PurpleParrot
Proud Member
Well, I may quote Tina Guo, the celloist of the show:
''Very blessed to be doing this every night... looking forward to hitting Mexico, Europe, Russia, and Asia starting this fall after we finish our North American leg!''
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The Legend Lives On - Official Cirque du Soleil 'Immortal World Tour' Discussion
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Well, I may quote Tina Guo, the celloist of the show:
''Very blessed to be doing this every night... looking forward to hitting Mexico, Europe, Russia, and Asia starting this fall after we finish our North American leg!''
Ashtanga
Proud Member
PurpleParrot
Proud Member
Only 2 days before the Immortals rock the Bell Center in Montreal for 2 last shows there!
Ashtanga
Proud Member
Had a blast! :wild: Def wanna go see the permanent one in Vegas when it's finished
:wild:
Annita
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/enter...world-tour/2012/07/05/gJQAAi9sRW_story_1.html
Michael Jackson’s iconic moves are his legacy in Cirque’s ‘Immortal World Tour’
By Sarah Kaufman, Friday, July 6, 5:25 PM
We always knew Michael Jackson’s life was a circus — eccentricity swirled around him like the paparazzi.
But he wasn’t the only pop star defined by oddness. The sex scandals, pet chimps and radical changes to his looks weren’t entirely out of keeping in an industry that has embraced Jerry Lee Lewis, Marilyn Manson and Lady Gaga.
But inspiring a true under-the-big-top spectacle? Now that’s something only Jackson could do.
Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour” rolls into Verizon Center on Friday, claiming to capture the “essence, soul and inspiration” of the late King of Pop. In interviews posted on the show’s Web site, its creators state that Jackson’s music and vocals drive the production.
They’re wrong. Granted, the music is important — more than 30 of Jackson’s songs, including such hits as “Wanna Be Starting Something,” “Dangerous,” “Beat It, “ “Smooth Criminal” and “Man in the Mirror,” will be heard throughout the show, in mash-ups, remixes and live performances of new arrangements. The show’s musical director, Greg Phillinganes, traces his Jackson expertise back to session work on several of the singer’s albums and to his “Bad” and “Dangerous” concert tours, for which Phillinganes was also musical director.
But without Jackson’s legacy as a dance icon, there would be no Cirque circus. There would be, instead, the Jackson version of “Beatlemania.” “MJmania,” perhaps.
Think about it: If he weren’t such a physical performer, known for his introspective solos as well as full-out dance numbers in which his footwork outshone the career dancers fanned out behind him, what would Cirque’s dancers, contortionists and acrobats have been able to sink their famous bodies into? Jackson was a profoundly talented kinetic artist as well as a musician. He was unique in the pop-music world, an entertainer whose physical expression came at us just as powerfully as his musical one.
To be sure, there are countless other pop stars who dance. Ne-Yo pays affectionate homage to Jackson with his white socks and crisp, jazz-inflected choreography (which Jackson, by the way, borrowed in large measure from Broadway great Bob Fosse).
With his velvet coordination, Usher brings up-to-the-minute dance trends like the Memphis jook onstage. But not he, Ne-Yo or enthusiastic singer-dancer Chris Brown has the personal flamboyance or global renown to spark a theatrical event like the Cirque du Soleil show, which has European dates booked through next spring.
And none of them has made dancing a cornerstone of his craft to the extent that Jackson did.
Jackson’s identification as a dancer went beyond the common practice of injecting choreographed sequences into live performances and music videos. Even if such appealing singer-dancers as Beyonce or Madonna were to depart this life well before their time, as Jackson did three years ago at age 50, I’m not sure that the desire to cash in** on their popularity would bloom into a dance-acrobatic-narrative extravaganza as this Cirque production promises to be.
“I don’t know who you could really put next to him,” ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov told me just after Jackson died in June 2009. “To imitate somebody like Michael Jackson is impossible. Why bother? You just relax and admire.” Barysh*nikov, who was introduced to Jackson by Elizabeth Taylor, recalled encounters marked by Jackson’s hungry curiosity about ballet and the process of working with choreographers. The pop king was a completely intuitive dancer; his questions about the studied art of it, Baryshnikov said, were like a child’s.
