Thrill the World Portland 2010 - bringing Thriller back

Hi all,

Thanks for your commitment, joy, and participation. We're going to thrill the pants off Portland this year!

We're very happy to announce that we'd finalized a location for the dance. Before I get to that, I want to let you know that there is a meetpoint that all dancers are required to be at - all dancers must be in the Park Block at Park & Salmon Streets by 3:40.  The earlier you arrive at the meetpoint, the more organized we will all be. Keep in mind that many hundreds of people are travelling to downtown at the same time, to attend the zombie walk.

We will check you in at this meetpoint and gratefully accept donations to SMYRC, the organization that we raise funds for by putting together Thrill the World every year. We ask for a five dollar donation from each dancer who is participating.  Volunteers will be on hand to help with this.

We will be practicing the dance in the park blocks (in that same specific block at Park & Salmon) from about 2:45 to 3:45 - this practice will be the full dance set to music, only - no cues or instructions. We hope to have a full teaching practice earlier in the afternoon - more on that early next week.

Just before four pm, we will head (in small groups) to Pioneer Courthouse Square. We are adamant that dancers are to be at the meetpoint - because of the logistics of bringing many dancers into a crowded space, we insist on our meetpoint requirement to be met. Our goal is to make performing the dance as safe as possible, and with as much room to dance as everyone needs. We need your cooperation to make that happen.

At four, we'll dance in Pioneer Square. After the dance is over... the 2010 Portland Zombie Walk kicks off! Thanks to all of the new organizers and volunteers of the zombie walk who have stepped up to put this event together.

Practices this weekend:

Tomorrow (Friday) eve we'll have a practice from six to eight pm at Fremont UMC, 2620 NE Fremont. Jamilah will head up this practice, so it will focus on jazzing up the dance moves a bit, and we'll use primarily step names (cues) to teach.

Sunday afternoon's practice is at Fremont UMC from 3 to 5 pm, and Miss Shellise will lead it. She teaches the dance primarily by using an eight-count, but we'll be using cues as well.

Questions? email us at ttwpdx@gmail.com!

Remember - instructional videos and various instructional audio mp3s of Thriller are available on youtube and at thrilltheworld.com. If you know folks who can help us out for an thirty or sixty minutes on the day of the dance with some organizing stuff, that's great, please have them email us.

More information to follow in the next couple of days  - zombie walk details, more practices next week, practices on the day of the dance... and anything else i'm forgetting right now!

Thanks y'all,

Alan