Saturday's Halloween bash at the Savoy ballroom was the city's first-ever zombie ball, and it won't be the last, organizers told the Springfield News-Leader.

Organizers Andy and Anne Walls said they hope to have twice as many zombies next year and said they've been practicing their "Thriller" dance moves for years, the newspaper said.

The Walls are dance instructors at Dance With Me Studio, and when they announced they would run a six-week class to teach the basic choreography to "Thriller," they expected no more than 40 people to turn out. Instead, more than 200 showed up.

"The coolest thing is, we have a whole bunch of new zombie friends," said Anne after the "Thriller" performance. "Zombie on, Dude."

"Thriller" is one of the late singer's best-known hits, and the 14-minue video features Jackson as a zombie dressed in a red leather suit. It was produced in 1983.

Annabelle Lorre, Missouri State University student from France, found the opportunity to dress up as a zombie irresistible.

"For me, it's very special to be in America for this," Lorre said, as she and friend Anthony Ciston prepared to dance.

Ciston was equally happy about the zombie ball.

"I love Halloween and I love dancing," Ciston said. "Everybody loves 'Thriller.'"

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