CIRQUE PERFORMER I PROFILE
Heidelberg native is one of just 20 dancers in glitzy show celebrating Michael Jackson’s legacy
Local dancer takes on the world in Michael Jackson show.
MICHAEL CAMERON was just three years old when his mother enrolled him in a dance lesson.
It was a ballet class and, his mother recalls, the feisty toddler didn’t go willingly.
“He put his feet on the door and wouldn’t go in,” Cathie Cameron says with a laugh.
But she persisted. After all, the youngster’s two older sisters were competitive dancers so it made sense that her son should take a class as well.
In the end, the decision proved a smart one.
After ballet, she enrolled her son in tap and hip hop and, Cathie says, he “didn’t look back.”
Today, the 22-year-old Heidelberg native is touring the world, showcasing his talent in Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour.
He beat out thousands of dancers from New York, Los Angeles and Paris for one of just 20 dance parts.
“I’m so grateful for all of it,” Cameron says during a recent interview while on break from the tour. “This was what I was meant >>
>> to do. This is what I’ve strived for.”
The fantastical show, which began in May 2011, brings its audience into the world of Michael Jackson, mixing the King of Pop’s iconic songs with Cirque du Soleil’s acrobatic style. The show is written and directed by Jamie King, a renowned concert director in pop music, and features 49 international dancers, musicians and acrobats.
Cameron, a graduate of Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School, was just 19 years old when his parents — Cathie and her husband, John — drove him to Montreal and dropped him off to begin six months of intense training.
“It was really hard the first few months as I was living in an international setting,” Michael recalls. “Lots of people didn’t speak English. There were many lonely nights.”
On top of that, the crew was forced to practise daily, sometimes from early morning until midnight, to prepare for the much-anticipated show.
“It was hard to learn a lot of the work,” he says. “It was very long but worth it.”
When the show premièred in Montreal to more than 16,000 fans, Michael was chosen to walk the red carpet – a moment that brought tears to his mother’s eyes.
“I just thought: this is what he was born to do,” Cathie says, adding that she has attended at least 50 of his shows around the world.
Laura Silverman, spokesperson for the Michael Jackson The Immortal tour, says it was Cameron’s talent, passion and enthusiasm for Michael Jackson that secured his fate in the show.
“The show was created to celebrate and carry on the legacy of Michael Jackson, an artist who forever changed the pop culture and entertainment world, and requires artists who share his values. Artists who are passionate, driven and strive for perfection,” Silverman says. “Michael Cameron has all of those qualities.”
Cameron says he can’t see himself doing anything else.
“I never could have imagined that at 19 years of age I would begin a journey that would take me to almost every major city in the world. I truly believe that I have had the experience that happens to very few and is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Since the tour began, Cameron has travelled to almost every continent and has had the chance to visit sites such as the Great Wall of China and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The city of Barcelona is one of his most memorable cities.
“It’s the culture. It is a relaxed beach life. And the food and the women,” he says with a laugh.
Travelling from city to city on a weekly basis makes it hard to have any lasting romantic relationship, but Cameron says he has made countless friendships with people from around the world. The culture diversity on the tour “makes it special,” he says. “You don’t have that on many tours. “I now feel that the cast and crew are my family away from home.
His career path is not surprising to Cameron’s parents, who secured him an agent when he was just three. Soon after, he was cast in a Diet Coke commercial. From there he went on to roles in several films with A-list celebrities including Pushing Tin with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton, Angel Eyes with Jennifer Lopez and Riding the Bus With My Sister with Rosie O’Donnell and Andie MacDowell.
I never could have imagined that at 19 years of age I would begin a journey that would take me to almost every major city in the world. Michael Michael Cameron Cameron
But Cameron also had an athletic side, and at one point played for the Elmira Sugar Kings on the Jr. B circuit.
Love of the stage soon called him back and Cameron returned to dancing and acting. In fact, when he was called to try out for the Michael Jackson show in 2011, he was working on Hellcats, a TV series based on cheerleading. At the same time, he was also chosen as a finalist for the 2011 season of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
“I got a call from Cirque Du Soleil so I had to make a decision. This (the tour) was opening more doors for me and I was making money and got to be on the road and meet people who actually met Michael Jackson. So in the end, this was better,” he says.
Cameron appears in 11 of the more than 35 songs played in the show. He figures he has danced in more than 400 shows over the years but says he still gets excited to perform, especially to his favourite songs, including Dangerous, where he gets to dress like a gangster while a female acrobat performs a dangerous pole-dancing act, and Smooth Criminal where he gets to perform Jackson’s famous leaning motion.
“I know Michael Jackson would be happy with the show, and he is with us each and every time we perform,” he says.
Dancing aside, Cameron says he has >>
>> learned a lot about life on the tour.
“I have had to grow up in many ways I never imagined and faster than I would have believed. Being the youngest on tour and with so many older artists, you just learn about the world much quicker. Budgeting money, doing grocery shopping, managing my business side, training and making sure I try to eat healthy. They were things I kind of took for granted.”
While on tour, Cameron met Travis Payne, a choreographer who worked with Jackson before he died. Cameron remembers Payne telling him to “enjoy this while you can” because it will go by quickly.
“It sounds so cliche but it did. It went by in the blink of an eye. I can’t recall most of the places I’ve been because it has gone by so fast.”
He also met a man known as Jonathan (Sugarfoot) Moffett, Jackson’s drummer for 30 years. It was this man who taught him one of the most valuable lessons from the tour – to always keep growing.
“He is always learning and growing and happy doing what he is doing,” Cameron says.
Travelling by bus and living out of a suitcase can be difficult, especially at Christmas when he misses his family’s annual Polish feast. But, Cameron says, he has learned to put everything in perspective.
“The show can sometimes become like a job, but I always try to remember where I am and what I’m doing and how special it is,” he says. “I have the opportunity to travel and create. You can find inspiration anywhere on the road.”
And he has. The tour has awakened another love for Cameron – writing and singing songs. Shortly after heading out on tour, Cameron met Keyon Harold, a music producer who has worked with hip hop artists such as Beyonce. Cameron has been working with him on his off-time to produce songs and videos that they hope will be released soon.
In fact, before heading out on tour again Cameron planned to head to Los Angeles to work on his tracks. One of his favourites is called London Girl, a catchy pop/rap song written about a beautiful woman he saw while visiting London.
“My music right now is important. I want to keep growing as an artist.”
His stage name is Dropz – given to him by his friends on the tour because of the simple fact that “I drop everything and forget everything,” he admits.
As for the future, Cameron says anything is possible. He will continue touring for at least another year. After that he will focus on his music and possibly take on some acting gigs if the job feels right.
“My life is in a truly wonderful place right now,” he says. “Who would have believed that a kid from Heidelberg, a small rural town, could be where I am. It is crazy.”
Other Cirque connections: page 208