Did Jeffrey Daniel invent the moonwalk?

Does a performer own a dance move only when they put their name on it, or when they perform it on a big screen or stage to a global audience?

If the Americans boast of sending the first man to the moon, certainly Michael Jackson could boast of being the first man to “walk on the moon” on a stage.

On March 25, 1983, Jackson performed the memorable backslide legwork across the stage at the Motown 25 taping, and those few seconds launched the artist to stardom. But did Billy Jean Michael Jackson really invent his most iconic dance move – the MOONWALK?

Almost a year prior, the designated dancer of the 80’s soul trio Shalamar, Jeffrey Daniel turned heads to the dance which he then called “the backslide” at a 1982 guest appearance on the British TV show “Top Of The Pops”. He proceeded to teach Michael Jackson how to do it because the latter was a fan of Daniel and his choreography. Jackson later rebranded the move as “moonwalk” and took the credit.

Daniel, on the other hand, does not take credit for inventing the move but explains that the “moonwalk” evolved from pre-existing moves like locking and popping that emphasized pauses in performance over fluid motion.

So who owns the dance?

Ironically, 1930s African-American tap dancer Bill Bailey seems to be the original performer in the earliest footage doing dance moves identical to Jackson’s 1983 moonwalk.

This revelation, however, does not go without remarking that the moonwalk dance move may not be owned by a single person but as “the product of over 70 years of evolution in dance”.

At this, Jeffrey Daniel can be said to be a contributor to the dance’s popularity in the 20th century to date.

Jeffrey Glenn Daniel is an American dancer, singer-songwriter, and choreographer. He is best known as a judge on Nigerian Idol.