That natural ability is what most impressed the ballet dancer, who fondly remembered Jackson’s “superior confidence in his body as a dancer. You wanted to say, ‘Wow, this guy, what a cat; he can really move in his own way.’ ”
There was his world-famous moonwalk, which though Jackson didn’t invent it — it was a longtime tap-dance staple — the technique will be forever linked to the pop star. It’s hard to think of him without seeing him sliding backward across the stage, as if he’s slipping on ice, or being pulled by an invisible thread. (“Moonwalk,” though, is one of the world’s great misnomers, though it’s more romantic than calling the move Trying to Reverse Direction on a Conveyor Belt.)
Jackson’s dance prowess was in glorious evidence from the start. As the Jackson 5’s kid singer, he absorbed James Brown’s moves into his bones, especially the Godfather of Soul’s precise, twisting footwork and his tight spins that started with a sweep of one shoulder. Jackson’s joy in moving was an instinctive musical response, and as much a part of his appeal as his dimples and sweet soprano.
As his solo career grew, so did the power he could project through that lithe, boyish body. By the time he was singing in stadiums, the electricity in his dancing could be felt in the highest rows. Look at the jolts and shudders he delivered when he performed “Billie Jean,” for example. This wasn’t a vanity moment, an opportunity for a costume change and some mimed makeout with a backup dancer, as you see in so many other pop concerts. It was a demonstration of the barely contained fire in this performer, the volcanic self-expression that, whatever the oddities of his personal life, found a positive outlet in a perfected physical display.
This physical fire is what extends Jackson’s legacy in a way that Whitney Houston or Donna Summer, as mourned as they are, will never enjoy. The recognizable moves, the kinetic excitement and the visual spectacle of the Jackson concert experience can be resurrected and multiplied, with a cast of hundreds, even though the star is missing. Cirque du Soleil will do it with bloodied, mummy-wrapped characters inspired by the “Thriller” video, dancing in “re-imagined” choreography. There will also be a chorus of performers in red biker jackets like the one Jackson wore in “Beat It.” And hip-hop dancers take the stage in a riff on the video Jackson made with basketball great Michael Jordan.
There’s even a number that was designed for Jackson’s “This Is It” tour, the one he was working on before he died.
“This will be the show that Michael wasn’t able to do,” says Phillinganes in a promotional video clip. Perhaps. But in a larger sense, Jackson had done it all before. That’s why the show exists
Michael Jackson’s iconic moves are his legacy in Cirque’s ‘Immortal World Tour’
By Sarah Kaufman, Friday, July 6, 5:25 PM
We always knew Michael Jackson’s life was a circus — eccentricity swirled around him like the paparazzi.
But he wasn’t the only pop star defined by oddness. The sex scandals, pet chimps and radical changes to his looks weren’t entirely out of keeping in an industry that has embraced Jerry Lee Lewis, Marilyn Manson and Lady Gaga.
But inspiring a true under-the-big-top spectacle? Now that’s something only Jackson could do.
Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour” rolls into Verizon Center on Friday, claiming to capture the “essence, soul and inspiration” of the late King of Pop. In interviews posted on the show’s Web site, its creators state that Jackson’s music and vocals drive the production.
They’re wrong. Granted, the music is important — more than 30 of Jackson’s songs, including such hits as “Wanna Be Starting Something,” “Dangerous,” “Beat It, “ “Smooth Criminal” and “Man in the Mirror,” will be heard throughout the show, in mash-ups, remixes and live performances of new arrangements. The show’s musical director, Greg Phillinganes, traces his Jackson expertise back to session work on several of the singer’s albums and to his “Bad” and “Dangerous” concert tours, for which Phillinganes was also musical director.
But without Jackson’s legacy as a dance icon, there would be no Cirque circus. There would be, instead, the Jackson version of “Beatlemania.” “MJmania,” perhaps.
Think about it: If he weren’t such a physical performer, known for his introspective solos as well as full-out dance numbers in which his footwork outshone the career dancers fanned out behind him, what would Cirque’s dancers, contortionists and acrobats have been able to sink their famous bodies into? Jackson was a profoundly talented kinetic artist as well as a musician. He was unique in the pop-music world, an entertainer whose physical expression came at us just as powerfully as his musical one.
