There’s a mom at my daughter’s school who knows all the moves to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. She’s been known to perform it -flawlessly- at every all ages dance party, to the envy of a bevy of other moms. “How does she know every single move?” one wide-eyed mom gushed to the rest of the group recently. “I mean, she’s really good- she dance the whole thing perfectly.”

I’m onto her secret. And I’m willing to share. It all came clear three days ago while I was at an eight-year-old’s birthday party. When the kids weren’t busy eating cake or decorating t-shirts with every type of fabric paint known to man, the Wii was going, full blast. And they were dancing- you guessed it- every move from Thriller, following Michael Jackson’s avatar through every shake, pop and shimmy, vying for the high point scores of perfection. It was the best birthday party I’ve been to in a long time. Even though I never did get my hands on a Wii remote…

Maybe Thriller’s not your thing; it’s not for everyone. Ubisoft’s Just Dance application for the Wii has plenty of other choices, from Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” to Katie Perry’s “Hot and Cold”. Even if you aren’t the high scorer- or you can’t even get your hands on one of the Wii remotes because of the fearsome competition, it’s still fun to follow and play along, learn some new choreography, and burn a few calories while you’re at it.

Who knows- you might wow ‘em next time you hit the dance floor….