Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents some online excerpts about the history of "the Moonwalk" dance.
The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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EXCERPTS ABOUT THE MOONWALK DANCE
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes.
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonwalk_(dance)
"The moonwalk is a dance move in which the dancer moves backwards while seemingly walking forwards.[1] A popping move, the moonwalk became popular around the world after Michael Jackson performed it during a performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, broadcast May 16, 1983.[2] It became his signature move.[3][4]
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 slid 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. Variations of this move allow moonwalking to appear to glide forward, sideways, or even in a circle.
History
There are many recorded instances of the moonwalk; similar steps are reported as far back as 1932, used by Cab Calloway.[5] In 1985, Calloway said that the move was called "The Buzz" when he and others performed it in the 1930s.[6][7]
In 1944, Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien featured something like 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.[8]
In the 1950s, 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 tap dancer Bill Bailey. He performs a tap routine, and at the end, backslides into the wings.[9] The French mime artist Marcel Marceau used it throughout his career (from the 1940s through the 1980s), as part of the drama of his mime routines. In Marceau's "Walking Against the Wind" routine, he pretends to be pushed backwards by a gust of wind.[10]
In 1958, Mexican dancer-comedian Adalberto Martinez "Resortes" also performed the moonwalk in the film Colegio de Verano (Summer School).
[...]
Michael Jackson popularized and named the moonwalk in 1983."...
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Excerpt #2:
From https://blackamericaweb.com/2015/07/20/little-known-black-history-fact-the-first-moonwalk/ Little Known Black History Fact: The First Moonwalk by D.L. Chandler [no publishing date given]
"The late Michael Jackson immortalized the “Moonwalk” during his performance at Motown 25 in 1983, with breakdancing and pop locking-influenced dance moves that dazzled the world. However, the moonwalk might have been a later incarnation of a dance move allegedly invented by tap dancer Bill Bailey.
[...]
As a singer, dancer and entertainer, Bailey performed with his sister, Blanche Calloway, sister of Cab Calloway, and was a fixture at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. Bailey also acted in a handful of films, including Cabin In The Sky, the first recorded version of the moonwalk move. Recently, a 1955 video of Bailey performing at the Apollo and executing what he reportedly called the “Backslide” has surfaced.
Other tap dancers emulated the move in their own fashion, with some writers saying that Calloway himself did a version of the move in the ’30’s, then known as “The Buzz.” Actresses Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien performed the dance in the movie, Meet Me In St. Louis and it showed up in other places throughout the years.
As breakdancing and pop-locking became more advanced in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s, the dance took on the form of the smooth and graceful style that Jackson used. After Motown 25 The Moonwalk became Jackson’s best known dance maneuvers and was associated with the superstar from that point forward."
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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AMoonwalk_%28dance%29 Talk:Moonwalk (dance)
"Michael Jackson did not invent the moonwalk, it was being done way before he did it and was generally called the back slide. However it probably should be noted that MJ did perfect the move and increased its popularity immensely." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.107.235.182 (talk) 20:04, 4 July 2009 (UTC)
"Not only did Michael Jackson not invent the backslide, I don't even agree that he first popularised it worldwide. Jeffrey Daniels was widely seen and imitated performing the move as part of his pop-locking routines while touring with Shalamar at the peak of their fame. This was from 1980 onwards. Similarly, he did not 'perfect' the move. I witnessed youths in Nigeria performing sophisticated versions of the backslide in 1981 (before Michael Jackson first publically performed it). As opined above, MJ increased its popularity immensely. To see convincing argument that backsliding was popular as a streetdance in urban California and New York even further back, see section below:
#The_Missing_History_of_the_Moonwalk" Centrepull (talk) 07:16, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
"Thank You for referencing my material #The_Missing_History_of_the_Moonwalk stating that Micheal Jackson did not invent the Moonwalk because I know this because i was a pop locker and was doing the moonwalk years before that and many other African American kids were doing it years before me. This is not something that i read from a book it's what I have lived and I was just one of the thousands of contributors to the dances original popularity because upon returning to the east coast coming from the west coast in 1980-81 I exposed it to lots of people who had never seen it nor Pop Locking before at that time. Keep in mind that at that time the dance was not even nationally known let alone globally. Video evidence also confirms that before that it was indeed called the Backslide and was done first as far as we know by tap dances of the 20's and 30's I believe which was new information for me upon watching a Spike Lee Joint where he included a clip during the closing credits. I also agree that there were semi popular moonwalkers before MJ who had achieved a level of popularity that never existed in urban America before.
