Practice Time: Thrill the World Dance

Eager to join in the global, Halloween-close "Thriller" dance? Best work on those claws.

There are those people who think that dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" simply means sticking up some hand claws and shaking the hips once or twice.

Then there are those people who actually dance to "Thriller," beginning to end, complete with the little strange squat that goes in a circle and lavish shoulder shimmy.

Which are you? 

We should aspire to be true Thrillerists, and, nope, a hand claw or two doesn't cut it. What will, though, is learning all the iconic moves, steps born in the John Landis-directed, undead-boogie 1983 video. Then dancing with hundreds of others, in unison, on Thrill the World Day, to complete your "Thriller" devotion.

Ready to get real, or, um, fictional? Then make for a Thrill the World rehearsal before Saturday, Oct. 26. That's the drop-dead date -- yep, we made a Halloween joke there -- when zombies and monsters across the planet will gather to groove to "Thriller" in unison, or nearly.

But mom said you have to practice first, in all things, and Thrill the World isn't any different. A number of study-up, get-moving sessions are just ahead, including one at Plummer Park in West Hollywood on Sunday, Oct. 13 and a handful of learn-the-steps meet-ups at the Venice Church in Venice.

Here's your full rundown of Thrill the World rehearsal locations and dates. And if you need a video to help you burnish your bumps and grinds, here it is.

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As is tradition, the still-secret location for the Los Angeles Thrill the World dance has not yet been announced, but Oct. 26 is indeed the date. Don't fret about the where for now, just practice your circle squat and zombie grimace and, yes, the sideways hand claw walk, again and again and again...

UPDATE: Thrill the World Los Angeles is set to take place at Ripley's Believe It or Not in Hollywood. Times, details, and all the ghoulish goings-on can be found here.

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