Demystifying Dance Movies

Secret Behind Michael Jackson's ‘Smooth Criminal' Lean

Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ dance is one of the King of Pop’s many celebrated performances. A patent Michael Jackson filed in 1992 reveals how he executed the gravity-defying lean towards the end of the song—and the secret’s in the shoes.

As you can see from the images in the gallery above, the shoes worn for Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ dance had notched grooves into which a support rod could be raised. Check out the magic shoes in action in the video above (skip to 3:50 if you just want to see the lean).

Secret Notching
Creating notched grooves in shoes for support rods to execute gravity-defying leans in dance performances.
Patent Innovation
Innovating clothing and footwear for better precision and execution in dance performances.
Revolutionizing Dance Choreography
Incorporating technology in dance choreography to take it to the next level.

Sectors Adopting This

Fashion
Developing notched grooves in shoes and clothing to revolutionize dance performances.
Entertainment
Incorporating technology and patent innovations in dance choreography to create unforgettable performances.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing notched groove shoes and other innovative clothing and shoes to provide better precision and execution in dance performances.
SCORE
4.3 out of 10
GENDER
70% Men30% Women
MARKETTop markets: North America, Europe
GENERATION
  • Gen Z
  • Gen Alpha
  • Millennial (primary audience)
  • Gen X (primary audience)
POPULARITY
Popularity 87%
Activity 35%
Freshness 8%

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