Legendary Moves of Michael Jackson Photos

Everybody knows Michael Jackson.  If you are born from the 1970’s up to 2000’s, I am sure you know Michael Jackson.  Well MJ, short for Michael Jackson, is the seventh child of the Jackson family and became a professional singer at the age of 11 as the new member of Jackson 5 during the year 1969.  He began his solo career in 1971 while he was still a member of the group.  Then later he was referred to as "The King of Pop".  Michael Jackson is a singer, songwriter, dancer and celebrity icon with many hit records and awards.

The Moonwalk 
The Moonwalk: a break-dance move that became popular after being performed by Michael Jackson on the 1983 television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, and has since become his signature move.  He performed "Billie Jean" and was propelled from being just another great singer to becoming one of the best entertainers of all time with one innovative new dance step: the Moonwalk.  The idea of the moonwalk is to give the illusion that the dancer is walking forward while mysteriously moving backward, giving the appearance that the dancer is sliding unnaturally backward even though he should be moving forward.

The Toe Stand 
The Toe Stand comes right on the heels of the Moonwalk.  When Michael Jackson does the moonwalk, he then pivot, dime-stop, hop on his tiptoes, and hold for five seconds.

'Smooth' Leaning Move

Michael Jackson pioneered the forward-leaning maneuver from his "Smooth Criminal" video.  The secret is all in the shoes.  Michael and his dancers used special shoes as well as a trick in the stage floor.  When the time came for the move, a peg-like aperture would come out from the dance floor.  The heel of the dancers' shoes featured a triangular cut out that could be hitched onto the peg, anchoring the dancers to lean much farther forward in a 45-degree angle.

Crotch Grab Move

Why does MJ do the crotch grab move? In an interview with MJ by Oprah, she asked him why. MJ said "...you become the emotion of what that sound is, ok, so if I'm doing a move and I go bam, and I grab myself, it's the music that compels me to do it, it's not I'm saying 'get ready grab down there' you don't think about it, it just happens, sometimes I look back at the footage and think 'did I do that?' "