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Magazine 18 ^ ^^ v //^ n Mr Can Can man's showtime Jerry Jackson, whose Folies Bergeres in Las Vegas has achieved such fame that Paris invited him over for the Can Can, has created a $1.3 million extravaganza for Queensland's Gold Coast. He talked to MICHAEL MORTON-EVANSr ANYONE who has seen All That Jazz, the semi-autobiographical film of the life of Hollywood choreographer/director Bob Fosse, will remember the catchcry "It's showtime, folks!'1. ?√ß The similarities between the character played on the screen by Roy Scheider and real-life American choreographer/direc- i tor Jerry Jackson are frightening. It could have been a film all about him. For a start there is the same driving intensity to get it right. Jackson is without a doubt the most maddeningly methodical man I have ever met, who will push himself to the limits of human endurance for the sake of his art. To watch him rehearsing on stage with a bunch of 20- year-olds it is hard to believe that Jackson is 51 years of age. His figure is as trim as any of them.and his energy is greater than most. ?√ß Like the Scheider character, Jackson will perennially burn the candle at both ends and in the middle as well to ensure that his show is as good as he can make it. Never going to bed before midnight, often he will get Up in the middle of the night and dance around his bedroom if a new thought suddenly comes to htm, Always he is up by 6.30am, ready to start afresh, A shower and a quick breakfast are the only luxuries he allows himself before setting to work again. For the past 12 years Jackson has been the resident choreographer/director at the Folies Bergeres in Las Vegas. Part of the famed La Tropicana hotel, erstwhile haunt of the likes of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, the Folies Bergeres is famous along the strip for its shows. As Jackson likes to boast: "We have the smallest budget of Jerry Jackson: perfectionist any show in Vegas and the highest seat count." And the highlight of a Jackson show is his Can Can. So famous has he become for it that the ultimate accolade was given him when he was flown to Paris to choreograph the hundredth anniversary of the Can Can at its birthplace, the Folies Bergeres in Paris. Jackson is in Australia working on GaJaxies, a new show for the Conrad Hilton International hotel and Jupiter's Casino at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast. It has a $1.3 million budget, the largest ever for an Australian variety night. Imagine, if you can, a troop of medieval cavalry galloping across the stage, or a tidal wave sinking a fleet of boats, or a spaceship blasting off for Venus. Jackson has included all these in his spectacular show. For the past six months he has undertaken the most painstaking research to ensure ?╟≤ that every scene in this fantastic journey through time and space is authentic. He has taken lessons from a Japanese woman expert in 13th century fan dancing and spent weeks with scholars pouring over historical texts and translations, as well as learning about Koto and Kabuki-style music which he has adapted himself for synthesiser and percussion. He sought out members of the Molseyev Russian Dance Company and brought them to Australia with him for the Cossack dancing segment, and has imported gauchos direct from Argentina to take part in the tango scene. This is clearly more than just a mere variety show. Months of work have gone into researching the costumes and a team of three set designers, led by well-known Sydney opera designer BUI Pass- more, has been putting together the $450,000 worth of scenery. In the New Orleans segment alone there are 18 different scene changes to get on in a period of only 12 minutes. None of this seems to worry Jackson, however, who remains the one calm creature amid all the chaos. He at least knows exactly how everything is going to turn out. "I really have five different jobs to do in this," he told me. "I am firstly the writer, then the designer, and then I have written the music, and I am directing and choreographing it as well." Some of Jackson's greatest moments have been when lie worked with the late Fred As- taire for whom he did some choreography. He said it had been Astaire who taught him his discipline in the theatre and the importance of having a good attitude towards the work. "If Fred saw someone on stage during rehearsal who obviously wasn't giving it his all he would come up to me and ask quietly who the person was. "The next day that person would have J eft the cast. If there was one thing he hated, it was laziness" Jackson said. You can see that he has learnt Astaire's lessons well. The trouble is finding enough energy to keep up with the man.