HW King of Pop Latin Style Event

8/8/2019 HW King of Pop Latin Style Event

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The King Of Pop Latin Stylesounds simple enough and attractive inconcept: a stage show that takes themusic and moves of Michael Jacksonand re-imagines them with the rhythmsand flavors of the Latino dance culture,right? And indeed, the show, whichruns from December 23rd throughJanuary 2nd at North Hollywood’s his-toric El Portal Theatre, is wildly en-tertaining and accessible in the mostimmediate of ways . . . . but like all

new productions, getting it to the stagehas been far more complicated. Forcreator, director, choreographer andlead performer Seaon Stylist-Bristol andProducer Helen Azevedo, Rock WithYou is the result of years of seem-ingly unrelated choices and events thatplaced them on a fortuitously inevitabletrack that would land them in the sameplace at the same critical time for eachof them, and for the show.

Though Stylist-Bristol begins hisaccount of Rock With You’s origins withthe sudden death of The King Of Pop,the chain can be traced back to his ownbeginnings as a child in Guyana. Theperformer may be well traveled and onhis third passport, but the Caribbeanand Latin cultures of his youth andtheir artistic traditions are ingrained inboth his conscious mind and his sub-conscious tendencies. Thus when hemoved to New York in his teens to

pursue his singing and train in otherperforming arts disciplines, it was salsadancing that kept pulling him in. Andwhile this show incorporates a num-ber of dance styles, including bacha-ta, merengue, reggaeton, Afro-Cuban,

jazz and Latin-Jazz, Seaon is still bestknown and loved around the world asa salsa dancer, master instructor andchoreographer, a profession that kepthim “traveling every weekend for thepast 15 years.

It was Seaon’s reputation as “thebest” and in some cases “the only”technical “NY On2 Salsa-style” danceinstructor that brought the passionatedancer and the show’s enthusiastic ex-ecutive producer together. Azevedo,who is also Seaon’s manager and mostvocal supporter says, matter-of-factlywhen asked what the end goal of thisshow is, “You’ve GOT to hear him SING!Seaon has an extraordinarily beautiful,2 1/2 octave tenor voice with a unique

lyrical quality to it, He’s a naturalentertainer and actor, is totally com-fortable on stage, obviously enjoys ev-ery minute of what he’s doing, so theaudience can’t help but fall in love withhim.” Helen Azevedo, a former produc-er, personal manager (Erik Estrada, VivaBrazil) and professional dancer in herown right, lived a separate life whereshe had been working in the enter-tainment industry, in nonprofit manage-ment and as a university level languageinstructor, among other things, untilthree years ago when she divorced herlong-time husband and started fresh.She explains, “the most natural thing

for me to do socially to get back in“the swing of things” was to go salsadancing…But after a few events I real-ized that two concussions and otherinjuries I had suffered in a recent autoaccident had really screwed up my bal-ance and my footwork.”

Her next task was to find some-one to help her “retrain” her body todance again and especially to turn.“After many months of searching, allroads led to Seaon.”

This was just last February . . .only days after Seaon performed the

Rock With YouThe King Of Pop Latin Style



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first workshop of the show OUTSIDEof the salsa community, at the CowellTheater in San Francisco. This wasalso only a few months after MichaelJackson’s death, an event thatStylist-Bristol says “the Latin commu-nity never got a chance to properlyhonor in their own way.” The showis not a tribute, though, and bothof the principals involved are carefulto emphasize that they created theevent as a stylized celebration of themusic, moves and legacy of Jackson,but also a celebration of Latino cul-ture and the arts. And what bettertime to do this than Christmas???!!!

