Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
By: Subin Ali-Caccamo and Daniel Murphy
The perfected Moon Walk
What the moon walk originated from
Born August 29, 1958
Died June 25, 2009
Moonwalk was first performed by Michael Jackson live on May 16, 1983, Motown 25 TV show.
The Electric Booglaoos were doing the moon walk on Soul Train in the 1970s
Know as his signature move. It went viral to an extent where everyone was trying to "be like him" in mastering the moon walk.
By watching the Electric Boogaloo Jackson tried to master and change the style to better fit his own choreography.
With this performance he infused two dance styles of West Coast Street dance and East Coast Break dance.
This combination of dance styles pared well with the early upbringing of hip-hop music. It also influenced a new dance move that is still popular and notable to this day.
His foot work was unmatched, and the audience is mesmerized and captivated by the way he moves which looks like an illusion or breaking physics. The uniqueness of how smooth and seemingly flawless in transisiton to each move is almost unhuman which just adds more to the show he puts on. You also have to note that he is singing during most this which also just is crazy to think about as just the moves on their own are pretty difficult to have the stamina and lung capacity is also unheard of.
The addition of televised performance had a major impact and role in how Michael Jackson Influenced the world through his fusing all sort of different dance style with a base kind of in ballet. The uniqueness of how he Choreographed and preformed was also adaptive to the audience and to each decade. He also trended on his style of clothing around the world as well as raising awareness for social causes around the world. He used his fame and worldwide attention to promote positive change to the world. He supported causes like UNICEF which provided children in need with education, health, and protection. He also raised concerns through his music about environmental conversations and racial equality as well as many other social issues.
The Windmill/spin: Usually done with speed and accuracy it takes a incredbile amount of foot work and timing to do this. It is noted that his spins were something people would try to count as they were so fast. Michael would do so many revolutions that it always was an anticipatory factor in his choreography as he led the audience to the climatic point of a show or song.
The Toe Stand: a very distinct presentation as it shows one's own agility, flexibility, athleticism and strength, as well as body control. Jackson makes it look so easy to stand on one's toes in the same upper body position as if his body wasn't affected by gravity.
The Gravity Lean: Notable for its look of defying gravity and physics as he leans almost in a 45-degree angle. This is done by his unique stage choreography as he planted nails in the stage floor and wore shoes that had a wedge in the heal for the dancers to use as support when doing this move.
10#. Shuffle: Involved precise footwork that included elaborate and rapid movements. Jackson would do this to move across the stage while still performing in rhythm.
9#. Circle Slides: an illusion of him almost dancing on air in a circle. (you can note that this is very similar to the style in the Electric Boogaloo but seems to be a perfected version which is hard to do as it is a very tight circle).
8#. The Sidewalk: Illusion of him walking sideways but it looks like he is also walking forwards.
7#. Kick: he does this a fair amount in every dance as it pertains to the rhythm while still making it seem smooth and cool.
5#. Crotch Grab: provocative move that add some mystery to him.
2#. The Robot: made a mezmorizing sinergy of the beat song and rythem while showing off his body control and isolating his limbs and making it look like he might actually is michanically moving about.