One of the most iconic moves of Michael Jacksonthe king of pop music, is the forward bending of 45 °which has become iconic above all thanks to the video clip of smooth Criminal of 1987. For a long time around this move the most disparate voices circulated, by those who said that it was simple special effects And whoever claimed was all thanks to a Hard training. But where is the truth? As we will see, everything actually has to do with special shoes patented by MJ himself.
The birth of Michael Jackson’s move in Smooth Criminal
During the filming of the video smooth Criminal Michael Jackson and his team became famous for the move that saw them 45 ° forwarded forward with the back straight. According to what was stated by the consultant for the special effects of the video Kevin Pikethe effect was achieved both through a rudimentary version of “anchored” shoes on the floor, and thanks to the use of very thin cables wrapped around the life of the actors and capable of keeping them in balance.
At the same time, however, the move became so popular that the public was loudly asking to perform it even live … even if at the time the use of not visible threads in front of a true audience was substantially impossible. Precisely for this reason no bending was made during the Bad World Tour From 1988. At the same time, however, MJ, together with the costume designers Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins, decided to find a solution. For this reason, after years of research, the October 26, 1993 the special patented “Anti-gravity” shoes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e2r2volqva
Michael Jackson patented shoes
These special footwear were characterized by a series of laces To be tightened around the ankle and, above all, from a triangular crack in the heel. This allowed to hook a protruding element installed specifically on stage, such as a metallic That emerged from the stage at the right time, giving the dancers the opportunity to lean forward more than a normal person could never do.
Using this special pair of shoes, MJ and his corps de ballet finally managed to carry out this move from live starting from Dangerous World Tour of 1992. Since then, together with the Moonwalkthis is absolutely one of the most famous moves of the artist who accompanied his music.
Because we cannot bend at 45 °
The need to wear shoes made ad hoc It comes from the fact that our body it cannot bend of course in that way, and this is also confirmed by a medical office published in 2018 on Journal of Neurosurgery. Here, simplifying, it is explained that normally when we bend the fulcrum falls at the joints of the hips.
However, if we keep our back straight and aligned with the legs, at that point the fulcrum moves to Achilles tendons and an unnamed person can hardly exceed 20 ° of inclination. If it is a trained dancer, we are around 25-30 °, But not more. Michael Jackson, on the other hand, with this trick of the shoes, managed to have additional support, reaching the 45 ° And leaving entire generations of spectators openly.
But be careful, we must not think that this trick is simple to perform: even if it is true that the special shoes are of great support a successful success, this would be impossible without an excellent physical preparation. These in fact the words of Manjul Tripathico-author of the study:
Even with that shoe I would not be able to make 45 degrees. An excellent strength of the coreand that force was in Michael Jackson and in his Achilles tendon.
