Five “zombies” recreated Michael Jackson’s famous “Thriller” video during a Thrill the World Surrey event on Saturday (Oct. 28) at the KPU Surrey campus (12666 72 Ave.).
The event was all about having fun, event manager Natalie Binns said.
Binns has a background in a competitive dance where every move must be on pointe.
This is different.
“You’re pretending to be a zombie and you’re just all dancing together and being goofy, and the moves don’t have to be perfect,” Binns said.
They were expecting more dancers, but several dropped out at the last minute.
Five “zombies” recreated Michael Jackson’s famous “Thriller” video during a Thrill the World Surrey event on Saturday (Oct. 28). @SurreyNowLeader pic.twitter.com/QTDRPJj2bx
— Anna Burns (@AnnaBBurns) October 31, 2023
“The reason that we do the whole event is because it’s really fun to come together,” Binns said. “We always know the weekend before Halloween that we’ll all gather around the world and do the thriller dance,” Binns said.
Thrill the World was first held in Toronto in 2006 before spreading to other communities around the globe. The goal back then was to set the Guinness World Record for the largest Thriller dance, which they did with 62 dancers. That record was broken in 2009 (and may still stand) when 13,597 people in Mexico City danced simultaneously.
Binns and some friends started the Thrill the World Surrey in 2014, after they had travelled into Vancouver for performances there every year since 2008. Binns even travelled to Redmond, Washington, one year to dance in what is one of the biggest in performances in the world.
The group performed on Oct. 21 at the Spooktacular Halloween Market in Cloverdale.
READ MORE: Zombies rise at Cloverdale’s Halloween market
Each event chooses a local charity to support, Binns said.
The Surrey event charity of choice since 2014 is the Surrey Food Bank.
Binns, who works at a nonprofit, sees firsthand the impact food banks have.
“Especially right now with the cost of living and all the increases in food, more and more people are needing to access the food bank,” Binns said.
-With files from Malin Jordan & Tom Zillich