Flashmobs

Flashmobs
13 November 2012

So quite a big trend at the moment is Flashmobs.  What!  You don’t know what a Flashmob is?  What rock did you crawl out from?  You uneducated pillock!  Hey, don’t feel alone, I'm also a pillock.  Because personally I only found out what a Flashmob is a few weeks ago.  Yet, since my discovery, I’m hooked.  Completely and utterly charmed by the idea.  So, in order to clarify (lest there be other uneducated eejits like me out there) – a Flashmob is very simply, a bunch of people, who appear to be standing about, walking about or going about their business.  People who seem completely unconnected.  No identifying clothing or emblems.  Fat people, thin people, some young, some older.  The very same people you walk past every single day of your life, without giving them a second thought.  Because they’re simply going about their day as well.  Until…..

Well, that would be until, somehow, quite unexpectedly a song starts playing and one person, or sometimes more than one person, starts dancing.  Dancing to no one in particular.  To no audience in particular.  Just a complete random occurrence.  Or so it seems.  And because it is so very unusual and unexpected, people naturally stop, point and stare.  Until someone else joins the fray.  And then more, and more and more people join in.  All doing choreographed moves.  A set routine if you like.

And for that very reason alone, it is magical.  Such a delightful surprise.  Imagine going to your local shopping centre, going about your business, doing your shopping – tedious tasks.  Mundane and dull.  Walking past fellow shoppers, also doing the mundane and dull .  And then out of the blue one of those very same dull shoppers start dancing.  And soon, there is a group of twenty or thirty or even more people doing dance moves together.  A planned event, being pulled off under the veil or normalcy.

My darling little Amber-Berry belongs to an awesome dance school, called Outline.  And the principal of the school is a very, very dynamic woman, dancer and choreographer, Verne Moller.  She is exceptionally talented and has a vision which astounds me.  With each and every dance that I see either my Berry or one of her other pupils or groups perform, my mouth literally hangs open.  I simply don’t know how she keeps on doing it.  Yet, she continually does.  Always keeping it fresh.  Always keeping it new.  Never boring, never “been-done-before” either.  Innovative and fun and her shows and demo’s are always spectacular.  Part of her magic, I think, is the fact that she still actively dances.  She partakes in competitions and Eisteddfods, winning and getting high scores and results.  She leads by example and is an inspiration to her pupils.  I am so very blessed and grateful that my Amber belongs to this same school.  However, Verne is an artist and has a true passion for her craft - therefore she is a hard taskmaster.  She sets exacting standards and demands results.  Yet, with dedication, perseverance and lots of practice, not forgetting the natural talent that is there, she succeeds and produces phenomenal dancers – each and every one.

And for the past two Saturday’s the very talented Outline team of senior dancers have done Flashmobs.  Last weekend, they did a stint at Camps Bay, as part of a Listen to your senses Foundation.  Sadly I was unable to go, but luckily for me, and you, the Flashmobs were filmed and uploaded onto Youtube.  And it is AWESOME!!!  So thrilling to watch and I dare anyone not to get swept away and be uber impressed.

But this past Saturday, Amber and I were determined not to miss out.  So we set off down the road, to our local beach in Strand.  And just outside the Life Saving Club bit by bit, the dancers appeared.  Looking just like ordinary beach goers.  Wearing their cozzies and casual clothes.  Saturday was a blistering hot day and the beach was packed.  People walking up and down, swimmers and body surfers, even the odd serious surfer too.  People playing beach bats, tanning, strolling, relaxing.  Kids building sand castles, and an ice cream vendor, ringing his little bell to advertise his treats.  And any person, not knowing what we were doing there, would ever have expected what was about to happen.  A random white Combi pulled up right beside the Life Saving Club – nothing unusual about that.  Teenagers were standing in little pockets, chatting, rubbing sunblock on each other, drinking a cold drink.  Until all of a sudden, “Gangnam Style” started blaring from the speakers of the Combi.  A few people glanced back at the noise, wondering what all the racket was about.  And then in the middle of nowhere, a young girl started doing the most awesome dance moves.  Quite a few people stared and pointed at her.  But before anyone could quite wrap their head around this girl dancing randomly, a few more dancers/beach goers joined her.  And before long, there was a rather large group of kids, dancing their hearts out.  And to be completely honest, IT WAS FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!  I got such goose flesh watching.  And am getting it now again, just thinking about it.  They gave their all.  A quick little crowd gathered with people clapping, swaying to the music and shouting encouragement.  Truly incredible.  I did film it, but am having trouble transferring the recording.  However, there was another eager person filming as well, so I’m sure that we’ll see a video upload of Saturday’s dance as well.  And then, just for fun, we took a stroll (some of us drove) and the kids did another Flashmob outside a restaurant on the Beach Front.  Equally well received.  The dancers were all on an incredible high, as were those around them.

A Flashmob is infectious.  It is fun.  It is creative.  It is quirky.  It is vibey.  It is catchy.  It is unusual.  It is DA BOMB!

Big up, Outline.  You guys rock!

The link for the Camps Bay Flashmob is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTj9sF2s56U&feature=player_embedded