Moonwalk (dance)
The moonwalk, or backslide, is a popping dance move in which the performer glides backwards but their body actions suggest forward motion.[1] It became popular around the world when Michael Jackson performed the move during the performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, which was broadcast in 1983. He included the moonwalk in tours and live performances.[2] Jackson has been credited as renaming the "backslide" to the moonwalk and it became his signature move.[3][4][5]
Technique
An illusion is involved in creating the appearance of the dancer gliding backwards. Initially, the front foot is held flat on the ground, while the back foot is in a tiptoe position. The flat front foot remains on the ground but is sliding lightly and smoothly backward past the tip-toe back foot. What is now the front foot is lowered flat, while the back foot is raised into the tiptoe position. These steps are repeated over and over creating the illusion that the dancer is being pulled backwards by an unseen force while trying to walk forward.
History
1870s
Holman (2004) identified early evidence for the moonwalk in a statement made by
1890s
Holman (2004) states: "A dance that appeared around the turn of the century in
1930s
There are many recorded instances of the moonwalk; similar steps are reported as far back as 1932, used by Cab Calloway and Charlie Chaplin.[7] In 1985, Calloway said that the move was called "The Buzz" when he and others performed it in the 1930s.[8][9]
The 1935 animated short film Dancing on the Moon, directed by Dave Fleischer and part of the Color Classics series of animated short films, contains a segment where the protagonist cat dances the moonwalk.
1940s
In 1943, Bill Bailey performed the first on-screen backslide in the movie The Cabin in the Sky. This dance move closely resembles what was later called the moonwalk. In 1944, Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien portrayed something similar to the move in their performance of "Under the Bamboo Tree" in Meet Me in St. Louis, though their performance lacks the illusion created by the genuine moonwalk.[10]
1950s
In 1958, on the Pat Boone Show, Dick Van Dyke performed a similar variation of the moonwalk and camel walk in his comedy routine called "Mailing a Letter on a Windy Corner".
In 1955, it was recorded in a performance by
In 1958, Mexican dancer-comedian
1960s
In a November 1969 episode of H.R. Pufnstuf, Judy the Frog teaches everyone a new dance called "The Moonwalk", which includes two instances of a stationary moonwalk.[13]
1970s
On the April 9, 1970 episode of The Dick Cavett Show, Marcel Marceau demonstrated several kinds of "mime walks", one of which was a backslide. Cavett tried to do it himself but found it too difficult.
In 1972, in season 5, episode 9 of Here's Lucy, "Lucy and Jim Bailey", Lucie Arnaz does the moonwalk while singing "Fever" with Jim Bailey.
In the late 1970s, the long-running African-American TV dance show Soul Train featured a dance troupe called "The Electric Boogaloos" which routinely performed popping and locking dance moves including the moonwalk.[14]
It has also been acknowledged that the professional wrestlers
1980s
James Brown used the move.[16]
In 1980, in the music video for their single "One Step Ahead" by New Zealand rock band Split Enz, keyboardist Eddie Rayner is seen performing a predecessor of the moonwalk, and Nigel Griggs (former bassist for Split Enz) allegedly taught him how to perform it.
The 1981 music video for "Crosseyed and Painless" by new wave band Talking Heads features authentic street dancers, including Stephen "Skeeter Rabbit" Nichols, doing the moonwalk.[17]
Another early moonwalker was popper and singer Jeffrey Daniel, who moonwalked in a performance of Shalamar's "A Night to Remember" on Top of the Pops in the UK in 1982[18] and was known to perform backslides in public performances (including weekly Soul Train episodes) as far back as 1974. Michael Jackson was a fan of Jeffrey Daniel's dancing and would eventually seek him out.
Also in 1982, Debbie Allen performs a moonwalk during a scene with Gwen Verdon in season 1, episode 10 ("Come One, Come All") of the TV series Fame.[19]
In
Donnie Yen performs a moonwalk in the 1984 Hong Kong film Drunken Tai Chi.[21]
In the 1984 movie Streets of Fire, actor and performer Stoney Jackson executed a moonwalk as the leader of a fictional group, The Sorels, who lip-synced to the Dan Hartman song "I Can Dream About You". The movie was filmed in the northern spring of 1983, also predating the iconic Michael Jackson moonwalk.
Michael Jackson and the moonwalk
Singer
Jackson's autobiography was titled Moonwalk, and he also starred in a 1988 film titled Moonwalker.
