Sunday October 25, 00:30 GMT (3:30 a.m. Turkish time), Michael Jackson's Thriller routine was danced simultaneously in over 30 participating countries, including Finland, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, and even right here in Ankara! More than 23,000 people dressed as zombies around the world participated, breaking the 2008 record of 4,179. More than 100,000 US dollars were raised for more than 80 different charities.
Ines Markel created the annual worldwide simultaneous Thrill the World dance event to raise money for charity and break world records. Markel is a motivated Canadian dancer and choreographer who started this event three years ago, and has since given up her paid job to pursue the project full-time.
The Ankara event took place at the East Campus sports hall, with a total of 27 dancers. Many were BUSEL elementary and former BUSEL students, along with foreign staff from both BUSEL and various Bilkent departments. Ages ranged from 10 to 56. Some learned the Thriller dance choreography last minute on the morning of the event day.
Extraordinary effort was put into organizing the event on East Campus. Josephine Cox was the enthusiastic event manager, overseeing the zombie crew as it practiced for about three weeks. Beth Caruso, principal dancer, led a last minute three-hour rehearsal for beginners on the day of the event. Fortunately everything turned out as expected, despite the unearthly hour, thanks to Joshua Jodoin's technical expertise.
The money raised in this charity event was donated to the the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Turkey. The total amount raised was 470 TL. Caitlin Shea presented the money to student representative of UNHCR, Mehmet Can.
The performance can be viewed at www.myspace.com/ttw09bilkent.
Markel and Thrill the World global were featured on Oprah on October 28.
We will be waiting for you to participate in Thrill the World 2010!
Ýrem Esen (MAN/III)
Bilkent News
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