Flash mob in Chennai

’This quite the season for flash mobs, it seems. If Mumbai’s recent performance is all the rage in cyberspace right now, almost every major city in the world has been going the same route over the past few months, with several such videos garnering tens of thousands of hits on video sharing sites.
Chennai had its own large-scale version of a flash mob some months ago and now, the Mumbai act has inspired a repeat… only this time, it’s going to be on a much grander scale- almost as if to say, ‘Mumbai, now THIS is how it’s done…’
Even for those of you who aren’t clued-in to the dance scene, you’d not be a total stranger to flash mob, thanks to the Ringa Ringa number in 7aum Arivu, which was fashioned on this lively dance form.Organisers have made a page on a social networking site dedicated to this event, to gather participants, and it’s already abuzz with activity. The idea is to arrange an event that will rival some of the biggest flash mobs in the world- like the Michael Jackson affair that was held at Stockholm. Riyaz Khan (name changed), one of the organizers of the show, says, “The immediate inspiration was the recent Mumbai video. We’ve started gathering members and putting together the choreography team. The aim of the flash mob is to put our city on the viral map and tell others that Chennai too is capable of doing it on a large scale.”
The date and venue of the show are yet undecided, and Zahir explains, “The space will either be one of the two beaches — Marina or Elliots — or Chennai’s biggest mall. There are a number of things, like cop permission, to figure out before we zero in on one space.” Rina Raymond, another organizer, adds, “We’re looking to meet up sometime this week to work out the logistics and whoever has registered will get an SMS. As of now, it’s all very skeletal…but we want to challenge the Mumbai flash mob. Maybe something like the famous Michael Jackson flash mob that happened at Stockholm.”
The choreography team is just about being put in place and the idea is to keep the steps as simple as possible, to ensure maximum participation and interaction. Says Riyaz, “Once everything falls in place, our idea is to make a video of the choreography and send it out to groups of people, so that they can meet and practice.”
Ajit Sigamani, martial arts trainer and entrepreneur, is looking forward to the flash mob with some excitement. “The fact that it isn’t commercially driven and is being done solely as a community-building exercise is what appeals to me. Music and dance are universal languages and Chennai sure needs a bunch of things like this happening more often.”
Concludes Riyaz, “We are not too impressed by the Mumbai flash mob, but the one that happened at the Dubai airport was awesome. We’re looking to take it to that level.”