Terpsichore Dance Company returns for Halloween ‘Thriller’ performance with special guest

After a five-year hiatus, the Terpsichore Dance Company will reprise the group’s iconic “Thriller” performance as part of the 2025 Louisville Hallouween Parade in NuLu.

The Oct. 25 parade is a free event open to the public, located on East Market Street. Terpsichore dancers will perform “Thriller” at the main stage at 2 p.m. and walk in the parade at 5 p.m.

While the crew knows the zombie-dance routine like the back of their hand, the dancers have not been able to perform for an audience since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The performance also marks the 25th year since the group began performing during the Halloween season.

To add to the excitement, LaVelle Smith Jr. — a Louisville native and duPont Manual Youth Performing Arts School graduate best known for being a background dancer and choreographer for the late “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson — will be with the dancers during the performance for the first time in the group’s history.

“He’s not dancing, he’s riding on our truck so he can watch them dance,” Tilford said. “We built a throne for him on the back of our truck, because he is the king.”

Terpsichore Dance Company becomes staple of Louisville Halloween season

Carolyne Tilford founded Terpsichore Dance Company in 1998 with the goal of celebrating all styles of dance in an inclusive environment. The nonprofit has evolved over the years, but one thing has stayed largely the same: the team’s performance of “Thriller.”

Tilford said the crowd went absolutely wild after the crew performed an initial zombie-themed dance to the song as part of a show in 2000.

Soon enough, the Baxter Avenue Morgue, a Louisville haunted house that opened around the same time, reached out to interview the crew and asked them to dance. For years, Terpsichore dancers of all ages would perform “Thriller” in the alley for people in line for the venue until as late as 4 a.m.

“And we would do it over and over and over. And that was a twenty-year gig,” Tilford said.

Shawn Mayes, a longtime Terpsichore dancer, remembered when MTV did a bar crawl and spotted the dancers and put it on camera.

“It never got actually on the show [because of copyright issues], but it was a lot of fun, just so many different experiences that happened like that,” Mayes said.

Shawn Mayes plays the role of Michael Jackson as members of the Terpsichore Dance Company rehearsed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at Tom Sawyer Park ahead of their performance Saturday at the Halloween Parade & Festival in NuLu. Oct. 20, 2025.

Though Mayes now lives in New York City, he came back to Louisville when he found out Tilford was doing “Thriller” again.

“I was like, ‘I will come down.’ I dropped everything and I was like, okay, yeah, all appointments and stuff rescheduled,” Mayes said. “‘Whatever you need me to do, I am here.'”

How Terpsichore linked up with Jackson choreographer

After doing “Thriller” for more than a decade, Tilford found out about one of Smith’s dance intensive camps in Louisville and paid him to teach the Terpsichore dancers the actual choreography.

While Smith did not work on the choreography for the “Thriller” music video, he worked as a dancer and choreographer for Jackson during several of his world tours and for the musical, “THRILLER LIVE,” which focused on celebrating The Jackson 5 and Jackson’s life and solo music.

Smith always told Tilford he would work with her dancers if he was in town. In 2025, schedules finally aligned for him to be able to teach the Terpsichore dancers the iconic moves, as well as ride on a float in the parade.

“I love adventure, I love moments like this when you don’t know what’s gonna happen but you know it’s gonna be fun,” Smith said. “I guess we’ll all see together.”

When he is not in his hometown helping Terpsichore dancers perfect the “Thriller” routine, Smith travels around the world to teach Jackson’s choreography and tell stories about the late icon, who died in 2009.

“I’m really used to working with people and dancers at any skill level and at any age,” Smith said. “As long as they want to be there, I want to be there to share it with them.”