However, I disagree that MJ was not the one who popularized it and exposed it to the nation and to the world. Having been a Pop Locker and Moonwalker I was quite in tune with what was going on in the urban dance world at that time and I lived through MJ exposing it to the world although a lot of people were already familiar with it expecially in inner city African American urban America. In fact the dance was all but a passing fad beginning to die out by the time MJ revived it in 1983. He did in fact perfect and popularized the dance nationally eventually globally although in the general urban environment it was already popular there and was no need for his influence for it to be popular there. And I believe so even though I had seen with my own eyes much better moonwalkers than the king of Pop that were NOT caught on tape in the streets of L.A.. But the urban environment has its own (usually ignored by mainstream media) market of talent, innovators and fans that usually don't make into mainstream media until they are close to dying out and urban innovators have begun to move on to bigger and better things in their world. This is where the term "Ghetto Superstar" comes from. MJ by NO MEANS invented, pioneered nor co-invented or even modified the dance, but he does get the credit from this old school Pop-Locker/Moonwalker for perfecting and "Popularizing" it nationally and Globally. (J.Parham Old School Pop Locker/Moonwalker (1978-1984)) Please don't misunderstand my comments because I have great admiration of Micheal Jackson and Like all of us grew up with him as part of my life. I don't remember a time without MJ. I also admired his ability and desire to stay in touch with the urban environment and incorporated those dances into his dance style. They say immitation is the highest form of flattery and I believe the was Mikes way of showing how much he admired unrecognized urban talent through imitation. This is a part of MJ's phylosopy and legacy that has been forgotten but growing up I heard him say many times how he studied and admired street dancers and other talents.
P.S. I quit Pop Locking and Moonwalking at the ripe old age of 18 in 1984 because I felt I was "TOO OLD" for it and it was time to move on to bigger and better things which for me was music and college. Besides except for Micheal Jackson doing it the Pop-Lock/Moonwalk trend had actually died out in mainstream urban America and unbenounced to me had gone deep underground after that only to resurface in the 90's although still not to its original popularity even till now in 2010"(J.P) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.211.16.50 (talk) 00:25, 21 February 2010 (UTC)
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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These videos are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dated video given first.
Video #1: Origins of the Moonwalk
broallen25, Published on Jul 2, 2009
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Video #2: The First Moonwalk - Bill Bailey - The Apollo Theatre - New York - 1955
SuperGold 70, Published on Dec 12, 2010
This is one of the first ever moonwalks on film
Bill Bailey tapping to a rather quiet instrumental version of the Larks' hit "The World is Waiting for Sunrise" performed by the Paul Williams Quartet.
He's the brother of singer Pearl Bailey, but he has nothing to do with her signature song "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" which is a very old standard dating back to 1902.
Bill's frequently credited with "inventing" the "moonwalk" because of a tapdancing move called "backslide" which he does in this filmed performance.
-snip-
Note that some people say that the earliest documented dance that is like "the moonwalk" was in 1932 (Cab Calloway's "The Buzz").
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Video #3: michael jackson - billie jean live first time moonwalk
Dennis Lau, Published on Feb 13, 2011
Michael Jackson first time singing and dancing to Billie jean live plus a the moonwalk
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Video #4: Michael Jackson STOLE The Moonwalk?
CooleyJaxsonFan, Published on Jan 7, 2012
Why did Michael Jackson never give any credit to the people who taught him to moonwalk? Why did Michael never thank Cooley publicly and why did he refuse to name-check Cooley in his Moonwalk biography? Instead, Michael says in his book that "3 kids" taught him to Moonwalk.
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:
profwaldo, 2013
"He never said he invented it. And as a matter of fact it's been around at least since the 30's... check out some of Cabb Calloway's stuff and other early artists... way before CooCoo Cooley."
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REPLY
Jordan Wilson, 2015
"1. Michael never said he invented the moonwalk, he just commercialized it.
2. The back slide/ moonwalk was a dance everyone was doing, where is it in the entertainment rule book that says just because he was MJ, that he couldn't do the dance that everyone was doing too. he did it the best I ever seen and gave it a cooler name"
-snip-
The dance name "moonwalk" references astronauts landing and walking on the moon (although these dance steps aren't really how astronauts walked on the moon.)
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