Leeco Kosmidis missed the auditions for <i>This Is It</i> in LA.
We profile stars of Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson show about to open in NZ. Today: Leeco Kosmidis.
On getting the role:
I eventually reached the limit as a choreographer and dancer in Greece, because there's not that many jobs. So I decided to move to LA, and after about a month, this audition came up, and it was a dream. I missed the auditions for This Is It,
and I was devastated, so when I heard about this, I thought "Michael, and Cirque du Soleil! Amazing!" My mum was a big fan of Cirque du Soleil, so she'd passed that on to me at a young age.
On the many different costumes he gets to wear:
The costumes are absolutely amazing. When you see them in action, it's a whole different world. The LEDs look amazing. They make you feel like a superstar.
On his favourite parts of the show:
I love everything, but I guess the whole set of the gangster outfits, they are maybe my favourite. So that's This Place Hotel, Smooth Criminal, and Dangerous. That's Michael Jackson to the bone, it's got such a strong energy. I really enjoy Beat It, because it lets you express yourself. Everything is very structured in a Cirque show, because there is a standard to uphold, and if everyone starts doing whatever they want, the show wouldn't work, but within that structure there's freedom to show off your personality, which makes the show richer.
On the challenges of the role:
I think I'd be lying if I said I didn't get tired. It's quite a strong show, and we have to give 100 per cent of our energy when we're on stage. So of course it's tiring, but because it's Michael Jackson, and it's what we love doing, you don't really think about it, it's not an issue.
