Ghouls gather for Thriller

Somewhere in the world, it may have been "close to midnight" but at precisely 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Yuba City, Heather Chavez moonwalked across a court at Yuba City Racquet Club and beckoned a group of grisly ghouls to creak and groan to their feet.

With Michael Jackson-like ease, the 15-year-old joined her fellow zombies in familiar head tosses, sideways slides and pelvic thrusts for the local rendition of Thrill the World.

"My heart was beating like 10 times as fast," she said. "It's like the most famous dance Michael Jackson created."

Seventy-three people, ages 9 to 60, participated in the global event in hopes that their zombie-like performance of the classic '80s song will help break the record for the number of people to simultaneously do the dance at one time. The annual event, created by Canadian dance instructor Ines Markeljevic, had the goal this year to gain 270,000 international participants and break the Guinness World Record.

With stilted, jerky movements, Chavez and the other dancers moved in unison. Their shredded clothes and tangled hair swayed to the beat as their faces, painted ghastly shades of white and green, walked in their masquerade.

"I wanted to look like I just crawled out of the grave," said Jessica Garner, 23. "I told my makeup artist to make me look as scary as humanly possible." She estimates she practiced Thriller about 100 times this month before donning her shredded, blood-stained jeans for Thrill the World. As a Jackson music lover and someone with a serious passion for dancing, it was easy for Garner to identify her favorite part of the dance.

"Everybody is probably going to say the claws, but I like the shoulder snap," she said. "It's got some attitude."

Participating in Thrill the World seemed like a fun thing to do for Yuba City resident Bonnye Hughes, who would not share her age but said she was "a gramma."

"I wanted to learn a new dance," she said. "I wanted to feel alive again even though I'm a zombie."

Hughes was supposed to do the dance with her children, but they didn't learn it in time. She planned on giving up, but her daughter would not let her.

"She came over to my house and started ripping up my clothes and said 'You're doing it,'" Hughes said.

Mortal family members, friends and onlookers stood laughing and smiling, unable to resist recording the event with cameras, cell phones and video cameras. The dancers' movements pulsated with the beat as they jumped, clapped and stomped around the tennis court.

Nine of the dancers are in the Easter Seals Disability Services program. The disabled participants learned "Thriller" for a talent show before Jackson died June 25 and were eager to showcase their talents again, said Shannon Bufford, community skills trainer.

"They don't get much of a chance to be in the spotlight," she said. "They loved being out there and being part of something bigger."

The dance was especially fun for Alvin Ellis, 49, who has idolized Jackson ever since he was a child and owns all of the pop legend's movies and albums. Thrill the World was a good tribute to the deceased star, he said.

"Michael Jackson is a good hero for anyone," Ellis said. "He inspires everyone."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ashley Gebb at 749-4724 or agebb@appealdemocrat.com.