This IS Your Grandmother's Thriller Dance

There’s a new Thriller in town this Halloween.

The ladies at Kirkland retirement community will be in full costume and makeup performing their version of Michael Jackson's Thriller dance at 3:30pm Monday at the community, located at 201 Kirkland Ave. To see the residents rehearsing for their big performance, click on the video above.

Stuart Ostfeld, the general manager of Merrill Gardens, said the women have been practicing for months with their exuberant active living director, Charlie Dillon.

“He has an entertainment background, so he likes to do things with dance, and he got this idea to do the Thriller dance for Halloween,” Ostfeld said. Thriller may not have been on these women’s minds much before they started rehearsing, but they have certainly gotten into the spirit.

The performance will kick off Merrill Gardens’ Halloween Bash, which goes from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Monday and includes a costume contest and Halloween Karaoke. The retirement community also participates in Dowtown Kirkland’s trick-or-treating promotions, and the public is invited to come watch the dance and join in the Halloween Bash, Ostfeld said.

If you prefer your Thriller reenactments closer to home, Redmond Town Center will be staging its own version of the popular Halloween dance this Saturday at 7 p.m. for more details.