Preparing for this past Saturday’s Thrill the World Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»started three months ago, in July — a time of the year Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” doesn’t necessarily come to mind as a song to add on a sunny day playlist.
Larry PichĂ©, the man behind via Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Improv Anywhere, starts the organizational process for the group dance by “getting into Thriller mode,” which includes listening to the six-minute-long campy horror-themed song over and over. You’d think he’d have tired of it by now after three years at the helm of Thrill the World Vancouver. On Saturday alone, he heard it at least five more times, including the rehearsals in the gym at Creekside Community Centre and the actual dance at Olympic Village square at exactly 3 p.m.
“Never,” said Piché whose own wedding reception the weekend previous featured an impromptu dance with family and friends to Thriller.
“I’m a huge fan of Michael Jackson. As a boy I remember listening to his music, watching his music videos and, I don’t know, I love bass, I love beats. The words I don’t remember so much, but the music! I like it.”
The 14-minute long werewolf and zombie-themed music video for Thriller was the first music video to be designated a national treasure by the Library of Congress in 2010 and Jackson’s iconic red and black jacket worn in the 1983 video sold for $1.8 million four years ago. Proving its staying power even further is the popularity of Thrill the World, which had more than 6,000 zombies at 134 different Thriller groups in 22 countries and six continents recorded in 2013. There is no data available for 2014, according to Piché. “It got lost in the shuffle — the shuffle/walk/slide,” he said, laughing at his own dance joke.
Participating zombies are invited to attend five free rehearsals leading up to Thrill the World Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»and pay $20 to cause a scene at the exact same time as other events across North America. (There are two different start times to accommodate different time zones).
While Thrill the World is global, each individual organizer donates funds raised to a local charity and, in Vancouver’s case, to the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Food Bank.
The event’s name gives a tip of the hat to another Jackson song “Heal the World.”
Eighty zombies danced in Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»and raised $920. It’s a decline from 2011, four years after Thrill the World began, when 434 staggered through the moves at the Roundhouse. But since everybody knows it’s difficult to kill zombies, PichĂ© holds out hope Thrill the World Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»numbers will keep climbing back up.
“People want to be part of our movement,” he said.
Meanwhile, back in the gym minutes before the Thrill the World record attempt, myTREEHOUSEvision dance choreographer Theresa Walsh, better known as “Tree,” lead the zombies through one last rehearsal.
“The thing I like to focus on is not worrying about getting it wrong but having fun,” she said, as shuffling zombies from a wide range of ages impatiently moaned at her to start the music.
“You want to get it right, then you have to go home and practice. The moves are made simpler so everybody can do it. You can be more Michael Jackson if you want, or muddle through it like a zombie,” she said. “Everyone has a different take on how they want to do it.”
Curious humans and zombies with brains can visit Thrill the World’s website at for the latest stats on the 2015 dance.
@rebeccablissett
