Backup Dancer

Backup Dancers are summoned by Dancing Zombies and appear in sets of four around them, dancing Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Overview
Absorbs 10 normal damage shots. Appearance changes upon absorption of 5 normal damage shots.

Strategy
As the Backup Dancer is not the real threat, please see Dancing Zombie for other strategies

Kill or hypnotize the controlling Dancing Zombie, or he will continue to summon Backup Dancers when any of them die. Alternatively, plant a Wall-nut in front of the hindmost one or freeze one, because when one stops or is slowed the rest are forced to. Backup Dancers are affected by Hypno-shrooms.

The Dancing Zombie will re-summon missing Backup Dancers about every square if any are missing. Backup Dancers will continue after the Dancing Zombie is killed.

Early on, Fume-shrooms are a good idea against them. If you beat Adventure Mode, you can also use the Melon-pult or Winter Melon.

Wall-nut Bowling 2 Mini-game
If you place a Wall-nut the moment a Dancing Zombie walks onto the lawn, it should roll past the lead Backup Dancer just as it is emerging from the lawn. If you fail to do this in time, it is necessary to plant two Wall-nuts in quick succession or the Dancing Zombie will have time to summon more Backup Dancers. If there are four Backup Dancers that surround the Dancer Zombie, and you roll a Wall-nut to the front Backup Dancer, it will always ricochets to the next, and then bounce to the back Backup Dancer. This will leave the Dancer Zombie unprotected, leaving an open space (And time) to kill the Dancing Zombie.

Another strategy is to bounce a Wall-nut off of the front Backup Dancer, after which it will usually ricochet off one of the side Backup Dancers (and possibly hit the back one too), and immediately follow the first Wall-nut with another to take out the Dancing Zombie while it is unprotected.

Otherwise, if it is too urgent, you can use a Giant Wall-nut to kill both them and the Dancing Zombie, even though all of the Backup Dancers will not be killed.

I, Zombie Mini-game
Placing the Dancing Zombie in the middle lane can help get Brains 2, 3, and 4, in addition to dealing with threats with faster Zombies (if needed) that are vital to part of your success. In Zomboogie, they are also the most helpful zombie. Only use them in the middle rows (2, 3, and 4) where they are most effective, and try not to get the Dancing Zombies killed. The best way is to start with row 2 or 4, and then do it on the other.

Trivia

 * Backup Dancers and Imps are the only zombies which don't have standing animations. For example, in the Suburban Almanac Entry, the Backup Dancer is still dancing, and the Imp can be seen walking in place.
 * The Backup Dancer received a new model in a recent update to the iPod Touch, Xbox, iPhone, and iPad versions of the game to go along with the Dancing Zombie update.
 * When a Backup Dancer sticks its tongue out after biting a Garlic, it continues dancing.
 * If the Dancing Zombie or any of his Backup Dancers are slowed down or paralyzed, the rest of the group will slow down with it and only move a little.
 * The new Backup Dancer and the Ladder Zombie are the only zombies with mustaches (if mustache mode is not on).