Michael Jackson's legacy lives in Cirque du Soleil "The Immortal"

July 12, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

There’s a good chance that if Michael Jackson hadn’t died three years ago at the age of 50, the King of Pop would have followed up his 2009 sold-out “This is It” London shows with a world tour playing to packed stadiums.

Considering how the Rock Hall City is no longer a top-tier concert market, at least for important first legs of tours, it’s conceivable that Jackson this summer could have been playing Cleveland Browns Stadium, the site — location-wise, that is — of the Jacksons’ Victory Tour in 1984.

Sadly, it’s not Jackson but his legacy that actually comes to Cleveland this summer in the form of Cirque du Soleil’s “The Immortal” on Tuesday and Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Someone locally tying Jackson’s past with his present tribute of sorts is North Royalton native Laurie Sposit, who not only attended the Oct. 20, 1984, Victory Tour concert at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium but today who acts as dance master of “The Immortal.”

“Michael was pretty much all over my bedroom when I was 13 years old,” said Sposit, who attended the massive Jackson funeral at Staples Arena in Los Angeles. “I had posters of Michael everywhere. I was the biggest fan. At the Victory Tour, I remember crying the very first time everyone came out. I think the most devastating thing in my life is that my father wouldn’t buy me the red ‘Billie Jean’ jacket. We were at some flea market and I was like, ‘I have to have it.’ He said, ‘No,’ and I was traumatized.”

Perhaps it was that suffering that led Sposit into dance, where she worked professionally with artists such as Janet Jackson, Madonna, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Prince, Salt-N-Pepa and Melissa Etheridge. Her music-video credits include Janet Jackson’s “All for You,” Beyonce’s “Naughty Girl,” Melissa Etheridge’s “Angels” and Prince’s “Betcha by Golly Wow.” She also toured with Janet Jackson, the Spice Girls and Madonna.

However, the one star that seemingly eluded her throughout her career was Michael Jackson. That is until now with “The Immortal.” Her role is to travel with the show to oversee the choreography that accompanies Jackson’s platinum catalog with typical Cirque du Soleil panache.

If there’s any doubt Sposit was born for this role, that ended when the tour began last year.

“The first month the show began, I think I cried every single night,” Sposit said. “My assistant director sat next to me and would always go, ‘What is wrong with you?’ But because there are so many moving moments and just the idea of celebrating this man that — cliche intended — was gone too soon. When I sit in the audience, one of the things I love to do most is just look around. I see people crying. It’s very moving to see people’s reactions.”

While Sposit never did get that red Jackson jacket that was so highly coveted in the ’80s, she does now have access to the “The Immortal” wardrobe backstage. So, naturally, she’s tried on the red jacket, right?

“No, but that’s a good idea,” Sposit said, laughing. “You planted a seed.”