How Michael Jackson Changed Dance Forever: A Complete Guide to His Iconic Style
Whether you’re in a flow state to the rhythm of “Billie Jean” or are locked in through the classic beat of a song like “Thriller”, Michael Jackson has produced some of the best music in history that is easy for someone to start dancing to at a moment’s notice. You could be at a club, and a Michael Jackson song will come on, and you can’t do anything BUT dance, or you could be at a kids’ summer dance camp, and you put a song on to introduce the new generation to a style of music they will want to dance to for the rest of their lives.
That’s why we are here today… With the official Michael Jackson biopic movie coming out on April 24th, his name is about to be big again, and we wanted to take a look at how one of history’s greatest dance musicians changed the art form for the best. He’s inspired so many people to start dancing, regardless of the singing part of his music life. Much of his dancing is inspired by what we teach at Dansations, and we want to walk you through it and show you what your kids could learn.
In this blog, we will break down Michael Jackson’s dance styles and how they relate to the type of dancing that we teach here at Dansations.
Breaking Down His Dance Styles
It’s been shown that Michael had some talent of his own before he became the mega star that we know him to be, but he did study a lot of famous dancers in his time and in the past to get an idea of how to shape his own style. Some of the big examples that he studied from were Fred Astaire, Gene Kelley, James Brown, Bob Fosse, and Charlie Chaplin, arguably some of the best dancers in history for their profession.
There are some dance styles that these people are known for that are the same, and others that are different. One thing that they all share in common is having a jazz dance style. They all found a way to blend jazz dance into their styles with other dance forms, and you can see that there is something to Michael Jackson’s music that is reciprocated in that dance form. It’s high-energy, versatile, and expressive in nature, and if you’ve ever seen Michael Jackson perform, that’s a perfect description for his performances.
Photo credit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2022/02/11/michael-jackson-musical-director-wheeldon/
Jazz is a very important dance style to us as far as what we teach, and the same goes for tap dancing. Michael took GREAT inspiration from this to create arguably his most iconic dance position, the toe stand. When you look at it, it’ll make you squirm because you might think that hurts, but for someone like Michael, he just made it work. Michael’s footwork in general for tap dancing is just smooth and in sync well enough to make the music feel compatible with the dancing.
Photo credit: https://thedetailchannel.medium.com/5-dance-moves-michael-jackson-made-iconic-d0138eedff75
Some of Michael’s other, more kinetic movements, like foot shuffles or what he might do with his upper body movements, are all very much to his own but inspired by these artists. Most people don’t always associate using your upper body (more particularly your arms and hands) with dancing. More often than not, it’s a foot and leg game, but Michael has found a way to revolutionize dancing so that your entire body can be used, and it does not feel out of place in a live performance.
What It Means to Be a Background Stage Dancer
One of the final points we want to make regarding this topic relates to what it means to be a stage dancer. Someone who works with the main star as a background performer. Michael Jackson is known for having this as a staple to his live performances or in his music videos (as seen above). These dancers perform with him, and there comes a point where someone has to learn this, but also get the job to work in these circumstances. If your kids want to grow up one day and work for these kinds of people, Michael Jackson’s background dancers are good examples to take inspiration from.
Being able to earn this position takes a lot to learn! Dancers must demonstrate the ability to learn complex choreography, maintain the high energy output that someone like Michael showcased, and be able to fit within a synchronized group so that they can all work together in tandem without any mistakes being made.
If you’re someone who takes up dancing at a young age, you get to learn this very early on. It’s something we take pride in when teaching your kids how to dance. It’s not always about the dance style; it’s also about how they can work within it physically and mentally. Performing live is no small feat, if that’s something your kid might look to attain in the future. It takes a lot, and we hope this blog is able to give you a peek into the world of one of history’s biggest dance musicians from that perspective.
It all starts from the ground up! Getting your feet wet, learning more over time, and gain as much experience as possible. Go through some dance programs, train, stay in the best shape you can, use social media or any form of networking to get your name out there to show your work, and eventually, you may just get picked up for a gig or to be on a team full-time.
If you have any questions as to how your kids can learn more about this early on, give us a call or reach out through our contact form. Also, be sure to take a look at our programs and upcoming events this year. We are more than happy to answer any questions you have regarding this topic and how it relates to what we teach at Dansations. Talk soon!