Michael's Accomplishments As A Dancer
"The day after the Motown 25 show, Fred Astaire called me on the telephone.
He said - these are his exact words - "You're a hell of a mover. Man, you really put them on their asses last night." That's what Fred Astaire said to me. I thanked him. Then he said, "You're an angry dancer. I'm the same way. I used to do the same thing with my cane."
I had met him once or twice in the past, but this was the first time he had ever called me. He went on to say, "I watched the special last night; I taped it and I watched it again this morning. You're a hell of a mover." It was the greatest compliment I had ever received in my life, and the only one I had ever wanted to believe. For Fred Astaire to tell me that meant more to me than anything."
....Not long after that Gene Kelly came by my house to visit and also said he liked my dancing. It was a fantastic experience, that show, because I felt Ihad been inducted into an informal fraternity of dancers, and I felt so honoured because these were the people I most admired in the world.
Michael in "Moonwalk"
Natural Dancer
Michael had the natural gift of being able to move.
Though never formally-trained, Michael spent a lot of time dancing and perfecting his moves.
"The Moonwalk"
Michael did not create the Moonwalk, though he certainly made it a household dance.
The Moonwalk was originally a street dance that he saw kids doing. He took that move and in true Michael Jackson fashion, took it to the next level and wowed the world with what seemed to be an illusion of movement. Soon, kids and adults everywhere were trying to emulate the move.
Reflections On The Dance
Michael Joseph Jackson Remembered
1958-2009
A celebration of love, spirit, truth & faith. Celebrating his life, his legacy, and his humanity
"Blood on the Dance Floor"
Michael Jackson
"He is the greatest... If I tried to compare him to, say Gene Kelly or even Fred Astaire, I would do him an injustice, because the thing that makes him great is his own style and his own originality."
Hermes Pan
(Fred Astaire's choreographer)
