Legendary dancer and former Shalamar star Jeffrey Daniel has revealed that he was the person who first showed Michael Jackson the move that became known worldwide as the moonwalk.
Speaking in a Thursday interview on Channels TV, Daniel explained that he popularized the “backslide,” the original name for the dance step that later defined Jackson’s stage performances. Daniel is celebrated as an innovator in pop choreography, long before his Shalamar fame, having founded the dance group Eclipse and performing on well-known shows such as Soul Train.
According to Daniel, Jackson first spotted the backslide in 1979 when Eclipse appeared on Soul Train. “Michael saw me doing the backslide in ’79 on Soul Train,” Daniel recalled.
The two met again the following year when Jackson attended a Disneyland show featuring Daniel’s group. “He brought little Janet Jackson and they stood in the wing and watched us dance. Then he asked me to teach him,” Daniel said.
Their collaboration flourished over the next two decades. Daniel contributed choreography to classic Jackson videos including Beat It, Smooth Criminal, They Don’t Really Care About Us (filmed in Brazil), and Ghosts. “I worked with Michael over a 20-year period, and the last job I had in America was at MJJ Music, his record company, as A&R and creative consultant,” he noted.
Daniel also shared a family surprise: he and Jackson were actually cousins, something neither knew during their years of partnership. “In 2008, my father showed me my family tree, and I found out that I’m Michael’s cousin,” he said. “All the years we were working together, I never knew we were related to the Jacksons.”
Today, Daniel and members of the Jackson family Jermaine, Janet, Randy, and Rebbie affectionately call one another “cousin,” a bond discovered long after their groundbreaking artistic work together.
Michael Jackson, often hailed as the King of Pop, revolutionized music and dance with record-shattering albums like Thriller and electrifying stagecraft. Daniel’s influence on his choreography helped define the unforgettable look and feel of Jackson’s performances.