Dancers dressed as gruesome zombies invaded the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden on Saturday to perform the famed “Thriller” during World Dance for Humanity’s annual Halloween spectacle.

When the loud music started, the attention-grabbing dancers slowly rose from the ground and began walking toward the audience sitting on the grass.

Onlookers on the sides got out their cell phones to capture the invasion.

Dancers in full zombie makeup started shaking their hands in claws to replicate the late pop star Michael Jackson’s iconic dance from the song’s music video. They moved their feet and twirled their hips.

For the first time, Santa Barbara resident Suzann Uffelman participated in the “Thriller” dance and also alongside members of La Boheme Professional Dance Group.

She was decked out as a “steampunk pirate/witch/vampire” with makeup and fake blood dripping down her arms.

Performing on the courthouse grounds is most exciting, she said.

“It’s going to be a euphoric experience because there’s going to be hundreds of people performing,” Uffelman said before the production. “It’s a combination of a bunch of different dance groups, and it’s cool we can all be together.”

World Dance for Humanity has led the gathering for the past nine years.

The organization hosts flash mobs throughout Santa Barbara County leading up to Halloween, and the community is invited to join.

(Brooke Holland / Noozhawk video)

Saturday’s two-hour gathering went beyond the “Thriller” routine, turning the celebration into a large-scale dance collaboration with more than 10 local groups performing their spooktacular routines, said Janet Reineck, World Dance for Humanity founder and executive director.

“We are birthing something new for Santa Barbara,” she said, mentioning the volunteer efforts. “We are simply doing it for the community.”

Dancing provides a sense of freedom and expression, Reineck said.

She said the festival is a great opportunity to surpass shyness.

“Because you are dressed in costume and makeup, it’s a chance to get outside yourself — go beyond yourself — to be completely free to dance with real freedom without ego, without trying to impress, and that’s the joy,” Reineck said.

“We made it bigger and more inclusive, so more of the town can take part and celebrate dancing.”

World Dance for Humanity is giving 100 percent of its event profits and donations to World Dance for Humanity’s Rwanda education fund, the Westside Boys & Girls Club and teen empowerment programs at AHA!, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization.

World Dance for Humanity offers dance classes daily to all ages and abilities, Reineck said. Proceeds from the classes fund the organization’s work in Rwanda, helping about 11,000 people in 28 communities lift themselves out of poverty through training, education and support, she added.

“We do a lot of work in Santa Barbara and we also do work in Rwanda,” Reineck said. “We are serious about our work.”

— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.