Moonwalk (dance)

The moonwalk or backslide is a dance move that gained widespread popularity after being performed by Michael Jackson on the 1983 television special Yesterday, Today, Forever, and has since become his signature move. The purpose of the moonwalk is to give the illusion that the dancer is walking forward while mysteriously moving backward.

The move is a part of floating, gliding and sliding, a set of techniques and styles closely related to popping. Although he did not invent its mechanics, Michael Jackson came up with the name "moonwalk" and made it one of the most recognizable dance moves in history.

Origin

The move is based on a classic Jean-Louis Barrault Pantomime exercise "Walking" (as featured in the 1945 film Children of Paradise) with some of the Pantomimes de Style technique Marche Contre Le Vent ("Walk against the wind", developed by Marcel Marceau in the 1950s) thrown in. A variation more closely resembling the modern-day moonwalk was invented by Derek Jackson, a former cast member of Solid Gold, who called it the backslide. Although when most people think of the moonwalk they think of the signature Michael Jackson move, Jackson merely tweaked it for the Motown 25 Concert, where he debuted it during his famous "Billie Jean" routine.

Officially Jeffrey Daniel was the first person to "moonwalk" on television, during a performance^* of Shalamar's "A Night to Remember" on Top of the Pops. The song was a hit in 1982, almost a year before Michael Jackson's first moonwalk on the Motown’s 25th Anniversary. Prior to that Graeme Garden had performed a similar type of walk on The Goodies . Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner performed a version of the "moonwalk" on the video clip to One Step Ahead from the album Waiata/Corroboree in 1981. While Eddie had the technique correct & his feet were moving backwards, he actually walked slowly forward.

External links

Popping (dance) | Funk dance | Michael Jackson

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Origin

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