CPDRC Dancing Inmates

CPDRC Dancing Inmates or the CPDRC dancers is a collective of prison inmates in Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), a maximum security prison in Cebu, in Cebu Province, Philippines where the prisoners perform dance routines as part of their daily exercise and rehabilitation, and many of their performances are filmed and released online, making them a popular feature among fans and veritable online celebrities.

Byron F. Garcia, the official security advisor to the Cebu government, is credited for starting a program of choreographed exercise routines for the inmates. He was appointed head of the prison by his sister Gwendolyn Garcia, governor of Cebu Province. In 2006, he began uploading videos of the dance performances; its best known video was the rendition of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, uploaded in 2007. Other music video performances covering popular songs were also uploaded, and public performances were held through 2010, including some outside the facility. The dance program was launched at other prison facilities, has been referenced by other television shows worldwide, and inspired the creation of several documentaries, musicals and drama films.

Byron Garcia had originally wanted to introduce a program at Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) where inmates would exercise for an hour each day. He also claims in a British documentary that his inspiration came while watching the movie The Shawshank Redemption in particular the scene where the sounds of Mozart's Figaro flood the prison yard. Garcia initially introduced an exercise program where the prisoners marched in unison, starting out with marching to the beat of a drum, but moved on to dancing to pop music; he began with one of his favourite songs, Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall". He chose camp music such as "In the Navy" and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People, so macho prisoners would not be offended at being asked to dance.

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