Smooth Criminal school talent show performance (w/ lean!) by Jonny Cruz 

holy moly this has to be the best complement i have EVER received. all i can say is thank you thank you thank you! i love keeping the legacy alive and performing his routines. it’s a blast!

11 years old That was right in his prime age range

63 year old using "on point" 🤣

@@troystewart7730 you must have thought you did something here didnt you?

​@Chris whats crazy about that? Ive heard 76 year olds say it

It still takes an amazing amount of strength to pull it off.

@@HotRod12667 No yeah, I totally agree. Regardless of the trick behind it, it still takes a lot of strength and communication with your body to be able to keep your feet as close to flat as possible and get back up. I was just saying that it would’ve been a bit awkward if the friend wasn’t there to take attention off Jonny while he was getting prepared for it.

@@charadreemur7990 Well, even Michael had a little kid dancing to distract the audience just before he and his backups did the lean in the music video, so all legit!

@@ronsedlak4019 Really?? I never knew that, or maybe I did and just don’t remember. But that’s cool, the little details like that.

@@ronsedlak4019The kid really wasn't distracting, she was a main character of the film the music video was in, moonwalker. Michael was already ready with a rope tied to him so he wouldn't fall, as the shoe trick wasn't invented until 1992 for the dangerous tour.

there’s no feeling like it to compare it to. it’s so unique and unforgettable!

Always some so called‘expert’ to always say you did good buttttttt. Seriously why? The killed it!

@@jonathancruz1764you did great man! No criticism here, you did amazing my dude!

Did you ever meet Michael Jackson?

and lots of practice 😅 haha

Thanks Captain O.

You can actually see the pegs on the floor in this video.

Yep. But still gotta respect the strength that one needs to pull it off, even with special shoes :)

​@@TheEnd-dy1dd LOL!!!

wow thank you so much!! it was a great and unique experience!!

Nah

@@miked8728 don’t be a hater be glad he is still keeping Michael Jackson alive and doing a tremendous job at it

@@domsquad1237 nah

@@miked8728 dude just let the man enjoy his life ok stop hating

thank you so much!!!

thank you! and i couldn’t hear that during the performance but i loved listening back to it haha

thanks so much brother! it was seriously such an awesome opportunity and i loved every second!

thanks a ton! 😭 glad you enjoyed watching :)

He didn'ty just memorize it he learned it perfectly!

@@ZepG AMEN!!

dang bro thank you so much! it was super fun to do!

Definitely

I think he had shoes on that made it easier for him but still good job

Where can I find the shoes and nails?

While the other guy was dancing he locked is shoes into the board on the ground, but it is a awesome effect

wow that means a ton thank you 😭💙

and seeing in the dark is my super power… don’t tell anyone.

@@jonathancruz1764 i mean you were standing next to it and you just said it was your superpower-

He has Darkvision

he is the GOAT! and thank you!

thank YOU for stopping and watching! it was a joy to do and i loved the opportunity. so glad to hear how you experienced it!

that’s so awesome!! i only wish i could’ve experienced something like that live!!

wowowowow thank you 😭💙

thank you SO much!! that means a lot! 💙

MJ IS THE GOAT!

thanks so much! these types of comments mean so much to me 😭💙 i loved the opportunity i had to do it and it was so much fun and worth the time!

thank you 😭

he is so timeless!

thank you so much you have no idea how much those types of comments mean to me 😭💙

;)

Warren is the man and he left no crumbs haha

ong thank you o much 😭💙

omg thank you so much 😭

He did the same thing. It’s a trick studs on the floor. Trick shoes.

thank you so much that means a TON! 💙

thank youuuu!!! i’d love to keep on going too! let’s see what happens 👀

thanks a ton! i appreciate it a lot 😭💙

i’m his number 1 fan!! 😂

oh my goodness thank you so much for the kinds words! you are greatly appreciated!

hours and hours of practice haha

@@jonathancruz1764 I beg your Pardon sir, this looks like Months & Months of practice.Me & the Boys used to have a dance off in the streets back in the late '80's trying to see who was the best M.J. Dancer.

wow thank you a million! 😭

It's even more impressive that he made his own moves in there

thank you!! it was so much fun and such a unique experience!

thank you!!

@@anwd8646 wow thanks a ton for the kind words! it means a lot!

and super fun to do!

thank you and i can only hope!! 🥺

haha that must’ve not turned out too well back then!

screws on the plank and holes on the heels of the shoes was trick applied look close when he finishes the lean

@@jonathancruz1764 Yeah, I got no teef left.

wow thank you so much 😭

Thank you very much!

wish i could’ve shown him this to hear his thoughts and critiques!!

omg thank you! you have no idea how much i love when i get told that 😭

thank you so much 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

wowow thank you!

Thank you so much!

Did you not notice the stage prop?

MJ used the same thing, tho. If you look close, you can see it in the clip or any live stages performances.@@Tovek

thank you so much it means a lot!! i look for as many opportunities to do a performance when it comes up idk know of many unfortunately 😔

wow thank you so much!

Glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much 😭

@@jonathancruz1764 ☺️👍🏻You're so welcome .Hope you're still dancing. 😎

hey you can!! we all start somewhere and it’s not an overnight thing it takes practice. if i can do it you can do it too! 💙

it was so fun to do! and thanks for watching!

everyday, practice! practice. practice. practice. record yourself doing the routine and go back and rewatch it. it’s hard and awkward but you can immediately critique yourself and you need that to get better. as soon as you watch it back, do it all over again. record, watch, repeat. also, one last thing! don’t watch MJ impersonators. watch MJ himself! he’s the best person to watch dance like him haha. i would watch his dances in .25 speed and mirror the video so i could see how he does moves and do it the same way and direction he did. sometimes i’d have to watch multiple shows to get different angles and different moves to slow down. most MJ impersonators do MJ’s moves the wrong direction because they don’t take into account the fact that he’s facing the camera/audience. so practice practice practice, rewatch the practice, adjust errors, and observe MJ! good luck my friend i hope to see you crush it :)

@@jonathancruz1764 thank you so much! Ill definitely do what you told me!

could i also ask what audio you used for the song? it seems like an extended version of smooth criminal, but i cant find anything on youtube that matches.

@@EXECUTIVE_AGENT_011 I genuinely can’t find it. I think I used the CVG studio version but added the voice over in the beginning from a different studio version and just merged the two together in garage band!

@@jonathancruz1764 oh thats totally fine! im sure i can find an extended version if i cant do what you did. thanks for your time and effort!

thank you so much!

I'm sure you practiced it like a million times at home but what was it like the first time you did it live?

@@soulplane7320 like i was gambling (i’ve never actually gambled before but it’s what i imagine the feeling is like). i did the lean perfectly like every 8/10 times in rehearsals. i was excited, nervous, but oddly experienced a mixture of confidence and fear going into position for the lean. i thought, “if i nail this it’ll be awesome, but if this is one of those times i fail it’ll be the only thing people remember.” thankfully it went well and when i got up i was so hyped haha!

Yeah definitely! I’m sure once you realized you were going to make it, a huge weight was lifted off your shoulders.

Clever production where they distracted the audience giving him time to set up the lean😊