Moonwalk (dance)

Michael Jackson performing the moonwalk for the first time in public during the performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever

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]

  1. ^ Banes, Sally. Writing Dancing in the Age of Postmodernism, Wesleyan University Press, 1994, p. 139.
  2. ^ "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].
  3. ^ Suddath, Claire. "How to Moonwalk like Michael", Time, June 25, 2009.
  4. ^ Thriller 25: The Book, ML Publishing Group Ltd, 2008. ISBN 978-0-9768891-9-9.
  5. ^ Catton, Pia. "How Michael Jackson Changed Dance History". Biography. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.