Photo by Paolo Gardinali
THRILLER 2026
Saturday, October 24th
Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens
Costume Dance Party 2:00 / Thriller Performance 3:00pm
Flashmobs all around town the week leading up to Halloween
Learn the dance in World Dance class or online
PRACTICE TIMES
Wednesdays 6PM Oak Park
Saturdays 9:45AM Chase Palm Park
Every year, World Dance for Humanity hosts Santa Barbara’s Thriller event, a FREE family-friendly dance party and performance. It's part of “Thrill the World,” a global event that happens each year on the Saturday before Halloween. On that day, about 100 dancing Zombies will rise up at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens, casting away inhibitions
to create a SPOOKTACULAR community experience!
Proceeds from our Event Sponsors and donations go to the "Nicole Greenwood Rwanda Education Fund".
Learn more about our Rwanda education program.
to join Thriller or become an Event Sponsor
SPONSOR LEVELS
Ghost $100 ♦ Vampire $250 ♦ Werewolf $500 ♦ Zombie $1,000 ♦ Ghoul $5,000
Practice Materials
Halloween Practice Videos
Thriller Flow Charts & Dance Scripts for Full version, Medium (One Snap) version, and Short (Teaser) version
(click image to download full PDF)
Thriller Makeup & Costume Inspiration
Photo Gallery
Original Thriller choreography by Michael Peters. World Dance for Humanity dancers perform a modified version.
