Michael Jackson's Iconic Legacy of Music and Dance

Michael Jackson was an iconic figure all around; His talent consisted of his music and dance style together with his ability to easily put on a show putting him at the top of his chain. He was such a massive influencer in the entertainment industry and several others It's hard for you to not know him, but if you don't I'm here to help... Making sure you learn to leave with the knowledge of one of the greatest legacies, that any solo artist had ever left behind.

With training, Michael Jackson was a professional dancer in his style that was completely self-taught. While working alone he was able to perfect his famous dance moves that everyone has learned to love and do, because who doesn't love the original thrilling moonwalk or even better the advanced moonwalk the Circle Glide! Since a child, he has been able to absorb and imitate what he saw quickly just as you can yourself in your passions and excitements... Michael Jackson didn't have the normal education so instead, he went around performing while he learned on the way. Michael Jackson once said that 'the greatest education in the world is watching the masters at work.'

The Inspiration Behind Michael Jackson's Dancing

Michael Jackson's dance style was influenced by several different styles, from R&B artists to ballerinas, from jazz to street dances and African-American indigenous styles. He was creative in the way he brought different techniques of various dance forms together, taking whatever he saw and liked in other dances and making them his own (Roy). Confining to the basic is only held back, and Michael wanted to stand out as you should if you wish to fulfill achieving over the ones around you. Michael's signature movements, such as the moonwalk was so intriguing due to the techniques of lifting one foot and putting it in front of the other, could be done without lifting a foot off the ground at all as if you're a robot dancing just more punctuated.

The Creation Process

Michael's creation of dance movement was closely intertwined with his creation of music. In his movement creation, he not only goes with the music, in some cases, but he also goes against the music as well. He varies his movements and music in terms of rhythm best explained as syncopations which is a differing emphasis in music and movements. For example, during quieter parts of his music hell do many short and sharp movements and his accented movements are usually done along with the beat of the drums or sometimes only hitting certain accents. On the other hand, sometimes when there are many accents in his music, hell change to the smoother style of his dancing. His choreography also catered very aptly to the lyrics and content of his songs, exemplified by the movements that likened to zombies choreographed for the song 'Thriller'. This is an example of versatility in his choreography to suit his music and probably was an added factor to success. Such integration of choreographic movements and music allows the essence of Michael Jackson's style, both in music and dance, to stand out and complement one another at the same time.

Another element that he incorporated into his music and dance was the element of theatre or drama. In his music videos, he combined song, dance, and drama together with such that many of his music videos had storylines, almost like a miniature movie or musical, as in 'Smooth Criminal'. If it was a live concert, he used over-the-top costuming, massive visual elements and even incorporated acrobatic stunts such as having aerialists in his performances. All these were technically complicated and required much technical support (Jackson). As an artist, Michael Jackson strived for perfection by always pushing the limit of complexity and intricacy in what he did and produced. He worked and created intending to want his audience to feel a sense of awe and wonder watching his works, live or on film. One of the moves he was best known for, the anti-gravitational lean, was one of the stunts that achieved that aim and was evidence of his strive in his artistry. The uniqueness of his works was in the perfection he desired in every aspect of his art form, music, theatre, dance, and acrobatic elements.

The Evolution of Dance Through Music

Though dance had already existed in other films such as 'West Side Story' and 'Singin' in the Rain,'' Michael Jackson's music videos markedly pushed dance in film to the next level through the exploration of camera movement and video-editing skills in developing computer age, along with his extensive use of props, over-the-top costumes and sets as well as dramatic effects. Before Michael Jackson's music videos, camera movements were limited to a planar view and kept mostly to one level. These processes allowed audiences to see a fuller picture of dance on film, seeming somewhat closer to seeing it in real-life.

In many of Michael Jackson's dances, he incorporated popping and locking, commonly from hip hop. Michael Jackson is thought to be the first to commercialize these techniques. Hip-hop today has opened up into several different genres such as popping and locking, and break-dancing. Due to his work globally many sought to imitate what Michael Jackson was capable of doing. 'They just want wonderful experiences, they want escapism. We want to take them to places they've never been before, we want to show them talent as they've never seen before,' says Michael Jackson.