Smooth criminals? Inmates dance on YouTube

updated 8:06 p.m. ET Aug. 9, 2007

CEBU, Philippines - Behind thick stone walls topped by electrified razor wire, one of cyberspace's most unlikely hits is already warming up as the rest of Cebu stirs from sleep.

Pockets of inmates stretch and practice their latest moves. Then the morning workout gets under way in earnest in the exercise yard of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center.

In their identical orange prison uniforms, up to 1,500 march and clap in unison as they perform precision dance routines with the Village People's "In the Navy" and "YMCA" pounding from six well-worn black speakers.

And why not? Their version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" had been watched nearly 4.4 million times on YouTube as of Thursday, uploaded by Byron Garcia, the Cebu provincial security consultant who came up with the idea of adding structure to poorly attended exercise sessions.

Inmates with arms covered in tattoos and baby-faced guys who might have been gang members on the outside gyrate next to one another. They all seem to be enjoying themselves or at least taking pride as their sandals and tennis shoes slap in unison on the gray concrete. They laugh when they screw up, applaud when they get a new sequence right.

Forty-four female inmates, held in a separate wing, join in for "I Will Follow Him" from the movies "Sister Act," which is among several other songs posted on YouTube. Ten have at least 100,000 hits each.

"If I was not in prison, I would not be famous," said Wenjiel Resane, the male inmate who plays the role of the girlfriend in "Thriller" and is a featured dancer in other songs.

Proud prisoners
The 35-year-old Resane, a ponytailed former pizza chef, shares Cell 47 with 11 other openly gay inmates. Already in prison three years awaiting trial on drug charges, he puts on lipstick and makeup for a TV interview.

Aaron Favila / AP Filipino inmates practice a dance routine during their morning workout in Cebu city, central Philippines, on Wednesday.

"Before ... we just get our food and go back to our cell, and if we don't have anything to do we just talk," Resane told a reporter who visited Wednesday. "But it is different now. Every day we are very busy preparing to dance for our upcoming shows. We are very proud of what we have done."

The prison, mostly for inmates with sentences of under three years or those awaiting trial, sits atop a hill. More than 300 are facing murder charges.

High-tech security features include a fingerprint recognition system for guards and other employees.

Through a window covered with a metal grill, the ocean is visible in the distance. Sheets are drawn across the narrow, wood-planked bunk beds to provide a little privacy. Cardboard boxes, glued to the walls, serve as shelves.

Crisanto Nierre, who plays Michael Jackson's role in "Thriller," finds his new fame bittersweet. Relatives as far away as Sweden, Denmark and Dubai have excitedly watched him on YouTube. But he can't escape the fact that he's in prison, gently touching family photos hanging from the bed above him in sheets of protective plastic.

A fan of Jackson's music since he was in a dance troupe in high school — ironically, his favorites include "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" — 36-year-old Nierre carefully lays out the orange-and-black outfit made for his performances, smoothing every wrinkle.

"I hope that all the people who see us will be happy in knowing that we, despite being prisoners, we were able to do this," said Nierre, in prison five years awaiting trial on drug charges.

"Before the dancing, our problems were really heavy to bear. Dancing takes our minds away from our problems. Our bodies became more healthy. As for the judges, they may be impressed with us, seeing that we are being rehabilitated and this could help our case. We are being rehabilitated in a good way."

With the court system overworked, officials have been trying to ease overcrowding and brutal conditions in prisons. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo once said a life sentence in a Philippine prison was worse than death.

Inmates say that's how it used to be here, with a fight or other violent incident breaking out an average of once a week.

"I wanted a program where everyone would exercise an hour a day," Garcia said. "One day, I saw these waves of orange people (in the exercise yard). I thought it looked very nice."

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