2000s
Alexei Kovalev has been known for using the moonwalk in his National Hockey League career.[24] He performed the move after scoring a goal on February 7, 2001, and on January 3, 2010. Kovalev moonwalked onto the ice after being named one of the stars of the game and again after scoring in a 2008 celebrity charity soccer game. In 2009, R&B singer The-Dream teamed up with Kanye West to create the synth-pop-R&B record "Walkin' on the Moon", in which The-Dream includes a Jackson-inspired high note. The music video does not feature the moonwalk, though it plays on the premise with a CGI moon background and a simple 2-step by the singer to give the impression he is "walkin' on the moon".[25]
2010s
In 2017, Jason Derulo briefly used the moonwalk in his song "Swalla".
In 2018, Alessia Cara briefly used the moonwalk in the music video for her song "Trust My Lonely".[26]
In 2019, street dancer Salif Gueye performed the moonwalk in David Guetta's music video for the song "Stay (Don't Go Away)".[27]
In 2019, Chinese boy group WayV released a song called "天选之城 (Moonwalk)". The moonwalk is featured in the music video.[28]
2020s
In 2020, the band Puscifer briefly features the moonwalk in their video "Apocalyptical" and it is also mentioned in the song's lyrics.
In 2020, South-Korean boy band BTS performed the moonwalk briefly in the music video of their song "Dynamite".[29]
References
- ^ Banes, Sally. Writing Dancing in the Age of Postmodernism, Wesleyan University Press, 1994, p. 139.
- ^ "Michael Jackson 1958-2009. TIME looks back on the King of Pop's life and Career", Time, p. 13, archived from the original on February 11, 2010, retrieved February 1, 2012,
We first worked with him in 1980, but he did not do the moonwalk publicly until 1983 [on Motown's 25th-anniversary TV special].
- ^ Suddath, Claire. "How to Moonwalk like Michael", Time, June 25, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-9768891-9-9.
- ^ Catton, Pia. "How Michael Jackson Changed Dance History". Biography. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ S2CID 153628902.
- ^ Pagett, Matt. The Best Dance Moves in the World! Chronicle Books, 2008, p. 72.
- ISSN 0011-1422.
Shoot ... We did that back in the '30s! Only it was called The Buzz back then.
- ^ Cab Calloway in 1932 film "The Big Broadcast". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
- ^ "Under The Bamboo Tree - Judy Garland (Meet Me In St. Louis)". YouTube. April 1, 2017. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ "Bill Bailey - 1955 Moonwalk" – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Grand master of mime, Marcel Marceau, dies". CBC News. Associated Press. September 23, 2007. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2007.
- ^ "Did Jacko Jack the Moonwalk?". Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ "Mix - The Lockers & Electric Boogaloo (Soul Train 25th Anniversary) 1976, 1979, 1995". YouTube. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-683-6.
- ^ a b Inglis, Ian. Performance and popular music, Ashgate Publishing, 2006, p. 122.
- ^ "Talking Heads - Crosseyed and Painless - Official Original Video, 1981". YouTube.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
- ^ "A Night to Remember, Shalamar, Top of the Pops, 1982". YouTube.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ "Fame: Season 1 Episode 10 - "Evolution of Dance" Original Air Date: March 11th 1982". YouTube.com. September 29, 2006. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- ^ Buffalo Gals Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine (first 12 seconds sample) at YouTube
- ^ "Donnie Yen breakdance". Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2022 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Paine, Jake. "Bobby Brown Claims He Taught Michael Jackson How To Moonwalk (Audio)". Ambrosia For Heads. AFH. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ Effron, Lauren; Welsh, Susan. "How Michael Jackson learned to 'moonwalk'". abcnews.go.com. ABC news. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- ^ "Youtube "Alex Kovalev Moonwalk on ice"". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ "The-Dream - Walkin' On The Moon ft. Kanye West - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
- ^ AlessiaCaraVEVO (October 4, 2018), Alessia Cara - Trust My Lonely, archived from the original on September 2, 2020, retrieved November 14, 2018
- ^ David Guetta feat Raye - Stay (Don't Go Away) (Official Video), archived from the original on December 13, 2021, retrieved December 19, 2019
- ^ "WayV 威神V '天选之城 (Moonwalk)' MV - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
- ^ BTS (방탄소년단) 'Dynamite' Official MV, retrieved December 5, 2022