Chances are your version of the galvanic sliding board is missing a few steps . But who cares , right ?
Actually Richard Silver does — a whole lot . He ’s the guy who fabricate thedanceand get under one’s skin combative about it . His story — and theoriginsof other classic dance motility — were part of a recent installment of the podcastPart - Time Genius , co - host by Will Pearson and Mango Hattikudur .
Back in 1976 , Neville " Bunny Wailer " Livingston write a catchy call called " Electric Boogie " for his puerility brother , singer Marcia Griffiths . Then choreographer Silver created the electric slide , a22 - footstep danceto the song that incorporated grapevine and a serial publication of forward and backward step . But as the dance burgeon in popularity , people began forgetting the final four stairs — which are reiterate steps — convert it into an 18 - step performance . That was really unacceptable to Silver , particularly because he specifically created a 22 - whole tone dancing in award of the fact that he was bear on January 22 .
Outraged over the class as thousands of videos were posted online present multitude furrow to an 18 - step electric chute , he threatened the host website with lawsuits if they did n’t take down the offending clip . After all , he owns the copyright to the dance and want it to be go by down through story aright . In a bit of sarcasm , Silver wassued himselffor stand in the way of videographers ' free talking to rights . That lawsuit was settle in 2007 .
salutary affair Michael Jackson did n’t attempt to litigate people who did the moonwalk incorrect . Oh wait , he did n’t invent the move . The podcast host point out that David Bowie was already dance backward in 1973 , and before that in the 1950s , Cab Calloway and Bill Bailey were bust alike moves to the delight of audience .
So who did Jackson lift from ? Mango allege French mime Marcel Marceau performed a standardized move while dissemble to be walking into a secure headwind and Jackson and Marceau were protagonist for age . Will adds that Jackson run into two breakout professional dancer ( probably Jeffrey Daniel or his compatriots Geron " Casper " Candidate and Derek " Cooly " Jackson ) execute the moonwalk on an episode of " Soul Train " and met with them to learn the steps for an coming tv set show " Motown 25 " . The dancing made its debut on the 1983 special to accompany Jackson ’s song " Billie Jean " and soon everyone was trying to walk backward and forward at the same time .
Thechicken dance ’s back storyis just as compelling . The melody was written by Swiss musician Werner Thomas in the fifties ; Thomas then began creating a dance chronological succession to the catchy tune . " But weirdly the moves were n’t inspired by Gallus gallus , but by skier , " read Will in the podcast . " Many of the motion of skier take flight down these spate there really reminded Thomas of different birds . And so he started to put some of these motion into a dance that they begin to call ' Dance Little Bird . ' "
The song and dance finally made it across the ocean to the U.S. No one knows for sure when Americans began call it the " chicken dance , " but it may have been after a 1981 Oktoberfest celebration in Tulsa , Oklahoma . A German band was playing the song , and fete organizer wanted someone to wear a duck’s egg costume and instruct the dance move to the crowd . But all they could find was a crybaby suit .
To find out more about these and other dances — like voguing — listen to the podcast " The Controversial Origins of Famous Dance Moves . "
