thrill the world Thriller dance ocala florida michael jackson

please leave comments and ratings Recorded on October24, 2009 using a Flip Video camcorder.Michael Jackson fans can pay tribute to the King of Pop on Saturday by taking part in a worldwide event right here at home.

Amy Alicea, owner of Extensions School of the Arts, who is partnering with Paddock Mall and Gaitway Plaza, is hoping to get more people signed up to dance to Jackson's "Thriller" in an attempt to beat the Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous dance of the song.

The local performance, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. in Gaitway Plaza, with a rehearsal at 7:30 p.m. and other festivities beginning at 5:30, is one of nearly 400 events all around the world in which people will dance at the same time to the song.

This is the fourth year of the event, which began in Canada with 62 dancers. In last year's "Thrill the World" dance-off, 4,179 people from 10 nations participated.

According to the official event Web site - www.ThrillTheWorld.com - 270,000 participants are needed to break the Guinness World Record.

Alicea said that goal shouldn't be hard to accomplish because people want to be a part of honoring Jackson, who died June 25.

So far, Alicea has 75 dancers, ranging in age from 3 to their 40s, signed up for the local event. Many will dress the part and arrive as zombies, but she said dancing in costume is not necessary, although it adds to the fun.

Her students have performed to "Thriller" at various local events, but since Alicea only heard about the worldwide event three weeks ago, everyone is on short-notice. She said while she would love for 700 dancers to participate, she'll be happy to get 200.

She encourages groups to join and will award a prize to the group with the most members. The dancer with the best costume also will win a prize.

Registered event organizers have the option of raising money for charity, so Alicea is charging a $5 registration fee, with proceeds going to the Arnette House.

"It works well with what we do here - helping children stay off the streets and stay on track. It was a good match," she said.

Alicea will take sign-ups through Saturday, with open rehearsals at the studio at 5:45, 6:45 and 7:45 p.m. today and Friday.

Participants must register to be counted toward the world record and must learn the dance, which Alicea describes as a "watered down" version, ahead of time.

"Anybody can do it as long as they can dance," she said.

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[Armonman465]

YOU ALL DID TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!

[MoRbidKoRnKitty]

We rocked that out so hard....I had soooooo much fun!!!!!! We did awesome!!!!

[sdd72299]

wow!!

[sdd72299]

Yay!! We did sooo good!!!

[florican07]

that was awesome!!!!! we were there and those dancers danced so well.