Community center troupe dances to 'Thriller'

An unspeakable horror bumped Saturday in the Lubbock night, and - man! - could it keep a beat.

A dance group at the Rawlings Community Center in East Lubbock performed a special presentation of Michael Jackson's legendary 1982 hit "Thriller," one of the late king of pop's best-selling songs turned Halloween anthem.

Seven dancers from the center wiggled, slid and grooved in zombie costumes as the grand finale of this year's haunted house at the community center.

A group ranging in age from 8 to 50 years spent about 10 weeks working with a professional choreographer to perfect their dance routine before Saturday's debut, community center director Herminia Martinez said.

The center offered the "Thriller" choreography lessons as one of its regularly scheduled activities, she said.

A lifelong Jackson fan, Martinez has wanted to perform "Thriller" at the center's haunted house for years and finally committed to doing it this fall as a "colorful" entertainment element.

"It's not easy to learn the dance," Martinez said. "We practiced and practiced and practiced."

Jackson's death in June, she said, occurred after the center finalized plans to perform the song this year.

"Now, I guess, we'll be doing it in his memory," Martinez said.

Haunted house prop organizer Valentine Ramos said she modeled the performa

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