Wadsworth. Ohio, United States:
This year’s Wadsworth Scare on the Square performance of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is hoped to be the biggest one yet.
The October 19 event is celebrating 10 years of the Michael Jackson Thriller Short film in Wadsworth, and Thriller Dance Director Lori McIlvaine wants to almost double the number of zombies for the performance.
“Typically, we get around 200 zombies, and it’s perfect,” McIlvaine said. “But for the 10th year, I do want to try some different things, but that is a surprise. I’m looking to double the number. If we could get 400 zombies, I think I could make this vision happen.”
She said that dancers must come to three rehearsals, each lasting about an hour.
“There are five and you can choose two of them, and then everybody has to come to the very last one the night before the show,” McIlvaine said. “At each of the first five practices we are breaking down the exact moves from the Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ music video. We start at the very beginning, then we go through to the end. Every practice we learn or relearn the technical steps of the dance.”
McIlvaine said that the practices will help the dancers learn the steps through repetition, while also teaching the specific moves for each part. She said that the final mandatory practice will mainly be blocking, practicing the timing with the music, and practicing when to come alive.
McIlvaine said that the goal of the dance is to help bring in more people to Scare on the Square and by proxy more people into Wadsworth. She hopes that attendees will stay for the full event and then explore what else the downtown area has to offer.
“It’s fun to see families of all ages and of all generations doing this thing together,” she said. “It’s just so cool.”
McIlvaine said that anyone who is interested in dancing can sign up by messaging the Wadsworth Thriller Facebook page, or by emailing WadsworthThriller@gmail.com. Once signed up, dancers will start receiving email updates about practice locations and times, the performance, and costumes.
