[Oct 28]TORONTO,Canada--Over 40 people participated in attempting
to set a world record Saturday at Atomic Ballroom in Irvine, dancing
to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" simultaneously with others in 80
cities in 17 countries.
Toronto
is just one of 80 cities where the killer zombie dance moves was
being performed. In 17 countries across five continents at exactly
6 p.m., hundreds of people performed the dance moves that made 'Thriller'
so popular.
Photo: Steve Zylius/The Orange County Register
"I've never done any kind of choreographed dance
like this, and it's so much fun," said Clark, a graphic designer
and artist. "I dig that it's a global, international event. I think
it's really cool that everybody all over the world can get together
and do something totally crazy like this. And nobody's killing anybody."
The Irvine "Thrill the World" event was organized
by Irvine resident Tom Nguyen and dance instructor Jeremy Heckman.
They arranged rehearsals and the main show in only two weeks, after
hearing that a Toronto, Canada, dance instructor was gunning for
the world record for "Largest Simultaneous Thriller Dance."
Head organizer Ines Markeljevic decided
to put together the international spectacle after pulling off a
successful 'Thriller' feat last year around Halloween, the time
of year the song is most often played. Sixty-two people danced to
"Thriller" in Toronto and set a Guiness World Record for the Largest
Thriller Dance.
It took her two and a half weeks to get people
together the first time around so this year, she decided to devote
the year to spreading the word across the world. She travelled to
Europe, Australia, and the United States to get people on board
and even made a YouTube instructional video for people to start
learning the dance.
The song
Pop singer Michael Jackson released the song
and album “Thriller” in 1982. Both became huge hits. The 1983 video
for the “Thriller” single, directed by John Landis, was 14 minutes
long and included a memorable dance with zombies backing a transformed
Jackson, who looked like a werewolf and a zombie.
The number of total participants will be
tallied over the next few days and posted on www.thrilltheworld.com.
Toronto
is just one of 80 cities where the killer zombie dance moves was
being performed. In 17 countries across five continents at exactly
6 p.m., hundreds of people performed the dance moves that made 'Thriller'
so popular. 
