Michael Jackson dancing

hey its me again. well ya know how i had problems with getting lessons in dance? well im getting a job pretty soon so i will be able to pay for tapes and such. but i wanted to talk about michael jacksons dancing style. did he kinda make up his own style or is it hip hop/r&b? I would like to know this because i want to learn to dance like him. i will be in california this summer and will be looking for a dance school to hang out at while i am not doing anything. do you know of good ways to learn michaels moves and style other than his music videos? i learned a little from thriller and you rock my world, as well as a couple others, and im beginning to get a hang of dancing. but i want to put myself up at a new mj level. lol. its a pity all of this controversy is going on

but i would appreciate any help from you ladies and gentlemen

Furuidan said:

but i wanted to talk about michael jacksons dancing style. did he kinda make up his own style or is it hip hop/r&b?

Click to expand...

From what I've read Michael Jackson received much of his dance training from Paula Abdul who is also a choreographer.

Have you tried doing a Google search on Michael Jackson dance moves?

oh really? i didn't know that. maybe i will check into some of her stuff

and yeah i have checked google, but its all about moonwalk, which i can kinda do

I'm a fan of Michael Jackson's, so when i saw this topic, i was like whaa..?

Anyway, Michael can tap dance.. he can do ballet also. If you watch him perform, you can really see it. He put a mixture of dance styles into his routines (I saw him live in concert, and I've never seen anything like it, he is an incredible dancer), so yes, I think it is his own style.

If I were you, go for R'n'B/Modern dance lessons, that should help you a bit.

i'm an MJ fan as well.. many great hits ..great dancing.. when i was a kid i used to mimic his moves at the time when hits played like 'Billy Jean', 'Beat it' and 'Thriller' etc.. came out

from what i know.. he's naturally gifted with the talent and that he has taken an asortment of dance classes growing up because he was in show biz. with the 'Jackson 5' ever-since he was a toddler..

so i assume he mixed it all up + incorprated it with the most poular street dance at the time 'break-dance' and came out with what u see... but in HIS style because it naturally comes to him...

regarding his dance videos.. naturally he employed choreographers to design new moves for him and dancers behind him .. yet the choreography included moves that were an extension of his style of dancing they just fitted it into his style to add move volume.. or he just took the moves and made them his own.. u know.. (chicken or the egg kind of thing here).. one of them was Paula Abdul.. and her style of choreography showed on Janet Jackson too if u notice.

Yet .. if u want to see MJ's pure dancing.. u'd see it mostly on stage when he goes solo for a bit.. like he always did in Billy Jean for example.. or 'Dangerous' as another.. he just takes it solo and flows with it.. its just his natural ability.. and his style.. so i dont know where u can go learn it unless from the man himself or happening by another dancer who loves MJ's style and immitates it down to a 'T'..

that said.. a friendly advice.. and i know its not my place to give it.. its of course up to u what and how to dance.. but in my humble view .. since MJ is a STYLE dancer first and foremost.. so IF u just mostly dance his style u may be considered an MJ mimic or 'wanabe' and it would limit your own creativity because it is not really a school of dance u are taking up here but an individuals free style so to speak..

HOWEVER, if u learn it and do it well and u use it to improve your general dance repertoire and style of movement .. or yet enter a few smooth MJ moves in your dance then that would be a very handsome idea .. i personally do that sometimes in my salsa .. stuff like footwork ..gliding etc.. it can definitely be used to add to the dance..

Well Goodluck! and i hope i didnt upset u .. just sharing a view.. cheers.

Jackson's main hip-hop/br-boyin' instructor was Poppin' Taco, a member of the electric boogaloos. All the gliding (real name for moonwalking), popping, locking, boogalooing, air-poses, hittin', cobra, and tuttin' you see him do he learned from Taco, who also appears in his Thriller video (he is the zombie that does the chest/back undulations/isolations).

MJ is a style dancer first. If you really want to be as good as him, what you'll want to do is breaking down his video's and take as many dance classes as you can. The more hip-hop the better, but don't shy away from things like jazz, ballet, lyrical, belly-dance, and african dance. If you really want to be a professional dancer, the more well rounded you are the more you will work... but you need to have your own style.

When you hit the floor, you want to be as good as MJ not look like an imitator. You aren't built like him, or have his background, so you won't be able to dance/move just like him... let him inspire, but be yourself.