Mexico Expects 15,000 Dancers for MJ's 'Thriller' Dance

Up to 15,000 people in Mexico are expected to take part Saturday in a potentially record breaking mass performance of Michael Jackson's famed Thriller dance on the day he would have turned 51.

Up to 15,000 people in Mexico are expected to take part Saturday in a potentially record breaking mass performance of Michael Jackson's famed "Thriller" dance on the day he would have turned 51.

Dancers were gearing up for the attempt as news broke in Los Angeles Friday that coroners had ruled Jackson's sudden death on June 25 a homicide.

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"We're expecting between 12,000 and 15,000 participants," said Javier Hidalgo, director of youth services in Mexico City, during a press conference Thursday.

That would be more than enough to beat a similar effort by fans in Barcelona to set a new world record for the number of people performing the famed dance that accompanied Jackson's hit song.

Just 300 people have signed up for the attempt in the Spanish city, according to Mexico City's Tourism Secretary Alejandro Rojas.

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The world record, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records, was set on April 19 in the United States by 242 dancers.

The two attempts will take place on Saturday, Jackson's 51st birthday, and a day after Los Angeles coroners ended weeks of speculation about the cause of the "King of Pop's" sudden death in June.

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The county coroner's office issued a brief statement Friday ruling that the superstar's death was unlawful, adding the primary cause of his death was "acute intoxication" from the powerful anesthetic propofol.

Fans around the world are expected to celebrate the star's life and mourn his death on Saturday, with the Mexican dance attempt scheduled to take place in the heart of the country's capital city.

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The event is being sponsored by Mexico City, but was originally the idea of a group of friends who organized the record attempt on the Internet social networking site, Facebook.

Source-AFP
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