Soon after, the same artistic director saw an installation by the African- American artist Andros Zins- Browne centred on a Michael Jackson imitator.

Inspired by those who were inspired by Jackson, Dirk De Lathauwer decided he had enough to go on. And he certainly had the passion. “In the 1980s, I was a big Michael Jackson fan,” says the artistic director of the Leuven-based fABULEUS. “I used to do his moves at parties.”

So, together with Flemish choreographer Natascha Pire, he began putting together a dance performance with young people based on the moves of Michael Jackson. They called it Comeback 2010. Then Michael Jackson announced his comeback tour, so they changed the name to Everland.

Then Michael Jackson died.

Not only did this mind-boggling event cause the title to take on greater import, it had a profound effect on the 15- to 21-year olds taking part in the project. Because the oldest of them were infants in the 1980s, “they really didn’t know a lot about him,” explains De Lathauwer. “Only the clichés.” After his death, videos were aired, tributes written and magazines published all about Jackson’s phenomenal influence on dance, music, video and performance.

“In the first week of rehearsals, they were, ‘ok, he’s still like an old woman to me’,” says De Lathauwer. “But, after his death, the conclusion was ‘wow’ – respect.”

fABULEUS is a production house for youth talent that is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. It grew out of a festival of youth stage art, and De Lathauwer is one of the original founders. They pair choreographers and theatre directors with young people to build productions and are also a platform for young professionals to develop their own work.

“Our productions are fit for young audiences because we work with young people on stage, but that’s just a starting point,” explains De Lathauwer. “Our goal is a broad audience.”

Which might be tough to get at Everland, considering that Flanders has been inundated with Michael Jackson TV tributes – first My Name is Michael, then Move Like Michael Jackson, airing now on VT4. But that would be a shame because Everland is something completely different. Seeking to merge contemporary dance with essential Jackson moves, it respects the original material, while combining it with 21st-century influences. They’ll use Jackson’s music, of course, but also incorporate classical music pieces, some of which were important to Jackson and others which, rather poignantly, describe the tragedy of lost, or perhaps never-ending, youth.

20-21, 27-28 March
STUK, Naamsestraat 96
Leuven
www.stuk.be