James Brown Research Paper

James Brown was born in May 3, 1933 and died in December 25, 2006. He started his career as a singer in Toccoa, Georgia and later on became a songwriter, record producer, dancer and bandleader. On his dance contribution, Brown was known as a “choppy rhythmic dance machine that worked perfectly with his aggressive, punchy singing style” (Vincent). His styles and movements have inspired many dancers after him. For example, Michael Jackson’s moonwalk was inspired by James Brown’s smooth movements like skating on ice. Between the late of 1950s and the 1960s, he mastered every dance craze like the “camel walk,” the “mashed potato,” and the “popcorn” (Maycock, 2003). He boxing background also helped him invented some of his own dancing styles and movements so every time he dance he would declare that he was about to “do the …show more content…
I notice that there are some similarities between Michael Jackson’s moonwalk and James Brown footwork. The reason is he often makes his feet seem to be slippery just like the Michael Jackson’s moonwalk. His movements are really fast and complicated as in the audiences might miss some of his moves if they blink. Additionally, his footwork is incredibly smooth that it is possible to think that the man can skate without needing ice under his feet. Also, James Brown’s movements seem to be way more improvised. It was similar to the moonwalk with way more energy and creativity behind it. Not to mention, his movements are very strict to the art form. The energy level in the performance is extremely high. His idea of polyrhythm embracing the conflict of not knowing what is going to come next. However, his arm movements are much slower than his feet. He uses his arms and chest as the slower parts of his body. There are so many things going on at the same time within his body. It was also thanks to his boxing background and gene that helped him created his very own unique