Brian Cronauer won’t stop till he gets enough — enough people to break the Guinness World Record for the most people doing the Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance, that is.
Cronauer, a Penn State U. sophomore, hopes to break the world record for the most people dancing to “Thriller” by gathering 14 to 15,000 people together on Oct. 16 and dancing to one of the late singer’s most famous songs.
The current record is held by 13,597 people who danced in Mexico City on Aug. 29 — Michael Jackson’s birthday.
Cronauer said he considers Penn State to be “Zombie Nation,” so it is only fitting that the world record would be set here.
“I’m a big Michael Jackson fan and I guess I want other people to have as much fun as I do doing it,” he said.
Cronauer had planned to set the record with about 400 people last fall at the Altoona campus. However, once the high record was set in Mexico, Cranauer decided to wait until he transferred to University Park where he could draw on a larger pool of students — although non-students or students who don’t attend Penn State are welcome to participate.
Cronauer has been a “Thriller” and Michael Jackson fan for years.
After teaching it to himself in high school he taught the cheerleading squad the dance so they could perform it during halftime.
“It’s just a huge part of our culture,” Cronauer said. “Michael Jackson is a good workout too; I would practice for three hours at a time just over and over again.”
Jacey Hallock, a PSU sophomore, was one of the cheerleaders Cronauer taught in high school, and as a Penn State student she plans to help set a new world record next fall.
“It’s important because it was so monumental when [Michael Jackson] made that video. So for us to get a bunch of people together to do this — to go out there and show everybody — it just keeps Michael Jackson alive,” Hallock said.
Sophomore Amanda Hess said she had planned on participating last fall and plans to participate in October.
“It’s something [Brian is] intensely passionate about and I think it would be really neat to see everybody doing it and obviously being a part of a world record would be cool,” she said.
Cronauer has not yet contacted anyone about a space to hold the dance, but he said he would like to hold it in either Beaver Stadium or in a parking lot near East Halls.
He also said he hopes to hold a practice session Labor Day weekend so people have a chance to learn and practice the “Thriller” dance.