Have you ever wanted to be part of a flash mob? Now’s your chance!
Dance Baltimore is inviting anyone age 8 and older to take a free class where they will learn a routine to be performed at Artscape 2023. No dance experience is necessary; the class is open to all levels of expertise.
Baltimore Fishbowl spoke with Cheryl Goodman, founder and director of Dance Baltimore, about the logistics of planning a flash mob in a such a chaotic setting as Artscape, and about Dance Baltimore’s long history of springing dance joy on the surprised visitors of the iconic art festival.
“In 2011 Randi Vega contacted us to ask us to perform a flash mob, but we wanted to call it something different because ‘flash mob’ had a negative connotation at the time, so we called it a ‘dance attack,’” Goodman said. She explained that for a time, the term “flash mob” referred to groups of people breaking into businesses and ransacking them. Now, however, the term is solely associated with coordinated and choreographed, seemingly spontaneous pop-up dance performances.
Flash mobs are supposed to look like a random occurrence, beginning with a few people who blend into the crowd, and gradually increasing in number with others from the crowd joing in until a large group is doing the dance.
“Sometimes our dancers are so excited, though, they can’t wait and jump in soon after the dance has begun,” Goodman laughed. “We’re trying to work on that,” she said.
At the 2011 Artscape, Goodman said they performed six times, two flash mobs per day, which is what the organizers had requested. Now they must apply for a spot to perform, and they’ll only perform once.
“The routine is easy enough to learn in one session. Usually the beginning part is harder, and for the more advanced dancers,” Goodman said.
She explained that the routine gets easier as it goes along, so that even people with no dance experience can participate, if only for a portion of the dance. At the end, they throw in a line dance, like the Cupid Shuffle or the Wobble, inviting the audience to join in.
“The idea is to make it the biggest dance party in the street,” Goodman said.
While flash mobs are supposed to be a surprise, Goodman explained that advertising a class teaching the routine for an Artscape flash mob doesn’t exactly ruin that. The time and location of the performance is only revealed to the participants once they arrive at the class to learn the routine. The day of the performance must be advertised, because otherwise potential performers wouldn’t know if they were available. The average attendee of Artscape, however, wouldn’t know when and where the flash mob was going to pop up.
“I don’t even know where the performance is going to be, yet,” Goodman laughed. She explained they are still working out certain logistics with the sound system.
Dance Baltimore has been doing flash mobs at festivals, weddings, and other events all around Baltimore for many years. They offer classes for free to learn the dance routines. The routines are usually choreographed by Goodman, and sometimes by Dance Baltimore instructor Renee Pitts.
“We get such a mix of people: Black, white, all races, ages, dance levels,” Goodman told Fishbowl. “Lately, we’ve had lots of older women, and we’re trying to get men and younger people to dance with them.”
Speaking of a previous flash mob performance, Goodman recalled, “There was one man in his late 60s who kept thanking me.” She asked him why he was thanking her, and he responded, “For giving me a reason to dance again!”
“I guess he just needed an excuse to get out in the street dancing,” Goodman laughed.
The Artscape performance will take place on Saturday, Sept. 23.
Two classes will be offered at Dance Baltimore Studio to learn the flash mob routine on the following dates and times:
Thursday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m
Sunday, Sept. 10, 2 p.m.
Dance Baltimore Studio is located at 7097 Milford Industrial Road in Pikesville, Maryland.
Dance Baltimore will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. There will be a free concert at the Murphy Fine Arts Center, featuring many companies from their initial event in 2003 (which took place at the Mechanic Theater,) as well as many of the new companies now in the area.
