Speaking of getting a hold of yourself, Paterson is the man who takes credit for inventing the Michael Jackson signature crotch squeeze. He also danced in Jackson’s “Beat It” video, and choreographed his “Smooth Criminal” and “Black or White” videos and has worked with Madonna on her “Express Yourself” video and “Blonde Ambition” tour production. Directing an opera was the next step, naturally.

Thus the crotch squeezing continues with Paterson's travelling Netrebko-Villazon Manon-cum-sex show, currently in Berlin. Among his future engagements: a predictably crotch-heavy Elvis Presley Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas.