Imagine another normal day in town with business carrying on as usual.
The streets are buzzing lightly with the energy of the day’s activities. People are out and about, walking around and enjoying the sunshine.
Some are out shopping, enjoying a coffee and a conversation. Many are on their way to work, and many others are simply just out to entertain the day.
Out of nowhere, a beat starts to play.
It’s quickly followed by audible music, and a couple young girls in the middle of the town square begin to dance! Their enthusiastic movements start to gain the attention of everyone surrounding them. Little does the gathering crowd know what the girls have signaled and what they’re truly in for!
Such was the case at the Piazza Center, located in Eindhoven of the Netherlands.
On any other day, it would’ve just been a popular shopping center. But on this day in particular in 2011, it suddenly became home to a brilliant dance display.
About 1400 students from Sint-Joris college came together to organize a visionary flash mob to the tune of Shakira’s “Waka Waka (Time for Africa)”. The students assembled in hopes of creating the biggest flash mob in the Netherlands.
Their reason? To raise awareness and funds for Kenya!
What started with just a few girls slowly grew into a very impressive group.
Flash mobs inspire and spread awareness.
Organized flash mobs have grown in popularity as a powerful human tool to bring light to a variety of issues. The first flash mob was in 2003, and it was merely a playful social experiment that sought to comment on the culture of conformity. Since then, they’ve been used all over to spread awareness and raise questions about social issues.
What was initially a random art form of involvement has evolved into a useful advocacy tool. Since their inception, flash mobs have been organized to voice perspectives concerning a variety of issues including sickness, civil rights, hunger, and nations in need. They remain an inexpensive and powerful way to get people talking.
Flash mobs have even grown in popularity for wedding proposals!
The 1400 students of Sint-Joris college were no exception—but they were exceptional!
As more and more students gathered, the surrounding crowd gathered as well—and everyone was standing in awe of the brilliantly choreographed dance.
The students and volunteers devoted endless time and hours into practicing the choreography for the show.
Another video on the same YouTube channel shows the making of Eindhoven’s “Waka Waka” flash mob, with students enthusiastically practicing in the studio, the classroom and outside in the field.
Their enthusiasm was contagious for everyone who watched that day!
In its finest moment, the flash mob swells into one unified body of passionate students.
The crowd seems unbothered by the interruption of the performance. In fact, many people stop to photograph, clap and embrace the spectacle. The hard work they put into preparing the dance number definitely shows as the impressive mob jumps and sways together to the beat of the music.
Dancing is a powerful expression that can communicate emotion through motion.
It’s been a part of human expression since ancient times. It’s certainly a sight to behold when it’s synchronized in such a large volume. With more than 30 million views on YouTube, the Sint-Joris college students shined some serious light on Kenya.
Check out the video below to see the biggest flash mob in Holland!
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