Underneath the historic Seaholm Power Plant’s smoke stacks Saturday, hundreds of zombies shuffled and stomped along to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” choreography.
The Alamo Drafthouse’s “Thrillerfest” was a part of a larger event called Thrill the World, in which participants around the world danced simultaneously to the famous “Thriller” dance from Jackson’s video. Saturday night, 776 Austin participants danced with roughly 23,000 other people in different locations worldwide.
Proceeds from the Austin event went to SCARE for a CURE, a nonprofit that raises money for breast cancer resources and recovery in an annual Austin haunted house. After the event, the Alamo Drafthouse’s “Rolling Roadshow” projected Jackson’s music videos onto a screen and hosted a dance party and sing-along.
Austin set the Guinness World Record for “Largest Thriller Dance” in one location last year with 881 people.
Austin also helped set the “Largest Simultaneous Thriller Dance” in multiple locations record with 4,179 dancers in 10 different nations.
But last month Mexico City smashed Austin’s single location record when they performed the dance with about 13,000 people.
Nevertheless, Henri Mazza, Thrillerfest organizer and Alamo Drafthouse creative director, remains optimistic for next year.
“Next year, we’ll do it bigger and better,” he said. “I’ll finalize the location a lot sooner so we know where we’re going, but last night was really great.”
Participants went all out in their “Thriller”-themed attire, with costumes ranging from grotesque zombies with gaping wounds and hanging flesh to versions of Michael Jackson from “Thriller,” “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.”
Debbie Cerda, a longtime SCARE for the CURE volunteer and coordinator, was also on hand to help with makeup for the hordes of undead.
“I loved seeing the diversity of the crowd,” she said. “You had people of all ages participating. There were even some young girls encouraging their mother to be zombiefied.”
Thrill the World’s roots trace back to 2006, when Ines Markeljevic taught 62 people in Toronto the “Thriller” dance and established the first single location “Thriller” record. Since then, Markeljevic has traveled around the world to help teach the song’s choreography.
After Saturday’s festivities, Mazza hopes to work with Austin’s dance instructors to break down the more complicated moves from other Jackson videos.
Be the first to comment on this article!