimes mounting a show, so for ‘Cirque Immortal’ was a fast track but for me a luxury!
R.L.: Absolutely no disrespect, but you didn’t have a star physically there for this show, somebody who could give you feedback, answer back, and the fact that people would want to come see the “star,” who is now no longer with us -- that had to weigh on your mind. How did you overcome that, and tell me what it took to bring him into this show in such a way that that answers that thorny question.
J.K.: It did cross my mind, Robin, for sure, but briefly. It’s obvious Michael’s not here, so let me think of all the ways that I can incorporate him into the show so that we feel, I say we because I’m a fan also, the fans, myself, that we feel that Michael is here, that he’s present, and that he’s with us. Certainly the music became a huge, huge part for me in making sure that his voice was always clear.
“The music was the building block. This is a music-driven show. The first piece that I created with my musical designer made certain that Michael’s voice was very present and on top of the track. We felt like he was narrating our journey through this story. It crossed my mind, but I didn’t let it stop the Michael Jackson experience, the celebration and a tribute to the man that we all love. He’s represented musically with his costumes, and our performers are also the essence of Michael. Their spirit is his spirit. They dance under his influence.
R.L.: Why did they all become Michael?
J.K.: Every performer I know has been influenced by Michael Jackson in some way, shape or form. They’ve trained to be better dancers and performers because of Michael. They’ve been moved by his music, and he’s a global star who did influence the world. A lot of people, not only me, do what we do, we perform, we create because of Michael.
We’re all here in this show for the same reason. Our love of Michael -- that simple and that pure.
Please check the print edition of tomorrow’s Las Vegas Sun for a special edition of “Immortal.” We’ll report live using Twitter from tomorrow night’s red carpet at Mandalay Bay before the premiere. On Sunday, we’ll have Editor Don Chareunsy’s review of the show, and on Monday we’ll have my interviews, video and photographs with the Cirque team, Michael’s family, celebrities and the Fan Fest.
Meantime, 2011 Cirque Week got underway yesterday for fans, enthusiasts and VIPs at the Mirage with cast members from all seven Las Vegas productions. The “characters” took on various roles throughout the casino-resort property acting as valets, concierges, security and hair salon beauticians.
We posted a full rundown of Cirque Week events, which conclude next week with a visit behind the scenes of Criss Angel's “Believe” at the Luxor and a face-to-face with the incredible illusionist himself.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
