# The first moonwalk on stage

Year: 1983

> On 25 March 1983, at the Motown 25 taping in Pasadena, Michael Jackson danced to Billie Jean and did the moonwalk on TV for the first time, seen by 47 million.

Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was a television special celebrating the 25th anniversary of Motown Records. It was taped before a live, black-tie audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California on 25 March 1983 and broadcast on NBC on 16 May 1983, when about 47 million people watched it.

After a reunion with his brothers as the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson stayed on stage alone and performed "Billie Jean", miming to the studio recording, the only song on the show not released by Motown. Dressed in a black fedora, a black sequined jacket, short black trousers, white socks and a single white sequined glove, he glided backwards across the stage while seeming to walk forwards: the first time he performed the step that became known as the moonwalk.

The backslide had been danced by others before, but Jackson's performance made it famous worldwide. It is widely seen as his breakthrough as a solo star and one of the best-known moments in television and pop music history; the glove, the hat and the moonwalk became his signatures.

## Key facts

- Event: Michael Jackson's first moonwalk, Motown 25
- Date: 1983-03-25
- Location: Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California, United States
- Tags: michael jackson, moonwalk, motown 25, billie jean, dance, 1980s

## The illustration

A lone faceless dancer in a black fedora, black sequined jacket over a silver shirt, short black trousers, white sequined socks and one white glove glides backwards in a follow-spot: back foot flat, front heel raised. Coloured stage lights hang above a purple curtain, footlights line the stage edge and a silhouetted audience watches from the dark.

- Page: https://kuticon.com/illustrations/michael-jackson-moonwalk
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- Alt text: A lone faceless dancer in a black fedora, black sequined jacket, short black trousers, white socks and one white glove glides backwards in a spotlight on a dark stage, watched by a silhouetted audience.

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