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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > July > 07 > Entry
Michael Jackson: As a dancer, he rode the boogie
In Michael Jackson’s 1979 hit “Rock with You,” he croons, “We can
ride the boogie.” Michael Jackson absolutely knew how to “ride the
boogie” to stardom.
Though best known for his music, Jackson’s enormous success had much
to do with his dancing, an absolute asset in the early 1980s as pop
music listeners became music video watchers. A trip through the best
of MJ — in music videos and footage from live appearances — reveals
a figure that, yes, could grab his crotch like no other. But
Jackson’s boogie included so much more.
Every dancer needs a signature move. Jackson found his in the
moonwalk. One of Jackson’s most famous moonwalks came in 1983 during
Motown’s 25th anniversary show (also broadcast on TV). Jackson was an
excellent dancer—capable of nuanced timing and subtle body shifts.
But he really was a showman. He told his audience how to watch his
dancing. Just before moonwalking while singing “Billie Jean” on the
NBC telecast, his pulls up his pant legs. His white socks contrast
with his black shoes and black pants. “Look at my feet!” his costume
says. And then he glides backwards, looking almost inhuman.
The Motown formula that produced the Jackson 5, Michael’s musical and
familial home, relied on unison dancing, a group of four or five
performers dancing absolutely together in fashionable outfits. Clips
from Jackson 5 appearances on “Soul Train” in the early ’70s
illustrate how the Jackson 5’s syncronicity resembled earlier acts
like the tuxedo-clad Four Tops or the bedazzled Supremes, but
Jackson, like Diana Ross, emerges from the group. As the five
brothers spin backwards at the start of “I Want You Back,” Michael
goes a little lower and squeezes a bit more time out of the turn.
Even at 13, Jackson knew how to play with musicality and movement,
separating himself from a crowd. And, wow, could Jackson work a
striped, lycra pantsuit.
Jackson was a true child of ’70s. The nimble James Brown was
Jackson’s artistic father. Several videos record the mutual
admiration between Jackson and Brown, including footage from a 1983
concert where Brown invited Jackson to the stage. Michael joined him,
singing “I Love You” and then busting out a few Brown moves, like the
weak-kneed, slipping, sliding boogaloo that made Brown look like a
man possessed. Jackson builds on Brown’s choreography, adding quick
spins and the lightning flash knee kick, refitting ’70s funk for the
slick ’80s.
Jackson could never be described as a b-boy, but he still managed to
borrow breakdancing’s timing and attitude. In “Thriller’s” epic 1983
video, Jackson stands out among another group of dancers, but this
time it’s zombies rather than his brothers. Jackson works
“Thriller’s” well-known dance moves against the music, snapping his
shoulders or pelvis so quickly, he has time to pause, mimicking the
robotic pulsing of b-boy styles like popping and locking.
Jackson led another dancing ensemble of bad boys in the 1987 video
for “Bad.” Choreographed by Jeffrey Daniels, who, like “Thriller”
choreographer Michael Peters, had worked primarily in musical
theater, the video couples camera angles with unison choreography to
build aggression and anger. Jackson and his crew seem to attack their
audience, making direct references to American dance’s best known
battle, Jerome Robbins’ choreography for “West Side Story.” Although
in the ’80s the dance battle had much more in common with standoffs
between break dance crews than leaps with pointed toes on Broadway.
Recommended Videography: The best of Michael Jackson on YouTube
- “Michael Jackson performs Billie Jean live at Motown 25th Anniversary Special (1983)”
- “Michael Jackson with the Jackson 5 on Soul Train ‘I Want You Back’” Broadcast in 1972; Jackson is 13.
- “James Brown and Michael Jackson RIP”
- “Michael Jackson-Thriller”
- “Michael Jackson-Bad”
Clare Croft is the freelance dance critic of the American-Statesman.
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By Jeffery
July 9, 2009 11:57 AM | Link to this
actually Turbo (Michael Chambers) from the breakin’ movies used to teach michael basic pop n lock routines and helped him perfect his moonwalk. he has often referred to him as his most famous student.
By sara wolf
July 8, 2009 7:11 PM | Link to this
thanks for the great column! I always enjoy yr writing.