On Flash Mobs and Spirit

Dear Reader,

Flash mob dances may have already peaked in popularity, but they are still great fun, and there is something about them that I love. I think it is their emphasis on spontaneous exuberance – the very essence of the human spirit.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, according to Wikipedia, a flash mob is “a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, [or] artistic expression.”

The best flash mobs (in my humble opinion) are the ones involving dance. Although planned in advance, they are often choreographed to look as if ordinary people in a public area suddenly break into an improvised dance. Until now, my favorite has been the popular (over 25 million hits on YouTube) Antwerp train station flash mob, with ordinary commuters getting drawn in to a lively version of “Do Re Mi” from “The Sound of Music.”

After today, I may have a new favorite.

In a Target store in Lawrence, Kansas, a group of senior citizens pulled off a flash mob routine to a version of “Last Christmas” by the cast of “Glee.”

I love it! Why, you ask? Perhaps it is the audacity they showed in doing it at all. Or maybe it is the determination and sweetness with which they performed. But mainly I love it because it is a reminder that we all have in us, no matter what the age, a hidden or not-so-hidden desire to break free, to cut loose in song and dance.

It is an expression of spirit.

Flash mob dances harken back to the old time musical, in the days when Fred Astaire as everyman would break into a song and dance while walking down the street, or on board ship, because he couldn’t contain his own exuberant spirit! Audiences loved being set free to feel that same exuberance just from watching. That feeling, and those old Fred Astaire movies, played a significant role in my own path to becoming a professional dancer.

Eventually the culture changed, as culture does with each new generation, and those movies were considered cheesy. Maybe now the flash mobs have brought back a little of that spontaneous celebration of spirit – and that’s good. We need it.

Dear reader, have you celebrated enough this year? Have you spontaneously turned your spirit loose and danced down the street, or through a train station or up the steps of the library?

If not – you have two weeks left in the year! I suppose it doesn’t have to be through dance, although that is undeniably my favorite way. In whatever way you can, sometime before the end of this Year of Excellence, turn your spirit loose in a spontaneous display. If others are around, you may inspire them. Even if it’s just for you – your spirit will thank you.

I honor your loving heart,

John