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<span>Q: Did Michael Jackson use any kind of props or tricks to do his famous anti-gravity lean? Could he actually do that?</span>

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

There was a prop involved in the forward lean the King of Pop performed in his "Smooth Criminal" video, and subsequently recreated on tour, but it was still a physical feat (just not with his physical feet, if you'll pardon the terrible pun).

After the moonwalk, Michael Jackson's most famous dance move was more of a pose -- midway through the "Smooth Criminal" video and stage performance, he and his backup dancers would lean forward past the point where gravity should make them stumble. It was striking to see. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office holds the secret: a patent described as "a system for allowing a shoe wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity."

Though these special shoes are doing a lot of the work, note that the move still requires carrying almost the entire weight of your upper body using only your upper thighs. These dancers were still athletes, make no mistake.

The patent was officially held by one Michael J. Jackson. Of course, the patent lists other inventors as well, who likely contributed the engineering skills necessary. That said, they're quite simple: They're more or less regular shoes with little cutaway sections in the heels designed to snap together with a sort of bolt built into the stage, which together secured Jackson and company to the floor. 

 

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