Cebu dancing inmates in Time's greatest hits again

Thriller in Manila, or the Cebu dancing inmates’ rendition, makes it to the top 50 greatest YouTube hits according to Time, who put out the list in recognition of the "breeding ground for the Web's wackiest and wildest viral videos" as it turns five this year. "After Michael Jackson died in 2009, everyone had a "Thriller homage." But the biggest and best was filmed while the King of Pop was still alive. In 2007, 1,500 inmates at a [Philippine] prison filmed a mass reenactment of Jackson's most famous video, a routine viewed by more than 30 million people." [See: YouTube’s 50 best videos] The dancing inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) had also shared the stage with the Sexbomb dancers in GMA Network's "Bilog na Hugis Itlog" voters education video. They have also been featured in numerous documentaries including Pepe Diokno's "Dancing for Discipline." Apart from catching the attention of filmmakers, the CPDRC dancing inmates were spotted by Travis Payne, Michael Jackson's long-time choreographer, and their performance of "Thriller" got a few minutes in the DVD and Blu-Ray copies of the late King of Pop's documentary, "This Is It." They were even offered P250, 000 to endorse a detergent product, but Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia declined, saying it would cheapen the inmates' image. These unusual celebrities' first shot to stardom was on YouTube with their video, first uploaded on July 17, 2007 by CPDRC official security adviser Byron F. Garcia, who is credited for the unusual rehabilitation program. He explains the program here. This isn't their first time on Time, either, as they were 5th in its Top 10 list of Most Popular Viral Videos in 2007. Time described them as "Orange-jumpsuited accused murderers, rapists and drug dealers paid homage to Michael Jackson's Thriller in a dance performance filmed at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines (CPDRC)." [See: Top 10 Everything of 2007] — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV