Even Oprah knows flash dance mobs are a spectacular sight. If you’ve seen a flash mob dancing on one of many YouTube videos from around the world or in person, and wished you could have been a part of the dance mobbing, here’s a some information on how to organize a flash dance mob in your own city. Also, check out the YouTube video links to see examples of popular flash mobs in action.
Definition of Flash Mob
A large group of people who gather in a usually predetermined location, perform some brief action, such as dancing outrageously, and then quickly disperse, according to babelgum.com, an internet-based television company. Babelgum.com also has several videos of flash mobs to view for ideas and inspiration.
How to Organize a Flash Dance Mob
1. Research flash mobs and dance mobs. Check out a few of the videos linked below for examples of different dances and other gimmicks past flash mobs have used. Many flash mobs are beginning to do their thang for a variety of charities/causes, if you needed a reason to gather people for a seemingly spontaneous, public dance fest. Also, check to make sure you’re not violating any city ordinances (especially if you are organizing a flash dance mob for a charity/cause).
2. Before gathering a “mob” of dancers, you’ll need a dance. Choose music and choreograph a dance routine. Keep it simple if you’re looking for the largest possible group of people. If you have a specific, set group of dancers in mind, like the group of 100 Single Ladies shakin’ it to Beyonce in London.
3. Location: the more public and random, the better your location will be to draw attention. Also, best to choose a location prior to seeking dancers. Choose a busy park or square, which won’t cause the type of disturbance requiring police involvement.
4. Create a YouTube video of the dance routine. Create one video from the front and one from the back. This allows dancers to participate even if they can’t make “practice” for the flash mob.
5. Recruit dancers. Begin with friends and friends of friends, use Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks to reach out to interested flash dancers.
6. Teach the dance routine. Provide dancers access to your YouTube video and schedule practices for flash mob members.
7. Once dancers learn the routine and have had a chance to practice, choose a strong dancer, or small group of dancers, to lead the dance mob.
8. Provide date, time, and location information for your dancers to perform their flash dance mob.
9. Dance! Dance! Dance!
10. Don’t forget to record video of your flash mob dancing and upload the video to YouTube as soon as possible to share. ASAP! Don’t let someone scoop your flash dance mob.
11. Pat yourself on the back and laugh.
Youtube Flash Mob Dances: Examples in Action
YouTube’s T-Mobile Dance in a Liverpool street station on January 16, 2009 at 11:00 am has over 23 million views. The flash mob video begins with business as usual until a small group of commuters begins dancing. As seconds tick by, more and more dancers join the group, even inspiring onlookers to join, capture video, take pictures, or call friends to tell them what they are witnessing. Even though the T-Mobile dance mob was planned for an advertisement, it’s still an amazing site to see.
A Dance Tribute to Michael Jackson’s Beat It in Stockholm has over 7 million views on YouTube. From one lone dancer to a mob 0f 300 hundred dancers, there’s little chance watching it won’t bring a smile to your face. This isn’t the only version of the Stockholm tribute, but it is probably the best one.
No Pants Dance takes on a new meaning when 1200 New Yorkers drop trou in the subway. Improv Everywhere’s pants-dropping ride may be hilarious, but witnesses’ reaction to participants following normal daily routines, sans pants, is priceless. While there’s no actual dancing, the YouTube video is worth a gander, at least 16 million other people thought so too.
Other non-dance flash mobs worthy of a few guffaws: University of California at Berkeley’s Ninja flash mob, a pillow fight flash mob in San Francisco keeps women giggling as they take video, and San Francisco’s zombie mob cracks up viewers amidst shouts of “Brains! Eat brains!”
Flash Dance Mob Resources
Join the flashdance mob Facebook page to share information on scheduled dance events in your area, plan your own flash mob, or share videos of a flash dance mob you’ve recorded.
San Francisco has its own flashdance mob organization for dancers to find out more about when and where scheduled flash mobbing will occur.
For nation-wide flash mob events, visit flashmob.com. Flashmob.com keeps posts for various cities, causes, and connections to get involved in a dancing flash mob.
Why Dance Mobs?
Why not flash dance mobs? Think about a large group mob of dancers interrupting your daily routine: good laughs, stress relief, or conversational piece, viewers are not likely to forget seeing an enormous group of, what appears to be random strangers, spontaneously breaking into dance.
Organizing a flash dance mob is easy, especially with help. Just check out some of the comments for the YouTube videos; people want an opportunity to bust-a-move with hundreds of their closest community members.
Sources:
Babelgum. (2010). Flash dance Mobs, Metropolis page. Retrieved October 18, 2010, from http://www.babelgum.com/3018989/flashdance-mob.html
Bounce Sweden. (). [Official] Michael Jackson Dance Tribute-Stockholm, YouTube. Retrieved October 18, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVJVRywgmYM&feature;=related
Improv Everywhere. (2009). No Pants Subway Ride 2009, YouTube. Retrieved October 18, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9La40WwO-lU&feature;=related
Lifeforsharing. (2009). T-Mobile Dance, YouTube. Retrieved October 18, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM
Reference:
- Glee Flash Mob Article & Video: blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/archives/201415.asp
- Social Media & Flash Dance Mobs for National Dance Day: inventorspot.com/articles/alert_social_media_learn_how_flash_mob_dance_national_dance
- Agency Flash Mobs vrs. Social Flash Mobs: laurelpapworth.com/agency-flash-mobs-vs-social-flash-mobs/
