Public Invited to Help Santa Barbara ‘Thrill the World’

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/090612_santa_barbara_thrill_the_world/

By Janet Reineck for Santa Barbara Dance Center

Practices under way for a simultaneous global performance of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'

Practices are under way for “Thrill the World,” a Santa Barbara community dance event planned for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden.

Everyone is welcome. No experience is needed.

The $30 donation covers two months of classes and event registration. The fee is tax-deductible.

Classes run from 10:15 to 11 a.m. Saturdays and 8:15 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays at the Santa Barbara Dance Center, 127 W. Canon Perdido, and from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays at Alameda Park by Kids’ Word at Garden and Micheltorena streets. Come for just a few lessons or for the full two months.

For more information, contact instructor Janet Reineck at 805.966.5439 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The event is sponsored by World Dance Santa Barbara, Realtor Linda Lorenzen-Hughes, the Global Neighborhood Fund and the Santa Barbara Foundation.

Each year, on the Saturday before Halloween, thousands of people around the world perform Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at exactly the same moment in time as part of a worldwide celebration. From Moscow to Madrid, Beijing to Honolulu, each Thriller group raises money for charity while having a fabulous time doing this iconic choreography.

This is the third year World Dance Santa Barbara will host Santa Barbara’s Thriller event. At exactly 11 a.m. Oct. 27, we will rise up from the ground in the Courthouse Sunken Garden and join the world in a spirit of global good will.

We invite individuals, youth groups, companies, dance classes to be part of this incredibly fun, unique, unifying experience. Last year we had 202 dancers, this year we’re planning for 300! Join us, and tell your friends! Kids groups, companies, dance classes — everyone is invited. The practices happen right after Saturday/Tuesday World Dance classes, and on Wednesday nights at the park.

Proceeds from all World Dance classes support international and local aid projects. During the two months leading up to the October event, Thriller dancers will be asking friends, colleagues and family to sponsor their dancing. Last year we raised $7,400 to support a Mayan village in the highlands of Guatemala. This year our goal is to raise $10,000 in support of maternal health in southeastern Liberia through Partners in Health, in partnership with Santa Barbara Global Neighborhood Fund. We are helping out in a region where only half the population has access to health care and the average female life expectancy is 46 years.

Click here to learn more about the “Tiyatien” health.

— Janet Reineck is an instructor for the Santa Barbara Dance Center.

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/090612_santa_barbara_thrill_the_world/