Moonwalk

Moonwalk has several meanings:

• Literally, walking on the Moon, as done by astronauts in the Apollo program from 1969 to 1972; see Extra-vehicular activity and List of spacewalks and moonwalks
• A breakdance move. It is singer Michael Jackson's signature dance move.
• The title of Jackson's 1988 autobiography.
• "The Moonwalk" or "Moon Walk" is a wooden prominade along the bank of the Mississippi River in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana built in the 1970s. The name came from the New Orleans mayor who had it built, Moon Landrieu.

Moonwalk as a dance move

The moonwalk is a well known breakdance move that gained widespread popularity after being performed by Michael Jackson, first on the 1983 television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, and has since become his signature move. Indeed, although he did not invent the move, the move is so closely associated with him.

The effect

The idea of the moonwalk is do give the illusion that the dancer is walking forwards whilst mysteriously moving backwards, giving the appearance that the dancer is sliding unnaturally backwards even though he should be moving forwards.

How it is done

As stated before, when done properly the dancer looks like he is walking forward normally, however this is not true, in fact, neither foot ever should be lifted entirely off the ground. The effect is gained by putting all your weight on the ball/toes of one of your feet, and putting the other foot flat on the ground, in front of your raised foot. The dancer then proceeds to slide his foot backwards whilst slightly raising and lowering the other foot to give a 'stepping' effect. When done properly the raised foot looks like it is stepping forward and the flat foot looks like it is on the ground, going "past" the raised foot. Once this is done the feet swap roles and another step is taken. When joined together properly and natural body movements are used, the illusion can be remarkable.

While moonwalking sounds easy in theory, it is a dance move that is incredibly difficult to master, as even when one can do the correct movements, one still may lack the subtle movements that actually give the effect, with the type of shoes the dancer is wearing making a big difference on the effect. Also it initially feels like a very unnatural move, and can take months to learn. However, when it is pulled off properly dancers report that it does indeed feel like you are gliding backwards.

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