Dance in Film · 1983
Beat It (1983)
Bob Giraldi turns a Los Angeles gang rumble into an anti-violence dance short, with Michael Peters’s choreography moving Michael Jackson, professional dancers, breakdancers, and members of rival gangs from a knife confrontation into one mass ensemble.
Beat It is a 1983 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 2 indexed dance sequences ↓
Where to watch: Free authorized 4K video on Michael Jackson’s official YouTube channel; MichaelJackson.com also hosts the title. Watchability verified 2026-08-08.
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The complete work, on the rights holder's official channel.
The dance sequences in Beat It
2 sequences — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
Final rival-gang ensemble
Commercial / Industry DanceDanced by Michael Jackson; Michael Peters; Vincent Paterson; professional dancers · Choreography Michael Peters
Michael Jackson in the red jacket leading the warehouse ensemble in sharp unison.
Mass music-video choreography converts the warehouse confrontation into synchronized collective action, making the nonviolence message legible through bodies moving together.
Watch this sequence · The full film is on YouTube; the link opens at this sequence. Official Michael Jackson site embeds the opened 4K full-work YouTube ID and identifies the 1983 short film. No edition-specific timestamp was inferred.
Rival gang leaders’ knife confrontation
Staged dance-fight / narrative movementDanced by Michael Peters; Vincent Paterson · Choreography Michael Peters
The two white-suited gang leaders circling with their knife hands bound together.
The wrist-tethered switchblade confrontation turns an impending fight into deliberately staged physical conflict, preparing dance—not violence—as the short film’s means of resolution.
Watch this sequence · The full film is on YouTube; the link opens at this sequence. Official Michael Jackson site embeds the opened 4K full-work YouTube ID and identifies the 1983 short film. No edition-specific timestamp was inferred.
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