Prepare your cosplay and get ready to stomp and roar, because Dragon*con is calling the undead (and not-so-undead) to break a world record by dancing to the late King of Pop’s “Thriller”. It’s one of the major events planned for this Labor Day weekend’s convention and it’s something no geek will want to miss.
One of the most amazing things about Dragon*con is the sheer variety of activities and events offered throughout the weekend. It’s often hailed for having the heart of a small fan convention with the size and variety of large expos. Of course, there’ll be the big name guests like William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, and Leonard Nimoy, amongst a few hundred others. But this year, having major celebrity guests isn’t what the convention is hoping to get a lot of buzz about.
Last April, William & Mary College obtained the current world record for most people dancing simultaneously to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in one place. (There is a distinction, as there is another record for most people dancing in multiple places). The number to beat, officially, is 242. Although other attempts at breaking this record were made just recently—Mexico and England—the dedicated organizers for Dragon*con’s attempt are confident that they’ll surpass them.
Anywhere from 500 to 1,000 dancers are expected to dance to the full five minutes and fifty-eight seconds of the original U.S. single. The dance, as seen in the music video, is actually only just over two minutes. The Guinness Book of World Records requires the original album version of the song to be used. As result, the dance steps have to be lengthened, and the people at thrilltheworld.com came up with an ingenious way of teaching the dance and fitting it to the full 5:58 length. It is to this particular choreography that Dragon*con will be using to beat the record.
Planning for this massive undertaking began in May and the organizers have been in close contact with Guinness from the start. There is a massive amount of paperwork required to make things official and a considerable amount of procedures to be completed at the convention in order to properly document everything. Those wishing to dance are requested to sign-up before the convention via a “pledge to participate” on the specially designated forum. However, anyone at the convention can sign up until Sunday, September 6th by 1 PM. There will be a table located in the Sheraton next to registration. It is strongly encouraged that people try to learn as much of the dance (using thrilltheworld.com’s tutorial) prior to the convention. There are two official practices; attending at least one is mandatory for all dancers.
All convention attendees are encouraged to come and dance, regardless of costume! Stormtroopers, ninjas, magical girls, wizards … everybody is welcome. There are a lot of details that those interested in dancing need to become familiar with, and should head over to the official website right now. The dance is scheduled to occur Sunday night, September 6th at 7 PM. Spectators will not be admitted, but it will be aired on D*CTV—Dragon*con’s own programming channel available at all host hotels.
Read the press release HERE.
Expect a personal review of Dragon*con next month!
September 1st, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Wow, cosplay thriller? I expect to see some awesome looking zombies!
September 8th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I’m dying to find out how this went