ABSTRACT
Jackson's passage from music superstar to a world historical and cultural figure was ritually enacted on May 16, 1983, with his mythic dance performance of the 'moonwalk' on the Motown 25 television special, which was beamed to almost 50 million viewers around the globe. Jackson's uncanny dexterity, disciplined grace, and explosive imagination coalesced in a series of immortal movements, which, in their turn, freeze-framed the recrudescent genius of street dance, summarized the important history of Fred Astaire-like purposeful grace in executing dance steps, and extended the brilliant tradition of African-American performers like Bojangles, Sammy Davis, and Katherine Dunham surging against the odds to create vital art. The grand finale of Motown 25 reinforced this notion that the 'real' sound of Motown belonged to 'Yesterday' rather than 'Today'. As part of Motown's marketing strategy, Diana Ross was announced as the one who had discovered the Jackson 5.
