Thriller flash mob

The Thriller flash mob was a success (and, after all the organizational logistics were over, a lot of fun)! When all was said and done, three dozen students ended up performing surrounded by a huge crowd in the quad on a drizzly Hallowe'en. The cast kept growing last week, as each time we practiced outside more students found the confidence to ask "can I still be on the list to dance?" (of course!)

When the day came, we were sweating out the rain — wouldn't you know it, in the middle of this drought, our first rainy day in weeks had to fall on Hallowe'en. The kids had nearly all said they would still want to dance outside if it was raining-but-not-pouring… Although at 10 in the morning it was nearly pouring, by lunchtime it had cleared to clouds and a few drizzly drops, a perfect atmosphere for the dance.

The kids roped me into dancing with them on this one — after asking at morning rehearsal, for the last time, "are you going to dance?" they pretty unanimously agreed they wanted me there with them, so after some hesitation I gave in… And in the end, I was glad they convinced me, because it was quite exhilarating to dance along with so many wildly enthusiastic students (especially after the year I had last year).

On the suggestion of a couple of students, we began by "zombie-marching" out from the
main building and the gym to meet in the middle, and when the actual dance started we were immediately enclosed in a solid wall of spectators — it seemed as if the whole school was out watching (all with cellphone cameras out, of course). All in all, it was a fairly splashy start to getting the dance program visible on campus!