{"id":8142,"date":"2018-05-31T15:46:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T05:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/education.australiascience.tv\/?p=8142"},"modified":"2021-11-02T12:33:37","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T02:03:37","slug":"michael-jacksons-dance-lean-explained-using-forces","status":"publish","type":[8014],"link":"https:\/\/education.australiascience.tv\/michael-jacksons-dance-lean-explained-using-forces\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Jackson’s dance lean explained using Forces"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”5\/6″][vc_separator color=”white” type=”normal”][vc_column_text]Biomechanics experts warn against trying the \u2018anti-gravity\u2019 tilt at home.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article highlights the research behind how the famous Michael Jackson \u2018Smooth Criminal\u2019 dance lean was executed, and how science was involved in knowing about forces. It is a nice way to introduce or reinforce how so many areas of STEM are interconnected and can be used alongside the Year 7 or Year 10 Physics science curriculum.<\/p>\n

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Michael Jackson\u2019s signature lean in concert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]You\u2019d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn\u2019t agree that Michael Jackson<\/strong>\u00a0was one of the most influential musical artists of our time.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]But it wasn\u2019t only music he influenced and revolutionised. His dance moves defined pop music choreography, and pushed dancers to do more and more extreme moves.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Now one of his signature moves \u2013 the extreme lean from Smooth Criminal \u2013 has come under the microscope, with a group of Indian neurosurgeons and self-confessed Jackson fans discussing how he pulled off the move in the Journal of Neurosurgery Spine<\/a>, and cautioning against those wanting to replicate their idol.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Smooth moves from a Smooth Criminal<\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In the video<\/a> for Smooth Criminal, and then replicated live in concerts around the world, Jackson and his backup dancers perform a mind-boggling lean, which sees their bodies tilted forwards over by 45 degrees from vertical.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n
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The shift of the fulcrum from the sacrum to the Achilles tendon in MJ\u2019s antigravity tilt. Credit: Manjul Tripathi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]When someone stands upright, their centre of mass lies in front of the second sacral vertebra<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]If we were to bend forward at the waist, our erector spinae muscles<\/a> in the back act like cables to support the spinal column and prevent us from toppling as that centre of gravity moves forwards.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Even a trained dancer, say the neurosurgeons, would only be able to lean around 20 degrees past vertical without toppling, far more upright than MJ\u2019s 45 degrees.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

No strings attached<\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]So what was Jackson\u2019s secret?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It wasn\u2019t wires, but rather a\u00a0patented<\/a>\u00a0shoe.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n
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The \u2018antigravity tilt\u2019 (> 45\u00b0 forward bend), the dance move introduced by Michael Jackson, in comparison to the normal limit of a human tilt (20\u00b0 forward bend), as well as the conceptualized shoe designed by MJ and coinventors. Credit: Manjul Tripathi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The heel of the shoe contained a slot that locked onto a metallic peg that emerged from the stage at the right moment, locking his foot in place and providing an anchor to allow the extreme angles.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]However, they say, even with this hitching system it would still require huge core strength to be able to lock his body into a rigid straight line while leaning over and pulling himself back upright.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The University of Adelaide\u2019s Associate Professor Dominic Thewlis<\/a>, who was not involved in the paper but specialises in human biomechanics, agrees, but also points out it wasn\u2019t something that only Jackson would be able to do.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201cBased on some very simple calculations from the information in the paper, the muscle force required to hold this position is massive.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201cIt\u2019s genuinely surprising, we\u2019re talking about huge forces on his ankles.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201cOnce Michael\u2019s centre of mass exceeds the limits of the base of support (his foot) the system is really easily perturbed, so the only way to hold this position without losing balance would be to fix his ankle to the floor. The rest is down to core strength.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]However, while the move would have required strength far beyond what a normal person could muster, Thewlis says that it was probably far from superhuman and that most trained dancers should have this kind of ability.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]However, even with this strength, Thewlis points to the shoe design as being the vital ingredient in the show stopping move.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201cI honestly can\u2019t see how anyone could do this without mechanical aid.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Do not try this at home<\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It is those forces and the requirement for the special shoe that has the Indian doctors cautioning against trying to replicate Jackson\u2019s moves at home.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201cSeveral MJ fans, including the authors, have tried to copy this move and failed, often injuring themselves in their endeavours,\u201d they wrote.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The chances of someone injuring their ankles while trying to make the lean are significant, they said. Talking to\u00a0the BBC<\/a>, the authors added \u201cYou need strong core muscles and good support around the ankle. It\u2019s not a simple trick.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Since Jackson\u2019s prime, dancers have continually challenged themselves to jump higher, stretch further and move faster than before.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]With this comes more strain on their bodies, and the neurosurgeons say they are expecting to see new, unique spinal injuries as they push themselves further, inspired by the phenomenon that was Michael Jackson.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This article is republished from Australia’s Science Channel.<\/strong> Read the original article<\/a>.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator type=”normal”][vc_column_text njt-role=”not-logged-in”]Login or Sign up for FREE<\/strong> to download the full teacher resource[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text njt-role=”not-logged-in”]\n
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