The Truth Behind Michael Jackson's Anti-Gravity Illusion Is Unbelievable!

#1 The Iconic Move - The Lean

His iconic, gravity-defying lean was first seen in the 1987 video for Smooth Criminal and directors pulled this off through the use of wires and special effects. But the King of Pop wanted to take the trick on the road so he linked up with two inventors to develop a shoe that would allow him to recreate the dance on stage.

#2 His Genius Led To An Innovative Invention

The shoe was to be affixed with a specially designed heel peg that would protrude and connect to the stage, allowing Jacko to shift his center of balance and perform the now-iconic lean.

The patent was awarded in 1993 and MJ took them on tour almost immediately. But during a 1996 show in Moscow, the system malfunctioned causing Jackson's heel to come loose and nearly injuring the superstar. The team went back to the drawing board, redrafting the original patent in hopes of creating a safer alternative.

#3 The Final Shoe Design and Patent

MJ created these shoes along with the help of Michael L. Bush and Dennis Tompkins in 1992. The patent was awarded in 1993, just in time for his huge tour.

#4 They Shoes Were Designed To Be Stylish As Well As Functional

Showing how the upper part of the shoes were modified in order to provide maximum flexibility in boot form.

#5 The Heel Was The Most Important Aspect Of The Illusion

The heels of the shoes were designed so as to hinge a person to the floor, with the help of strong nails on the floor the persons' legs were fixed on which one can lean quite a bit over the toppling point in the forward direction.

#6 15 Months Of Rehearsals and Practice Made a Perfect Show and Illusion

It became the greatest mystery of the time and was also the point of revolution in the field of performing arts for the use of such genius designs. As for Michael Jackson, he always went forward and is still one of the greatest in the field.

#7 Details Of The Original Shoe Patent

The full documents are available on Google.

#8 US Patent #5,255,452

Date of the shoes patent is October 26, 1993.

"Many popular music and dance entertainers expend great effort in enhancing and choreographing their performances and dancing," the patent document says.

#9

Naming Jackson, Michael L. Bush and Dennis Tompkins as the inventors, the patent describes a "system for allowing a shoe wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity by virtue of wearing a specially designed pair of shoes which will engage with a hitch member movably projectable through a stage surface."

That's a complicated way of saying the dancers' shoes had heels with slots that can hitch onto pegs that protruded from the stage at predetermined times. The pegs retracted back into the stage after the move was executed so as not to impede the performers.

#10 'Smooth Criminal' Featured on 1987 'Bad' Album

While Michael Jackson's "moon walk" was far and away his most famous move, the "Smooth Criminal" lean certainly ranks among the legendary dancer's most memorable.