“But, really, is there anyone born without the soul for getting down?” ask Michael Jackson in his song, “Thriller.”

Kevin Dua ’09, a connoisseur of Michael Jackson dance routines, takes this “Thriller” lyric to heart.

This spring, Dua hopes to lead the College of William and Mary in breaking a Guinness World Record for the largest number of people dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Dua, a lifelong fan of MJ, heard of other attempts to break the world record — currently set at 78 people — and decided he could easily teach enough people to set a new record.

“I heard about this group of people dancing to Thriller in New York City last semester,” said Dua. “There were 78, and I felt like I could get more people than that.”

To officially break the world record, the Guiness World Record Office in London must pre-approve any attempt. The office must then review the attempt on film before it becomes official.

Apparently, Dua shares his affinity for the “Thriller” dance with a sizable group; there have been many international attempts to shatter the world record. The most recent documented cyber phenomenon is the YouTube video of approximately 1,500 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Cebu, Philippines, performing a near-perfect rendition of the music video.

When asked about this rather stiff competition, Dua just shrugs.

“Yeah, well, they didn’t fill out the paperwork,” Dua said.

Originally, Dua planned to organize a group of his friends to shatter the record. He also formed a Facebook group, “WANNA BREAK THE ‘THRILLER’ RECORD @ W&M?!” As of press time, the group had 345 members expressing interest in the event.

Many students believe this event will help bring the campus together. “Kevin is including anyone who is willing to work hard to join him in this effort,” Brandon Frey, who is helping plan the event, said. “He is all about community and making this school and better place, and why not have fun with it? The publicity from breaking a world record will just add on to how great the community of the College and Williamsburg is.”

When the College’s University Relations office heard about the dance-off, they contacted Dua about making the event much bigger. University Relations plans to advertise the event to alumni and the city of Williamsburg. The event will take place on a stage in the Sunken Garden Saturday, April 19 around 2 p.m. Tentative plans include a performance by hip-hop dance group Syndicate, and a charity tie in.

Dua encourages participants to don zombie costumes.

“I’ve already told Ginger Ambler she is going to be out there,” said Dua. “I hope to get [College President Taylor] Reveley out there, too.”

Dua has already sent the paperwork to London for review and hopes to hear from the Guiness World Record office within the week.

To ensure that all participants know the dance, Dua, along with several friends, plans to spend the first hour of the event teaching the crowd how to do the “Thriller.”

“It’s a very easy dance to learn and do,” Dua said.

Even Dua, who began teaching himself each dance to Michael Jackson hits as a child by watching and rewatching his music videos, had some issues at first.

“Learning ‘Thriller’ was interesting because I was always scared of watching the video,” said Dua. “But Freshman year I decided to get over it. I had the DVD of the thriller music video, and I just watched it over and over again.”

After conquering his fears, Dua began spreading his love of MJ’s Thriller around the College, teaching the dance to friends and swiveling his hips during formals.

Though breaking a world record would bring attention to the College, Dua simply hopes to provide another opportunity to bring the College together.

“I have a feeling we may not actually break the record,” Dua aid. “I’m just trying to grab students for one day and just have fun.”

So if you see an influx of the undead around campus, don’t fret. It’s probably just Dua and Reveley getting down. Because no one can resist the evil of the “Thriller.”