Thriller with the Wushu Gang!

Leah C.

November 2, 2009 - 6:00 PM

Right, left, right, left, exaggerate, exaggerate, spin, spin. These were the first 8 steps in learning the Thriller dance, a flash dance preformed by the University of Oregon Wushu Team. The Thriller was started by Phil Dang in 2003 and since then members of the Wushu team have preformed all over campus, the streets, and in local business during Halloween. I was very excited to take part in this long tradition. According to Ray, one of the co-directors of the Wushu Team, they have already gone through 3 Michael Jacksons, including himself. The dance is a little modified, which is shorter and includes a couple kicks near the end. I was a bit late in joining the club, but I picked up the dance pretty quickly.

The location of the dances is random and discrete. The basic idea is to dance where there's a lot of people, and then leave immediately. Armed with a camera and a stereo, we started the dance on Friday morning during school. Dressed in "zombie clothes," we danced outside at the amphitheater, inside the Emu, and even squeezed inside several offices including the Office of Club Sports. We tried dancing in the ASUO, (our student government office) but ended up propping their door and dancing outside because there was no room. It was a wonderful experience, and to hear the crowd cheer and applaud was definitely the highlight of everyone's day.

After performing several times on the street, we headed towards the quiet section on the second floor of the library. I was so scared that we would get kicked out. It must have been a bit strange to see a group of students, especially one that was dressed up in the famous red Michael Jackson suit. We quietly went up the spiral stair case, and the dancers sat down at random locations. The scene was a recreation of the famous Thriller music video. When the music started Michael, played by the other CO-director Nathan on that day, skipped in with the girl, as zombies started circling around them. When the first part of the song started, everyone moved out and danced. I saw people peering over their books, and students with cameras started migrating over to watch us dance. Behind I saw our dance play out on someone's laptop screen as he recorded us with his web camera.

I loved doing the thriller dance with all the members of the Wushu Team. During my field trip to Central Oregon, the team went and danced outside of Autzen Stadium, during the UO vs. USC game, and even got filmed by the ESPN Road Trip show. That day was also Halloween, and what better way to kick of the game with the Thriller! After my field trip, I was able to meet up with them and from 9 to 11, and we went through the streets with Michael Jackson songs blasting from the stereo. We stopped by Taylors, Starbucks, and all danced up and down 13th street. The final stop of the dance was at the International Student Association Halloween Dance at the Carson Dining Hall. The place was packed, and we had a difficult time squeezing through the crowd. We never got to do a surprise entrance since they had to announce our appearance in order to clear the dance floor. Over all the night was fun and the crowd enjoyed us. The Wushu team was also invited to perform at another dance, sometime next week. I hope to join in on the fun again, and I will definitely look forward to next year's performance!

Here is a sample of the Thriller dance at the UO vs USC game: