Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, June 22, 2012 Page: 54 of 80
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Killer diller
For dancer Leo Moctezuma,
'Michael Jackson Immortal'
is a dream come true
RICH LOPEZ I Staff Writer
lopez@dallasvoice.com
We've all done it: On the smooth floor of the
kitchen or at the school gymnasium, we've prac-
ticed the moonwalk made famous by Michael
Jackson. If it wasn't that, it was the signature
"claw" from the "Thriller" video, or the tip-toe
stand of "Billie Jean" (sparkle glove and pants
flair optional).
When he was younger, Leo
Moctezuma was certainly one of
these people. And like all of them,
he practiced enough tint he had
t down perfectly. Or so he
thought.
"Being a fan and a dancer, I
used to learn all those the moves," Moctezuma
says. "I kind a knew them, but during rehearsal, I
learned that wasn't the case!"
As a member of the cast of Michael Jackson The
Immortal World Tour — the tribute show created
by Cirque du Sole:, that comes to American Air-
lines Center on Tuesday — Moctezuma learned
his self-taught moves, while close, weren't accu-
rate enough to get in this show. Soleil wanted
perfection and with the Jackson family estate
JACKSON IMMORTAL
American Airlines Center, 2500
Victory Ave. June. 26-27 at 8 p.m.
$50-$ 175. Ticketmaster.com.
supporting it, he had to get it exact.
"Everyone has their own version, but it felt
better to learn the proper way. We're doing the
version," he says. "Plus, we're learning from the
best of the best."
Those "best" include an impressive roster of
choreographers, among them Rich and Tone Ta-
lauega (Madonna), Jamal Sims (the Footloose re-
make) and most notably Travis Payne, who
worked with Jackson on his Dangerous Tour and
his what-could-have-been pro-
duction that was the focus of the
2010 documentary This Is It.
1 gh-profile pop stars are
nothing new to Moctezuma. He's
toured with queer faves and pop
heavyweights Pink, Britney
Spears and Ricky Martin, to name a few. But this
tour fulfilled one of his dreams — even if part of
that dream passed away two years ago.
"I feel very blessed to be part of this show. As
a kid, it was always my dream to dance with
Michael Jackson and so this feels like an honor.
I'm dancing his dance and to his music. It's cool
to sort of touch people the way he did."
Fusing the magic of Cirque with the dance
and music elements of the King of Pop, Immortal
CAN YOU FEEL IT? | Cirque du Soleil's 'Immortal' is so overwhelming that
dancer Leo Moctezuma, inset, feels the singer's presence in spirit.
isn't merely a concert, it's a massive all-out
music-and-dance production. The intent of Im-
mortal isn't to capitalize on Jackson's passing, but
to honor the artistry he brought to music and, ul-
timately, the world. The Jackson estate helped to
create Immortal, giving it added legitimacy and
prestige.
Jackson was famous for his eccentricities, but
for Moctezuma, performing the show has helped
him realize something deeper. As an LGBT ally
n the world of dance, he says that Immortal has
inspired him to spread Jackson's familiar mes-
sage of healing to the world.
"He was about loving and respecting yourself
and being weird but in a good way. He was kind
of like how Lady Gaga is now," he says. "I real-
ze that n the community, those personal strug-
gles are tough, but he was thinking out of the
r> k \ \
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box and making
amazing work. I
think that's how the
community works."
Another part of
Jackson fandom was
dressing the part.
Whether you got the vinyl "Beat It" jacket or the
cheapy bedazzled glove, he had an image to live
up to. For Moctezuma, putting on his costumes
was more a magical experience.
"As one of the fanatics, I get to dress up n
some of that gear," he says. "That part is like the
comic relief of the show. But putting on that
gangster outfit for the 'Smooth Criminal' bit was
cool. I have moments during the show where
he's so present. His spirit and voice is so over-
whelming that I forget he's gone."
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A R M S
54 dallasvoice.com
06.22.12
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Wright, John. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, June 22, 2012, newspaper, June 22, 2012; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth308872/m1/54/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.