# Jeffrey Daniel
**Jeffrey Daniel** is an American dancer, choreographer, and singer, best known as a founding member of the R&B group Shalamar and as the dancer who taught [Michael Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-jackson) the backslide, the move Jackson renamed and popularized as the moonwalk.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Group | Founding member of Shalamar, formed from Soul Train dancers by SOLAR Records founder Dick Griffey; the trio with Jody Watley and Howard Hewett sold over 25 million records[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/) • [2](https://shalamar.info/info/biography/) |
| Signature move | Pioneered the backslide, which he performed on US television in 1979 and on the UK's Top of the Pops in 1982; Michael Jackson renamed it the moonwalk[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/) • [3](https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1907409_1907413_1907560,00.html) |
| Michael Jackson work | Taught Jackson the move beginning around 1980; co-choreographed and appeared in the "Smooth Criminal" and "Bad" videos during a partnership spanning twenty years[3](https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1907409_1907413_1907560,00.html) • [1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/) |
| Stage career | Played Electra in the original West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's *Starlight Express*, with complex choreography on roller skates[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/) |
| Dance style legacy | Pioneer of the West Coast street dance movement; with Tyrone Proctor he named the style waacking[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/) |
| Later career | Performing as Shalamar with Howard Hewett since 1999, with Carolyn Griffey joining in 2001; judge on Nigerian Idol[2](https://shalamar.info/info/biography/) • [1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/) |
## Soul Train and street dance
Daniel gained recognition as one of the most popular dancers on the US television program *Soul Train*, the music and dance show whose performers shaped the visual language of Black popular music in the 1970s[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/). He became a pioneer of the West Coast street dance movement, taking styles from the streets and clubs into mainstream music and media, in a fusion of jazz, popping, locking, robotics, waacking, house, and hip hop[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/). He credits the locking pioneer Don Campbell, one of the earliest *Soul Train* dancers, as an inspiration, and Tyrone Proctor, the premier waack dancer, as the teacher who introduced him to that style; when Daniel noticed Proctor using the word "whack" while teaching the arm movements, the two named the dance waacking[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/).
It was on *Soul Train*, performing a routine dressed in black, that Daniel with Geron "Casper" Candidate and Derek "Cooly" Jackson first performed the moonwalk on US television[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/). Daniel has said he called the move the "backslide", a name he acknowledges carries a negative connotation in the church tradition he grew up in, but one that described the mechanics: "You're sliding backward. Michael called it the 'moonwalk', but it's not walking. You're sliding"[4](https://mixmag.net/feature/shalamar-mixmag-40-cover-anniversary-interview-jeffrey-daniel). The technique, as he describes it, requires pushing off the ground from the toes and sliding rather than stepping back[4](https://mixmag.net/feature/shalamar-mixmag-40-cover-anniversary-interview-jeffrey-daniel).
## Shalamar
Shalamar began as a studio project. Dick Griffey, talent coordinator for *Soul Train*, founded the SOLAR record label and released "Uptown Festival" in 1977 under the faceless name Shalamar; when it became a hit, he built an actual group around *Soul Train* dancers Jeffrey Daniel and [Jody Watley](https://www.edgepedia.org/jody-watley), with singer Gary Mumford, who soon left[2](https://shalamar.info/info/biography/). After a second lead singer, Gerald Brown, departed in late 1979, Daniel recruited [Howard Hewett](https://www.edgepedia.org/howard-hewett), whom he had met at the Los Angeles nightclub Maverick Flat, and the trio of Hewett, Daniel, and Watley became the group's classic lineup[2](https://shalamar.info/info/biography/).
From late 1979 to mid 1983 the trio charted more than a dozen hits across North America, Europe, Africa, and Japan, including "The Second Time Around", a million seller that reached number one on the US R&B chart and number eight on the Billboard pop chart, as well as "A Night to Remember", "I Can Make You Feel Good", and "There It Is"[2](https://shalamar.info/info/biography/). At the height of their fame in 1983, Watley and Daniel left the group[2](https://shalamar.info/info/biography/).