To be sure, there are countless other pop stars who dance. Ne-Yo pays affectionate homage to Jackson with his white socks and crisp, jazz-inflected choreography (which Jackson, by the way, borrowed in large measure from Broadway great Bob Fosse).
With his velvet coordination, Usher brings up-to-the-minute dance trends like the Memphis jook onstage. But not he, Ne-Yo or enthusiastic singer-dancer Chris Brown has the personal flamboyance or global renown to spark a theatrical event like the Cirque du Soleil show, which has European dates booked through next spring.
And none of them has made dancing a cornerstone of his craft to the extent that Jackson did.
Jackson’s identification as a dancer went beyond the common practice of injecting choreographed sequences into live performances and music videos. Even if such appealing singer-dancers as Beyonce or Madonna were to depart this life well before their time, as Jackson did three years ago at age 50, I’m not sure that the desire to cash in** on their popularity would bloom into a dance-acrobatic-narrative extravaganza as this Cirque production promises to be.
“I don’t know who you could really put next to him,” ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov told me just after Jackson died in June 2009. “To imitate somebody like Michael Jackson is impossible. Why bother? You just relax and admire.” Barysh*nikov, who was introduced to Jackson by Elizabeth Taylor, recalled encounters marked by Jackson’s hungry curiosity about ballet and the process of working with choreographers. The pop king was a completely intuitive dancer; his questions about the studied art of it, Baryshnikov said, were like a child’s.
That natural ability is what most impressed the ballet dancer, who fondly remembered Jackson’s “superior confidence in his body as a dancer. You wanted to say, ‘Wow, this guy, what a cat; he can really move in his own way.’ ”
There was his world-famous moonwalk, which though Jackson didn’t invent it — it was a longtime tap-dance staple — the technique will be forever linked to the pop star. It’s hard to think of him without seeing him sliding backward across the stage, as if he’s slipping on ice, or being pulled by an invisible thread. (“Moonwalk,” though, is one of the world’s great misnomers, though it’s more romantic than calling the move Trying to Reverse Direction on a Conveyor Belt.)
Jackson’s dance prowess was in glorious evidence from the start. As the Jackson 5’s kid singer, he absorbed James Brown’s moves into his bones, especially the Godfather of Soul’s precise, twisting footwork and his tight spins that started with a sweep of one shoulder. Jackson’s joy in moving was an instinctive musical response, and as much a part of his appeal as his dimples and sweet soprano.
As his solo career grew, so did the power he could project through that lithe, boyish body. By the time he was singing in stadiums, the electricity in his dancing could be felt in the highest rows. Look at the jolts and shudders he delivered when he performed “Billie Jean,” for example. This wasn’t a vanity moment, an opportunity for a costume change and some mimed makeout with a backup dancer, as you see in so many other pop concerts. It was a demonstration of the barely contained fire in this performer, the volcanic self-expression that, whatever the oddities of his personal life, found a positive outlet in a perfected physical display.
This physical fire is what extends Jackson’s legacy in a way that Whitney Houston or Donna Summer, as mourned as they are, will never enjoy. The recognizable moves, the kinetic excitement and the visual spectacle of the Jackson concert experience can be resurrected and multiplied, with a cast of hundreds, even though the star is missing. Cirque du Soleil will do it with bloodied, mummy-wrapped characters inspired by the “Thriller” video, dancing in “re-imagined” choreography. There will also be a chorus of performers in red biker jackets like the one Jackson wore in “Beat It.” And hip-hop dancers take the stage in a riff on the video Jackson made with basketball great Michael Jordan.
There’s even a number that was designed for Jackson’s “This Is It” tour, the one he was working on before he died.
“This will be the show that Michael wasn’t able to do,” says Phillinganes in a promotional video clip. Perhaps. But in a larger sense, Jackson had done it all before. That’s why the show exists
PurpleParrot
Proud Member
This is it, last show in Montreal is done, and it was GREEAAAATTTT! Had a blast again after the show until late in the morning!
Thanks to the Immortals for all the great memories
I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Thanks to the Immortals for all the great memories
I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
PurpleParrot
Proud Member
Yes the cuts are still made...
So I supported my friend going to those 2 last shows unk:
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Scorpio
Proud Member
Just saw this show yesterday in Hershey PA.
