By Kate Bartlett
Saturday October 26th, The Thriller Dancers return to the streets of Ellicottville outside of Villaggio for their 9th annual ‘flash mob’ style performance. 61 dancers will perform 2 sets on Monroe Street decked out as their best Zombie to recreate Michael Jackson’s 1983 smash hit music video Thriller. As always, the shows are free and open to the public and will take place at 8 and 9pm.
The Thriller Dancers are from Fusion Dance Studio led by owner Kelli Wagner, Shari Bently, and many other talented instructors. The dancers range in age from 7-18 years old. Every year, the dancers make their performance better than the year before. “The main choreography stays true to the well-known Michael Jackson moves,” says Kelli. “We spice it up a bit from the year before to keep things fresh.”
The Thriller Dancers have been performing this dance in Ellicottville around Halloween for 8 years. For many dancers, this is their first performance in front of a live crowd, and this performance is like none-other. “It’s such an incredible experience for the dancers,” says Kelli. “Performing in full-zombie character, on the street in the middle of the night; it’s just incredible. The crowd in Ellicottville is awesome, and they feel that energy. We just love it.”
The competitive dancers begin practicing in early October, and put in an average of 6 hours per week rehearsing for the month leading up to the Thriller shows. They each pick their own zombie persona, and really get into character during each performance. “The costumes seem to get more elaborate every year. A show like this with unique choreography and crowd interaction is very rare,” says Kelli.
The performers will again lead tutorials of the dance in between the 8and 9 performances with prizes for participation. “We have a lot of fun and a lot of talented participants! We love getting the crowd involved,” says Kelli.
Kelli’s favorite part of the event is watching the excitement of the performers and interacting with the crowd. “This is the first opportunity for many of our young dancers to perform outside of a studio in front of a live audience. It’s such a rewarding and exciting experience.” The Dancers have even gained international attention as they were featured on international news broadcasts, the Rockettes social media, and YouTube. “I’ve been humbled to meet people who’ve traveled from several states away just to see our performance.”
Many of the dancers are familiar with thrilling dances, as the studio has competed with their award-winning dance Don’t Be Scared at various competitions around the country. This dance incorporates several horror movies including The Ring, IT, and Ghostface into a high-energy flip dance with contortion and tumbling. The Fusion dancers won several awards with this dance at various competitions, most notably 1st Place at National’s in Hershey Pennsylvania this year. “We’re so proud of the girls, and our boy Breyden,” remarks Kelli. “It’s a great dance and the girls do an incredible job performing it each and every time.”
For more information on Fusion Dance Studio visit fusiondancestudio.org and follow on social media. Come experience their unique performance on Saturday, October 26th at 8 and 9PM outside of Villaggio on Monroe Street.