How did Michael Jackson defy gravity to pull off the famous “Smooth Criminal” tilt?

Francis Akhalbey August 29, 2018
Michael Jackson

I vividly remember the first time I saw Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal video. An uncle, who had just returned from the United States brought a videocassette of a compilation of some of his popular videos at that time.

As an ardent fan who used to imitate his dance moves (though I totally sucked) with my cousins and friends during playtime, I was filled with excitement from the very moment my uncle pressed play.

Fast forward, the Smooth Criminal video, and up came the famous gravity-defying tilt. My cousins and I, totally gobsmacked, looked in awe and total elation while clapping! Thinking it was going to be a walk in the park, we also tried to do it when we later on went outside to play but failed miserably, and then came the million-dollar question; how was he able to pull it off?

As naïve kids, we eventually let it slide (and I’m sure most people did) because hey, he’s the King of Pop and he’s capable of doing anything. I mean we’ve seen the moonwalk among other famous signature dance moves.

Though the tilt was flawless, he couldn’t, however, do it without some “technical help”. Jackson had custom-made shoes whose soles were specially designed to interlock with a nail on the ground/stage, hence giving him the luxury to lean over 45 degrees.

To celebrate his birthday, Face2Face Africa shares with you a video demonstrating his ingenious invention and how he was able to pull it off, just like a smooth criminal.

Let’s just throw in the official video for nostalgia sake!

Last Edited by:Ismail Akwei Updated: August 29, 2018

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