## The backslide goes to Britain
In 1982, with "A Night to Remember" climbing the UK charts and Watley pregnant, Shalamar's label sent Daniel alone to appear on the BBC's *Top of the Pops*, not to sing but simply to dance to the song[4](https://mixmag.net/feature/shalamar-mixmag-40-cover-anniversary-interview-jeffrey-daniel). During the song's bass breakdown he moved in reverse across the floor in the backslide, combined with body popping, in a routine he had assembled in his hotel room in front of a mirror[4](https://mixmag.net/feature/shalamar-mixmag-40-cover-anniversary-interview-jeffrey-daniel) • [1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/). The performance made him a star in Britain overnight; he was invited back by popular demand, the episode drew more viewers than the UK's most watched soap opera *Coronation Street*, according to his biography, and Shalamar became one of the UK's top-selling acts of 1982[4](https://mixmag.net/feature/shalamar-mixmag-40-cover-anniversary-interview-jeffrey-daniel) • [1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/). The move led to roles in the [Paul McCartney](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-mccartney) film *Give My Regards to Broad Street* and *Starlight Express*[4](https://mixmag.net/feature/shalamar-mixmag-40-cover-anniversary-interview-jeffrey-daniel).
## Working with Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson, a *Soul Train* fan, first saw Daniel perform the move on the show in 1979 and sought him out as a teacher[5](https://punchng.com/how-i-taught-michael-jackson-moonwalk-jeffrey-daniel/). Daniel recalled that they first worked together in 1980, meeting on Sundays over several weeks to work on dances, sometimes goofing around in the manner of [Charlie Chaplin](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-chaplin) and sometimes studying films by [Fred Astaire](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-astaire), Gene Kelly, the [Nicholas Brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicholas-brothers), and Sammy Davis Jr.[3](https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1907409_1907413_1907560,00.html). Jackson did not perform the moonwalk publicly until 1983, on Motown's 25th-anniversary television special; when he asked Daniel afterward how it had gone, Daniel asked why he had waited so long, and Jackson replied that it "still didn't come out right"[3](https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1907409_1907413_1907560,00.html).
The collaboration continued for two decades. In 1987 Jackson hired Daniel as a co-choreographer for the "Bad" short film and the "Smooth Criminal" video, on which he worked alongside Jackson and Vincent Paterson, and he appeared in both[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeffrey_daniel) • [1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/) • [7](https://los40.com/2025/10/26/la-revolucion-de-michael-jackson-con-sus-zapatos-magicos-de-smooth-criminal/). He also contributed to Jackson's 1996 short film *Ghosts*[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeffrey_daniel).
## Later career
After leaving Shalamar, Daniel built a career in choreography, television production, and judging on international talent competitions[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeffrey_daniel). He and Howard Hewett revived Shalamar in 1999, with Carolyn Griffey, daughter of SOLAR founder Dick Griffey, joining in 2001, and the group has since toured festivals and concerts[2](https://shalamar.info/info/biography/) • [1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/). From 2010 he has divided his time between Africa, where he draws much of his inspiration, and Japan, and he has served as a judge on Nigerian Idol[1](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/).
Daniel's personal background shaped his artistry. He grew up as the godson of the gospel legend Rev. [James Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-cleveland), who publicly disapproved of his punk-influenced hairstyles, and he was for a time married to the R&B singer [Stephanie Mills](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephanie-mills)[4](https://mixmag.net/feature/shalamar-mixmag-40-cover-anniversary-interview-jeffrey-daniel).
## References
1. [Jeffrey Daniel Biography, jeffreydaniel.com](https://jeffreydaniel.com/info/biography/)
2. [Shalamar Biography, shalamar.info](https://shalamar.info/info/biography/)
3. [Jeffrey Daniel, TIME, "Michael Jackson 1958–2009"](https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1907409_1907413_1907560,00.html)
4. [Mixmag is 40: An interview with our first ever cover star, Shalamar (Craig Seymour, 17 March 2023)](https://mixmag.net/feature/shalamar-mixmag-40-cover-anniversary-interview-jeffrey-daniel)
5. [How I taught Michael Jackson moonwalk – Jeffrey Daniel, The Punch](https://punchng.com/how-i-taught-michael-jackson-moonwalk-jeffrey-daniel/)
6. [Jeffrey Daniel, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeffrey_daniel)
7. [La revolución de Michael Jackson con sus zapatos mágicos de 'Smooth Criminal', LOS40 (26 October 2025)](https://los40.com/2025/10/26/la-revolucion-de-michael-jackson-con-sus-zapatos-magicos-de-smooth-criminal/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Dance and ballet › Dance forms beyond ballet › Street and hip-hop stage dance*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license