‘Thriller’ dance in Peru draws crowd

After participating in a worldwide “Thriller” dance when he was 12, Thomas Bickel of TSC Studios decided to bring back the dance to Peru.

In 2010, Bickel was involved in “Thrill the World,” a flash mob movement where the “Thriller” dance was performed in different parts of the world at the same time. Bickel said it was an impressive show with 60 people involved ranging from ages 6 to 86 performing in Centennial Park.

After 10 years passed and people began to return to life post-pandemic, Bickel decided to bring back the dance Saturday to Centennial Park. Last year was the first time TSC Studios hosted the event.

“This is an open event where people can have fun with it and participate however much they want,” Bickel said. “It’s a way to celebrate Halloween and the music of Michael Jackson in any way they feel like. It gives us a fun event to all come together.”

Last year he promoted the dance through his film organization, TSC Studios. Bickel said a few people showed, but this year the event had a great turnout.

“We had maybe 10 people in the crowd last year and four performers. This is a big surprise, I didn’t think this many people would be coming out,” Bickel said.

Bickel is the founder of TSC Studios, a community film organization that does videography, work with community theaters, short films and other projects.

“This event is structured so anyone who wants to join in can,” Bickel said. “If you want to join us in the dance, we’ll show you what to do. If you want to take pictures with us that’s cool too, I want to make sure everyone feels included.”