Scientists reveal ‘clever illusion’ of Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal tilt
Scientists uncover a patent registered under the superstar’s name that shows how it was done using fancy footwear.
Michael Jackson really acted out the part of a smooth criminal when he performed his gravity-defying 45 degree forward tilt in front of screaming fans, a study has shown.
The “mind-boggling” dance move, first seen in the 1987 “Smooth Criminal” video, was a clever illusion invented by the pop star.
Fans were amazed to see him repeat the feat live – and completely fooled.
A patent registered under Jackson’s name reveals how the trick was achieved.
The pop legend designed a special shoe with a triangular slot in the heel which hooked onto a metallic peg that emerged from the stage floor at just the right moment.
The scientists were led by long-time Jackson fan Nishant Yagnick, from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India.
In their journal article they explain how most trained dancers with strong core strength can achieve no more than 25 to 30 degrees of forward tilt.
During the move, strain is shifted from the erector spinae muscles that support the spinal column to the Achilles tendon.
“MJ pulled off a gravity-defying 45 degree move that seems unearthly to any witness.”
The authors stressed that despite the illusion, Jackson’s physical abilities were nonetheless impressive.
They wrote: “Even with specially designed footwear and the support of the hitch member, the move is incredibly hard to pull off, requiring athletic core strength from strengthened spinal muscles and lower-limb anti-gravity muscles.
“Trick or not, new forms of dancing inspired by MJ have begun to challenge our understanding of the modes and mechanisms of spinal injury.
“Ever since MJ entertained us with his fabulous moves, throughout the world dancers have tried to jump higher, stretch farther, and turn faster than ever before.”
