page_title: Thrill the World
section_title: 2008
hierarchical_section_title: Thrill the World / Events / 2008
caption_attribution_description: English: Thrill the World 2008 in Austin, Texas.
context_page_description: Thrill the World is an annual international dance event and world record breaking attempt, in which participants simultaneously emulate the zombie dance seen in the music video of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". The dancers perform in unison at locations throughout the world, and can range from pre-teens to the elderly. Ines Markeljevic created the event "Thrill Toronto" where she taught a group of 62 zombies the dance in a mere couple of hours and they set the first Guinness World Records for Largest Thriller Dance in one location, at a community hall in Canada. Ines Markeljevic is dance instructor and entrepreneur from Toronto, Canada, whose personal mission is to unite the world through dance.
  Following the Guinness World Record setting event in Toronto, Canada in 2006, Ines Markeljevic launched Thrill The World in 2007. 1,722 people in 80 cities from 17 different countries participated in the event. Donations were made during the Irvine, California dance to the American Red Cross, who used the money to aid victims of the October 2007 California wildfires. The year after, Thrill the World returned for its second event, in which 91 venues from 13 different countries participated.
context_section_description: 4,179 people in 91 venues from 13 different countries participated in the 2008 Thrill the World dance. Thrill the World 2008 featured Australia participating for the first time. Their Brisbane event was coordinated by Andrew Curnock, a Queensland University of Technology tutor and gaming software sound engineer. The tutor sought to have Australia join the dance event after watching a viral video of prison inmates dancing to "Thriller". "We basically came across that viral video that featured a bunch of (prison) inmates performing the Thriller dance", Curnock revealed. "One YouTube clip really just led to another and that's how we found out about Thrill the World and recognised the potential to get involved locally." Participants went through weeks of dance classes and costume preparation before the event, although Curnock added that those involved didn't have to be great dancers. "It's more about getting out there and getting involved." Curnock stated that he hoped Thrill the World wouldn't be a passing fad for Brisbane, but would be a permanent fixture on their social calendar.
  The 2008 event, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of Thriller, also had Austin, Texas participate in their record break attempt. Texan artist Shawn Sides oversaw the rehearsals for the Austin dance. Some classes drew more than 200 people at a time. Sides became interested in the event after watching a commercial featuring lizards emulating the Thriller choreography. "I realized that Thriller is like the national choreography of the United States", Sides explained. "I'm so excited that there's this choreography in the world that our entire nation recognizes." Indiana Adams, who also helped with the Austin dance, remembered being so obsessed with Thriller as a child that she started to tell people her mother had been one of the zombies in the video. "It was just the most amazing choreography a 4-year-old had ever seen", Adams added.
caption: Thrill the World 2008 in Austin, Texas
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