The performing arts world is experiencing another revolution in the form of flash mobs, where a choreographed dance is performed in a public setting resulting in the improvised participation of the on-looking crowd.  My husband (who was a hunky high school show choir geek several years before the concept of Fox’s Glee was even a synaptic spark in the mind of creator Ryan Murphy) thinks, “This is sooo cool!” I agree.  This movement is not only bringing art to the masses, but it is allowing them to be a part of it without an audition.

In this video, you will see the spontaneous dance, set to a Glee medley, evolve into an all-crowd dance in a Rome shopping mall. (Eat your heart out Westfield; this mall is PRETTY.)   It is an interesting intersection of improvisation and contrived art that I would imagine makes for a unifying and uplifting experience. (Of course, in this case, I heard it was a marketing stunt for Glee’s upcoming season.  Oh, that clever Fox!  However, not all flash mobs are ads.)  Inviting the audience to join in a performance is an ingenious twist, second only to, maybe, the opportunity to run into the moderately choppy waters of Malibu Beach, alongside the buoyantly bouncing upper half of Pamela Anderson.

I wonder if flash mobs would work to fight terror.  And, I wonder if they are only cool to show choir geeks and Europeans.  The two are easy to confuse.  But if you’re not prepared, even your American football sons and horseback-riding daughters who dwell in mall food courts will become unwitting performers or, rather, YouTube sensations.  Should we all enroll in Jazz class and swap our Dansko’s for Capezio’s for our next shopping trip?

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• The Musical Magic Of ‘Glee’ (npr.org)
• Flash mob evolution – even Microsoft stores are trying them now! (nickburcher.com)