I must say that I was a bit skeptical when I first heard of this show however long ago and I actually had no intentions on going. I then managed to get my hands on some tickets at a very cheap fare (through an employer) so I figured I might as well give it a world and I'm glad that I did. I was not the least bit disappointed if anything I was impressed with what they were able to do and what they were able to create. There were moments of joy, of sadness, excitement, magic, you name it and they captured it all in one show. They truly captured the essence of an MJ show and that is what made it special to me.
The only thing that kind of bummed me out was the fact that if you listened to the Immortal Album...you've pretty much heard the show so it kind of takes away the shock value of what will and will not be played and what cues are coming up etc. Had I not heard the album, there would have been plenty of real surprises in store and that's what was kind of whack, I guess you could say. There weren't too many true surprises outside of what we have all already heard from the album. Perhaps it's a minor detail but I couldn't help but to watch the show and wonder how even more excited I would have been had I not heard the album before hand. Also, if you've seen any of the previews...that kind of took away the awe aspect at some points as well.
Regardless, the show was great and I would love to see it again. I went with my best friend and she isn't a big MJ fan but she too was in awe with the show aspect more so than anything. The MJ aspect was a second detail for her which is what is great about the show is fans and non fans of MJ alike can go to this and just enjoy an amazing show.
It was kind of funny that at the end everyone thought the show was over so people started to leave before Man in the Mirror and I too was almost out the door because we had to beat the traffic because my friend had to be up for work in 6 hours...but I stuck around and that was probably my fav part. Just seeing everyone dancing, young and old, and hearing stories during intermission, and seeing people dressed up...it made me happy in a sense and gave me some closure that Michael will never truly part. He will only live on and continue to become "immortal".
I must say that I was a bit skeptical when I first heard of this show however long ago and I actually had no intentions on going. I then managed to get my hands on some tickets at a very cheap fare (through an employer) so I figured I might as well give it a world and I'm glad that I did. I was not the least bit disappointed if anything I was impressed with what they were able to do and what they were able to create. There were moments of joy, of sadness, excitement, magic, you name it and they captured it all in one show. They truly captured the essence of an MJ show and that is what made it special to me.
The only thing that kind of bummed me out was the fact that if you listened to the Immortal Album...you've pretty much heard the show so it kind of takes away the shock value of what will and will not be played and what cues are coming up etc. Had I not heard the album, there would have been plenty of real surprises in store and that's what was kind of whack, I guess you could say. There weren't too many true surprises outside of what we have all already heard from the album. Perhaps it's a minor detail but I couldn't help but to watch the show and wonder how even more excited I would have been had I not heard the album before hand. Also, if you've seen any of the previews...that kind of took away the awe aspect at some points as well.
Regardless, the show was great and I would love to see it again. I went with my best friend and she isn't a big MJ fan but she too was in awe with the show aspect more so than anything. The MJ aspect was a second detail for her which is what is great about the show is fans and non fans of MJ alike can go to this and just enjoy an amazing show.
It was kind of funny that at the end everyone thought the show was over so people started to leave before Man in the Mirror and I too was almost out the door because we had to beat the traffic because my friend had to be up for work in 6 hours...but I stuck around and that was probably my fav part. Just seeing everyone dancing, young and old, and hearing stories during intermission, and seeing people dressed up...it made me happy in a sense and gave me some closure that Michael will never truly part. He will only live on and continue to become "immortal".
The top-grossing act during the first six months of 2012 wasn’t a band or an artist with a mega-selling album. Instead it’s Cirque du Soleil – “Michael Jackson: The Immortal,” which played 95 shows in 46 cities and sold 703,793 tickets for a total gross of $78.5 million.
http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2012/2012MidYearTop100NorthAmericanToursTours.pdf
http://www.pollstar.com/news_article.aspx?ID=802058
http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2012/2012MidYearTop100NorthAmericanToursTours.pdf
http://www.pollstar.com/news_article.aspx?ID=802058
Saw the show last night and thought it was amazing. The crowd went crazy when they did the megamix at the end.
The estate did good by hooking up with the Cirque du Soleil folks. You couldn't ask for a better tribute.
The estate did good by hooking up with the Cirque du Soleil folks. You couldn't ask for a better tribute.
