Today the folks at Guinness World Records made it official, telling participants their dancing was not in vain, and that the college is the new world record holder for the most “Thriller” dancers. The previous record was set last summer in Britain where 147 people at a secondary school danced to MJ’s epic horror song.
William & Mary’s successful attempt to top 147 people took place on April 19 and was organized by long-time Jackson fan Kevin Dua who spent most of the school year organizing the event. Dua was partly inspired by Thrill the World, an event held each October where groups of fans gather to recreate Jackson’s famous 1983 video.
Dua, who graduates this weekend with a degree in history, talked 9 friends into serving as trainers and to lead the participants through the 6-minute dance routine. Some of the dancers weren’t even born when Jackson’s groundbreaking Thriller album – still the best-selling album of all time – was released in 1982.
According to Dua, Guinness had some strict rules for the undertaking, including instructions on how to properly document the event for the world record keepers.
Nevertheless, Dua managed to supply all the still photos and videos from multiple angles that Guinness requires to evaluate a possible new world record, and today the College of William & Mary is No. 1 when it comes to gathering the most “Thriller” dancers in one place. That is, until someone else takes aim at the school’s 242-dancer record.
In the meantime we have the video to relive William & Mary’s glorious moment in “Thriller” history.