Cirque Du Soleil - Michael Jackson - One Leg and Life Lessons

Tonight I took my son to see the Cirque Du Soleil Michael Jackson show in Dubai.  It was fun, amazing, inspiring, reflective and entertaining.  There were some of the usual acrobatics and other acts we are used to seeing in a Cirque show, but this one was focussed on capturing the essence of Michael Jackson through dancing, his lyrics and music.

The show was very moving in several places and also covered many favorites and did these well. The dancing, choreography and production where fantastic.

What most moved me in this show was a one legged dancer.  I saw him in the opening and I first thought he was a regular dancer using crutches as a prop.  I later realized this was a real one legged dancer.

I did a quick internet search, and learned his name is Jean Sok.  He does not focus on the why or how he lost his leg at the age of 15, nor does he need to.  He is amazing and proved himself in several numbers.  An article says he moved Jackson's choreographer to tears at his audition, and I can see why.  He certainly moved me to tears.

There are a lot of good messages and discussions I expect to have with my son as a result of his curiosity about show - respect for nature, respect for each other, the importance of children and having a dream.  However, if he took away anything from this entertaining evening, I hope that Sok left an impression on him.

This morning I read an article about a woman running for a Senate seat in the US.  She allegedly dropped out of the race because one of her children has been diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes.  A diabetic organization in my Facebook feed asked the question, "What advice would you give her?"

As the parent of a Type 1 child, there are many things I could say.  Many people responded "one day at a time".  There is a lot of truth in that.  It can be extremely overwhelming.

If I were to answer that question now, I would tell her to take her child to see the Cirque Michael Jackson show and look for the one legged dancer.

Sometimes a perceived obstacle is not a road block.  Tell your Type 1 child that this is just one of those things, and even though they are diabetic they can still achieve anything they put their mind to. Never think that you "can't" and never think that your "disease" or condition will get in the way of your dreams.

Jean Sok - you rocked it.

Long time no Blog...Some thoughts about MJ...

It has been such a busy year workwise..at the end of the day, I just could not open a laptop to write..and my energy was all used up focussing on accomplishing a lot of work. So, now back from two very busy weeks in Turkey and full of that motivation and optimism that you get after a holiday..the kind you want to stay around and keep all the time....but then, you end up back in the grind and all that freshness is forgotten...How can we keep that feeling? More importantly, how can I keep that feeling!?

So Michael Jackson died. What a fiasco. You know, I thought it would be one of those things where I remembered where I was when I learned, but my memory is a bit foggy and I forgot..I am sure I'll recall tomorrow...It was somewhere during the final countdown to vacation so all just a blur.

However, sadly, I have noticed one thing. Despite the tragedy of it all, his music sounds much better to me now. That could be a few reasons - I haven't listned to any MJ in years, and I couldn't get past the allocations of his fondness for children. And now his family is supposively torn over where to put the body. Are really talented people always leading such complicated lives that end in tragedy?

You may recall there was some "news" a while back that when he was living here and on a visit to Dubai he went into a women's restroom. Well, if you see the signs on the door, you would come to Michael's defense. The signs have the portrait drawing of a male or female dressed in local national dress - an Abaya or Distash...b/c they are not real pictures, they look awfully close as each has a long piece of fabric hanging from their head. I myself almost walked into the men's room there. Poor MJ.