Memefan
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First lady, Michelle Obama, was at the first Washington DC show, last night.
2https://www.facebook.com/DesireeApolonioBassett/posts/10151267889714488
@TinaGuo Intermission! Secret service in the house tonight
2https://www.facebook.com/DesireeApolonioBassett/posts/10151267889714488
@TinaGuo Intermission! Secret service in the house tonight
bluesky
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Off topic: saw this posted on twitter
James Cameron is making a Cirque Du Soleil 3D motion picture "Worlds Away". See the trailer http://bit.ly/Md85h3
or visit
http://www.worldsaway3d.com/
available dec 21 2012
James Cameron is making a Cirque Du Soleil 3D motion picture "Worlds Away". See the trailer http://bit.ly/Md85h3
or visit
http://www.worldsaway3d.com/
available dec 21 2012
Ashtanga
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Memefan
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I really don't know what to expect from this movie. I see they used lots of scenes from "O" .
CherubimII
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I hope the First Lady, Michelle Obama took her two daughters; because if she did they had a special treat!!!! :yes:
Annita
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Nice report on Fox8-News
http://fox8.com/2012/07/17/cirque-du-soleils-michael-jackson-the-immortal-world-tour/
http://fox8.com/2012/07/17/cirque-du-soleils-michael-jackson-the-immortal-world-tour/
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PurpleParrot
Proud Member
Great thanks for sharing, nice that they bring different guys from the cast, used to be often Gianinni and Leeco, very glad to see Pom and Mike this time!
Tattoo looks like is healing well Pom!
Memefan
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Jackie isn't involved in the Vegas show & Jacksons are planing their OWN vegas residency:
http://www.lvrj.com/neon/michael-ja...team-up-for-unity-tour-163151576.html?ref=576
http://www.lvrj.com/neon/michael-ja...team-up-for-unity-tour-163151576.html?ref=576
PurpleParrot
Proud Member
Just saying that they took new pictures for the new tour programm, the pics are great (seen some of them only)
Europe and rest of the world, you'll get a brand new tour programm
Europe and rest of the world, you'll get a brand new tour programm
ilmjj
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Just saying that they took new pictures for the new tour programm, the pics are great (seen some of them only)
Europe and rest of the world, you'll get a brand new tour programm
I want one!! the one I have still has the twins. Do you know how I can get one?
I saw the show twice when it was here in Chicago and it was soooo great. But I was so sad when "can you feel it" was over knowing they are cutting it. It is so perfect for the whole theme they created. Wish they would listen to me!
justoldme
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Good to know this. We saw the show that night in DC, and I was a little disappointed because of the obvious technical gaffes. It did not seem up to Michael's standards. I wondered why - now I have an answer that makes me feel better! I have seen other Cirque shows, which were flawless, so I really couldn't understand it. I thought about trying to get a ticket for another night just to see if things were fixed, but ultimately didn't. I'll just wait for the Vegas permanent show and then hope I don't go on the same night as the First Lady again!
PurpleParrot
Proud Member
I don't know where you can get one, probably when it will be sold when the Europe leg of the tour begins you ca ask someone to get you one
For the Can You feel it number, it was hard for me too to watch it for the last time in Montreal 20 days ago, but still, I was smiling, watching my friend doing his thing on that stage for the last time.
:kickass::clap::dancin::clapping::bow:
PurpleParrot
Proud Member
[video]http://canadaam.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=729465&playlistId=1.895252&binId=1.815913[/video]
Felix Cane (amazingly strong and beautiful pole dancer) and some of the Immortal dancers where on Canada AM on CTV this morning to promote the show. Tonight and tomorrow they'll be performing in Toronto
Felix Cane (amazingly strong and beautiful pole dancer) and some of the Immortal dancers where on Canada AM on CTV this morning to promote the show. Tonight and tomorrow they'll be performing in Toronto
Xtarlight and Mpenziwe
Proud Member
Chilean newspaper La Tercera has an article about two Chilean dancers who signed recently for the Mandalay Show. Acording the news, the show will start in May 23, 2013.
http://diario.latercera.com/2012/07...vegas-por-dos-anos-con-cirque-du-soleil.shtml
http://diario.latercera.com/2012/07...vegas-por-dos-anos-con-cirque-du-soleil.shtml