“I know this will bring some-thing different to the holiday seasonin addition to the standard Christmasshows we’re all accustomed to see-ing,” he said to me when asked toexplain the choice of Christmas forthe short L.A. run, “And we’ll be doingsome of the songs that Michael didas a child with the Jackson Five, in-cluding some Christmas songs.” Andas it is an alternative choice to the

usual holiday fare, Rock With Youis also an alternative to live musi-cal shows as a genre. Even in LosAngeles, with our enormous Latinopopulation, there are still, unfortu-nately, a limited number of eventsthat embrace the Latin communityas an important constituency of themainstream audience, and even fewerthat actually dare to be innovative.

It was this way of thinking, aswell as improving and reviving herown dancing “chops” that initially

drew Helen to want to work withSeaon. They initially agreed to worktogether as a trade, his instructionfor her help promoting the show,but now the relationship has blos-somed into a full-on partnership,and the sky’s the limit in terms of what the artist is capable of achiev-ing. Azevedo sees Broadway as aninevitable landing spot for him, eitherin this particular show, or helminganother dance-musical vehicle.

“As soon as I saw what he wasdoing, I was knocked out. I loved itand I wanted to help get it out to themainstream,” It’s so much fun, so joy-ous . . . that you can’t help but joinin” she notes about the show, makingit clear she is not just an investor orsomeone looking to exploit the situ-ation. She has become involved inevery aspect of the production andSeaon’s emerging career. She’s in itfor the long haul and its success willbe hers as well as his.

In addition, there are a number

of other artists involved in the show,from the cast to the crew. “It includestotal of 16 dancers, an eight pieceLatin-jazz band and the HarmoniesGirls Choir who will be performing twomedleys and an additional song withSeaon. The choir will also be thebeneficiary of the show’s FundraisingOpening Gala on Sunday, January26th after the 7pm show” This familyof performers will bring their sense of community to the El Portal Theaterfor their nightly shows, including 2shows on Saturdays and Sundays,

which means 2 shows (6pm and9pm) on Christmas Day and NewYears Day, creating an ideal way tocontinue your holiday celebrationwith the entire family and expandthe circle to include other friends,colleagues and loved ones

And if you think the productionis geared toward a Latin-American

audience, think again! Latin rhythmsare as ubiquitous as Coca Cola to-day. We expect the audience to be

just as diverse as the music of TheKing Of Pop is. “When we did ourworkshops, in San Francisco, NewYork, and Germany, we definitely hada wide demographic of nationalitiesas well as age groups.” As Helenexplains, putting the show on for theholidays creates a perfect eveningexcursion after “all the presents havebeen opened, the monumental din-ners served and dishes cleaned upand all the football games watchedand discussed.”

The music of Michael Jacksonis powerful in ways that transcendcultural and physical differences, butRock With You: The King Of PopLatin Style will showcase a uniqueinterpretation and vision that invites

yet another culture to “own it” andfurther expand and cement the last-ing Global impact and influence thatthe famed singer will have. Hopefully,the show that Seaon Stylist Bristoland Helen Azevedo have put togetherwill be as inspiring to the audienceas it has been for them and the restof the cast The show is called Rock

With You. . . and the creators wantto do just that. You’ll find yourself singing along, dancing in the aislesand in your seats. And to cap it off,after every show you can learn a fewnew moves or sharpen your tech-nique as there will be a FREE SALSACLASS and open DANCING WITH THECAST, ON STAGE, EVERY NIGHT afterevery show!

For More Information, Video Clips

and Online Ticket Purchases, go to:

www.rockwithyoutour.com

You can also keep track of show andcast member activities on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/

RockWithYouTour

For Information About Discounts

and Ticket Purchases by Phone:

Call the El Portal Theatre Box Ofce

(818) 508-4200

Nikki, Seaon, HeraSeaon with his mom, his kid brother andhis grandmother after the SF workshop

Hera and Christina Helen Azevedo

Erik & Nikki

Project Manager,Christina Tica, Seaon,

Asst Choreographer,Carina Fourmyle

Seaon, postshow, with his

younger brother,Stefan.

ExecutiveProducer,Helen Azevedo

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HW King of Pop Latin Style Event