Honolulu Weekly

Thrill the World / Schedule Updated (again)

“Shuffle, back, hop, hop, forward.”…“Down, clap, slide, slide”…“Walk, left, right, 3-4-5-6-7-8 and SCARE!”

Dance instructor Jonathan Clarke Sypert energetically yells these lines atop the risers in the intimate Kumu Kahua Theatre. The “Thriller” dancers follow his orders with sass. They’re sweaty. They’re pumped. And they’re hoping to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Thrill the World event is now in its fourth year of simultaneous world-wide renditions of the zombie dance in Michael Jackson’s smash-hit video. Locally, Kumu Kahua Theatre, Aliamanu Middle School and other institutions are putting together Hawaii’s first official group to join Thrill the World, and hope to set a world record. Austin, Texas, currently holds the record with 881 people. The record for people dancing simultaneously around the world stands at 230,000. There are thus far 360 Thrill the World events in 38 countries scheduled for this year’s event, with a projection of over 270,000 participants. Thrill the World is also a way to raise awareness of organizations.

The dance is designed for people with any (or no) level of dancing ability and spectators are invited to jump in. There’s only one simple rule: no masks are allowed–only make up. As the motto of Thrill the World encourages, “Thrill the world and dance your heart out.”