No one joined Gene Kelly as he danced down his movie set of a street in “Singin’ in the Rain.” Now the streets all over the world seem to be awash with seemingly impromptu dance happenings. It’s called flash mob (or flashmob) dancing and it’s finally arrived in Pittsburgh.
Inspired by the G-20 (as most things in the city are these days), Keisha Lalama-White and 300 Point Park University staff members and students joined together for a kick-off (pun intended) to the upcoming array of protests, pundits and politicians.
The flash mob was originated in New York City in 2003 by Billy Wasik, senior editor at Harper’s Magazine. But his targeted store was tipped off. He regrouped to produce a flash mob at Macy’s, where 100 people gathered around an expensive rug to make a “group” purchase.
Now flash mobs, whether they be pillow fights, silent discos or world naked bike rides, have an organic connection to protests, which, of course, bear considerable relevance to the inherent nature of the G-20.
Point Park chose the upper hand. Three separate groups of approximately 100 dancers each converged on One Oxford Center, PPG Place and U.S. Steel Tower/UPMC Building at 1:15 p.m. At 1:10 p.m., as if on cue, raindrops started to fall. But the weather would not deter these young performers from the swift completion of their dance.
I happened to choose the U.S. Steel/UPMC option. To the strains of Neil Diamond’s “Coming to America,” a voice intoned references to President Obama and the G-20. In true flash mob fashion, one student began gesturing to the sky (miraculously, the rain stopped) and then inviting others to join him.
Like the Internet, the dance became viral. More and more students swiftly latched on to “Celebration.” (After all, flash mob music has to target familiar territory.) They quickly became “We Are Family,” with a little improvisation added to the recipe.
The hoodies, sweatshirts and sweaters came off to reveal orange t-shirts printed with a peace sign and PPU. The Beatles sang, “All You Need Is Love” as they joined hands and formed a human peace sign.
Maybe more people should listen to their message.
See the results:
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