New York, NY — Step back in time to a sun-scorched desert set where Broadway legend Bob Fosse slithered into pop culture history, and quietly planted the seeds for the King of Pop’s explosive moves.
Long before the moonwalk, the glove, the sharp fedora tilts, and those hypnotic body isolations became synonymous with Michael Jackson, Fosse was owning the screen as The Snake in the lavish 1974 musical film adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved novella The Little Prince.
In the sequence set to “A Snake in the Grass,” Fosse, decked out in a sleek black suit, bowler hat and gloves, delivers a masterclass in jazz choreography: razor-sharp hand snaps, fluid hip rolls, turned-in knees, quick kicks, hat tricks and sinuous glides that feel eerily identical to Jackson’s routines in “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal” and beyond.
The viral clip making the rounds again this week has left viewers stunned, with many exclaiming it looks like Jackson lifted the blueprint wholesale.
Directed and co-choreographed by Fosse himself in Stanley Donen’s star-studded production (which also featured Richard Kiley, Gene Wilder as The Fox, and a young Steven Warner as The Little Prince), the performance was pure Fosse — angular, seductive, theatrical, and utterly commanding. Even in a children’s fantasy, the dance had an adult edge that mesmerized audiences.
Jackson, a voracious student of dance who devoured everything from Fred Astaire to James Brown to vaudeville greats, was openly influenced by Fosse. He reportedly studied the Little Prince routine closely, referenced it during preparations for his Bad tour, and even approached Fosse to choreograph or direct projects like Thriller, though Fosse famously passed, calling Jackson “weird.” The parallels, however, are undeniable: the precise isolations, the glove play, the hat manipulations, and that signature controlled glide all trace visible roots here.
