Dance in Film · 1987
Bad (1987)
Martin Scorsese turns Darryl’s return to Brooklyn into an 18-minute narrative short whose black-and-white confrontation erupts into Michael Jackson, Gregg Burge, and Jeffrey Daniel’s color subway choreography, making dance the answer to Mini Max’s test of identity.
Bad is a 1987 dance film centred on ballroom and social dance. For dancers, it's a chance to see the style performed on screen — the phrasing, partnering, and musicality that the same dances carry onto a real floor.
Jump to the 4 indexed dance sequences ↓
Where to watch: Free authorized full 18-minute short film on Michael Jackson’s official website and official YouTube channel; watchability verified 2026-08-08.
Featured clip
An excerpt — one number from the full work.
The dance sequences in Bad
4 sequences — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
Colour-change ensemble reveal
Musical Theatre Character DanceDanced by Michael Jackson; ensemble dancers · Choreography Michael Jackson; Gregg Burge; Jeffrey Daniel
Jackson appearing above the subway set as the dancers arrive in colour and the fantasy performance takes over.
The black-and-white confrontation bursts into colour and a staged ensemble response, making character transformation and narrative conflict legible through musical-theatre choreography rather than dialogue.
Watch this sequence · The full film is on YouTube; the link opens at this sequence. The opened Michael Jackson/Sony upload is the full 18-minute short film, distinct from the separately labeled shortened edit. No timestamp or deep link is entered because the scene-analysis source gives only an approximate onset for the colour transformation.
Scoreless 'Who's Bad?' call-and-response
Call-and-response dance chantDanced by Michael Jackson; ensemble dancers · Choreography Michael Jackson
Jackson asking the repeated question while the surrounding dancers answer and follow his lead.
The music drops out and Jackson leads the dancers through a spontaneous sermon-like call-and-response, turning rhythm, gesture, and group reply into the dramatic resolution.
Watch this sequence · The full film is on YouTube; the link opens at this sequence. The opened Michael Jackson/Sony upload is the full 18-minute short film, distinct from the separately labeled shortened edit. No timestamp or deep link is entered because the scene-analysis source gives only an approximate onset for the colour transformation.
Turnstile run and troupe scoot
Signature scoot and ensemble street movementDanced by Michael Jackson; ensemble dancers · Choreography Jeffrey Daniel
The company clearing turnstiles and advancing together in the scooting step.
The formation races behind station grates and over turnstiles before converting Jackson's forward scoot into a full-troupe motif, so a solo signature becomes collective movement.
Watch this sequence · The full film is on YouTube; the link opens at this sequence. The opened Michael Jackson/Sony upload is the full 18-minute short film, distinct from the separately labeled shortened edit. No timestamp or deep link is entered because the scene-analysis source gives only an approximate onset for the colour transformation.
Wind-grate fight-dance interlude
Musical Theatre Character DanceDanced by Michael Jackson; ensemble dancers · Choreography Michael Jackson; Gregg Burge; Jeffrey Daniel
The wind catching Jackson's hair and jacket before the station fills with synchronized dancers.
Jackson opens the grate into a wind-filled release, then solos against an ensemble moving between pillars in synchronized fight-dance patterns explicitly linked to West Side Story.
Watch this sequence · The full film is on YouTube; the link opens at this sequence. The opened Michael Jackson/Sony upload is the full 18-minute short film, distinct from the separately labeled shortened edit. No timestamp or deep link is entered because the scene-analysis source gives only an approximate onset for the colour transformation.
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