by Stephanie Taylor & Dean Rogers

Going into a new Cirque Du Soleil this past Friday, we wondered how any Cirque Du Soleil show fits in with the rest that we have seen. Each show is unique in their own way, but whoever thought to combine arresting visuals common to their performances and the wonderful music from the legendary Michael Jackson is a genius.

The MJ IMMORTAL World Tour starts off with our guide, a mime (Mansour Abdessadok) took us through to the gates of Neverland, MJ’s palace. The statues at the gates come to life in this magical land as they dance to his 1995 hit “Childhood” From there, we are taken on a surreal journey that only MJ and Cirque Du Soleil could create for the fans.

The first act featured groups in perfect sync such as the four aerial hoop performers dressed in flickering LED suits. They flipped and turned against a space backdrop to the song “Human Nature”. For the performers to perform aerial magic in the dark with such precision left me speechless. Certain individuals were able to wow the crowd all by themselves, including a lethal looking woman in a white suit during “Smooth Criminal.” Her white suit doesn’t stay on for long and she effortlessly climbs on a pole and takes the show into “Dangerous.” All eyes were on her during her sexy and intensely athletic performance.

Following a 20-minute intermission, the second act kicked off with two aerial artists (Giulia Piolanti & Igor Zaripov) hanging, twisting, and balancing to the song “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” It was very romantic and both showed off their graceful strength to the sound of Michael Jackson singing in both English and Spanish.

If you remember the documentary “This is It,” CdS took a page from the tour as robot soldiers danced and marched in unison like a USMC silent drill team during “They Don’t Care About Us” and several videos from the ill-fated final tour were projected on giant screens. Footage from Jackson’s iconic music videos for “Earth Song” and “Scream” also made their way into the show and provided the perfect backdrop for the scores of incredible dancers.

For anyone who loves Michael Jackson or Cirque du Soleil, this show is one you cannot afford to miss. The greatest gift of Immortal was that it pays respect to MJ and his music. The entire show reminds us that it’s impossible not to remember how MJ was an amazingly talented artist in a class of his own whose music still speaks volumes to his legions of fans around the world.

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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