“Thriller” at the Courthouse

Campy ghost-story lyrics and iconic dance moves have made Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” a staple of the Halloween season. In the 35 years since the song hit the air, “Thriller” has gained worldwide popularity, inspiring events such as Thrill the World, in which communities across the globe gather to concurrently perform the “Thriller” routine to raise money for charity. “We’re anticipating 300 dancers at the Sunken Gardens [this year],” said Janet Reineck, who organizes Santa Barbara’s Thrill the World event through her area nonprofit, World Dance for Humanity (WD4H). “There’s nothing on planet Earth like it!”

Reineck is the founder and executive director of WD4H, an area organization she started in 2010 that provides education and desperately needed resources to populations recovering from the Rwandan genocide. WD4H offers dance classes five days a week on a sliding price scale, with 100 percent of proceeds supporting the organization’s efforts in Africa.

For the last eight years, people of all ages and experience levels have learned the “Thriller” dance routine in preparation for the annual Thrill the World. When the zombies perform on Saturday, October 27, at 3 p.m. in the Courthouse Sunken Gardens, their undead merrymaking will be simultaneous with “Thriller” groups throughout our hemisphere. “It’s a transcendent experience,” said Reineck, “dressing up as an otherworldly being and dancing in sync with 300 people here, and with people all over the world. It’s a chance to connect with the world in an intimate and soulful way.”