Flash Mob Of My Mind

[by Chick]

Here is my true confession of the day: I am dying to be a part of a flash mob. Frankly I think about it more than I’d actually even like to let on. Mostly I think about it when I am running on the treadmill in a meek attempt to transport my mind to any place other than the tortuous reality of me lumbering on that moving rubber belt, sweating like a beast and gasping for air like a fish out of water.

So I trick myself into thinking I am getting into shape for my flash mob performance. I listen to my ipod shuffle and choreograph routines to various songs. Sometimes I picture a mini flash mob at my upcoming wedding to ABBA’s Waterloo. Then I usually come up with a few flash mob ideas with Taio Cruz’s Dynamite.

I don’t know. What do you think? What song would be best for a debut flash mob?

My bigger problem is execution. I don’t seem to have any friends who want to do a flash mob with me. Or even know what it is. So I turned to Little Chick thinking I could get in with the 11-year olds. No deal. I’m not cool enough. Little Chick shuddered at the notion of her 40-year flash mobber mom performing in the vicinity of her friends.

So I am sorta stuck just scouring youtube videos of flash mobs and critiquing them. If you can’t do, become a critic. I have found there are several characteristics to consider in judging the success of a flashmob:

Location – obviously the more public or unexpected, the better. A bigger crowd of mobbers and viewers is pretty impressive. Which of course means more videos on iphones that can go viral

Organic – while well-choreographed, it has too look somewhat imperfect. The corporate ones are a little too polished

Theme – a specific theme can be good

Song – it’s really best if it’s a well-known song that gets people going

Who Starts It – let’s face it, the one or two people who start the flash mob have all the cajones. They are the front line

I don’t know if I could be the starter (whew! the pressure raises my blood pressure just thinking about it!) but I know I’d be a great mobber.

I did, after all, invent the flashmob in 1990.

No really, I did! My college roommate and I were screwing around one day listening to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive and hilariously choreographed a dance routine real time. It was such a funny process for our other roommates and friends to watch that it became a regular party trick. For years, anywhere we were in the world, if that song came on we would burst into the dance and get the crowd going.

We could do the whole routine today without missing a beat.

But I can’t live in the past so until I can find someone to choreograph, cast, and plan my flash mob I must enjoy these more recent videos…

So this is my favorite flash mob video of ALL time. It’s the best. And begs the question: Why are the best flash mobs overseas? We Americans have got to up our game! Where’s our U.S. spirit of innovation? I don’t know, but this is THE BEST:

 

This one is of course fabulous as well. Kudos to this couple and their bridal party for pulling this off:

 

This one cracks me up. Love the specific theme. I laugh out loud every time at the start of this one:

 

When I was telling Legally Blonde about my flash mob obsession her immediate response was, “What’s a flash mob?” (I get that a lot.) As I explained, she quickly said, “Oh my nanny did that at the Atlanta airport!” Here is Legally Blonde’s nanny flash mobbing:

 

So does anyone out there want to flash mob with me? Where should we do it? Tailgate before a big football game…baggage claim…the post office on tax day…a Christmas party? Can we flash mob for charity? Flash mob for the homeless with the homeless.

I am serious people. This could be big.

What song should we use?