flash mob dance

The Fine Arts Fund Surprises the Cincinnatus Association

Posted by Margy Waller on 04/16/10


What is possible when two very old, very respected organizations get together and work on transforming for the benefit of our community?

On April 13, I fulfilled a promise to give a talk at the Cincinnatus Association (established 1920) dinner meeting about the changing role of the Fine Arts Fund (established 1927). I asked myself – how can we SHOW the change? I knew it would be especially hard to do in the University Club (established 1879) setting where dinner is served.

You’d be surprised what a little dancing can do for these two groups.

 

 

We asked Pones, Inc. -- movement based performance art group – to create a surprise flash mob dance to interrupt my talk. And we recruited members of Cincinnatus to shock their dinner tables by jumping up to join the routine. The dancing reminded everyone that these organiations are changing in ways that will benefit all of us!

Everyone I invited to help out was game and the following members formed the Cincinnatus dance line:

Kathy DeLaura
Robin Gehl
Michael Greene
Dan Hoffheimer
Peter Hoyt
Candace Klein
Ann Lugbill
Teri Nau
Sean Rugless
Mark Silbersack
PG Sittenfeld

All of these dancers snuck out of dinner for a few minutes to practice the routine before the talk. You can watch the secret practice session on our YouTube page.

 

 

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Our Biggest Web Hit of the Year: Cincinnati Splash Dance

Posted by Margy Waller on 12/31/09

To celebrate the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, we bring back our biggest hit of the year: the Cincinnati Splash Dance! The Splash Dance is a great example of the way the arts connect us all and make our city such a vibrant, fun place to live, work, play, and stay!

 

Happy New Year to all!

 

 
 
 
 
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Exclusive Photos! Dress Rehearsal for Splash Dance

Posted by Margy Waller on 10/29/09

 

The night before our surprise flash mob dance on Fountain Square, people from across the region came together for a dress rehearsal in the ballroom at Music Hall. (Thanks to our friends at Music Hall!)

Everyone had practiced in small teams -- with volunteer dance "captains" -- over the previous three weeks. The first time we all danced together, lots of us were a little teary. It was really something to see nearly 200 people create this amazing experience together.

The next night, we danced as a surprise for Cincinnati on Fountain Square at the opening of the MidPoint Music Fest -- in the rain as it turned out. You can see that here. (In the video - listen for the voice at the end saying, "Let's do it again!")

 

 

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Surprise Splash Dance Video

Posted by Margy Waller on 09/25/09

 

Cincinnati, which embraces the arts like no place we know, erupted in a mass flash dance celebration on Thursday evening.


It had been raining, but stopped just long enough for the first ever splash dance surprise. Dancers amazed the onlookers at the music festival kickoff event when they suddenly started to dance after the first band finished.

Hundreds of people from all parts of the metro area and all walks of life volunteered their time and resources to plan the surprise over the past eight weeks.

It started with just a few people from theater, dance, music, museums, and the Fine Arts Fund staff, and grew to include hundreds of Cincinnati residents.

Even though the initial invitation didn’t say what the participants would be doing, hundreds of people signed on to show their enthusiasm for the arts. We successfully kept the secret for weeks because we all shared the goal of touching others in our community with the unexpectedness of the event.

It is amazing how the arts reach everybody in every part of our city. We started with a small group, and before you knew it, we were dancing with people who live from Mason to Covington, and all over the region. The volunteer dancers included everyone from soap executives to young children.

Great big thanks to Scott and Riann and everyone at Lightborne, which produced the video, and contributed in so many ways to making this a fun event that lives on in this video so many others can share with friends and family!


The Creative Team -- volunteers from large and small arts organizations across the region who helped the Fine Arts Fund organize the dance -- spent one afternoon listening to local musicians and choosing the music together. More thanks go to these local bands for contributing the music:

The Chocolate Horse
The Kry Kids
Freekbass and Tobotius
The Hiders
The Sweep

 

 

4 Comments :

 Sarah said...

Looks GREAT!!! Such a cool expression of our community.

September 26, 2009 1:58:00 PM EDT 
 
 Joanne Lincoln Maly-Lincoln Maly Marketing said...

This idea is great. I look forward to more surprises.

Congrats FAF!

September 27, 2009 5:15:00 PM EDT 

Randy Simes said...

These are so great. You can't help but smile when watching.

September 30, 2009 9:42:00 PM EDT

Kristan said...

Love it! I take Rhythm & Motion from Heather & her "posse," and they are AWESOME. Check the Cincinnati Ballet Theater website if you're interested.

October 5, 2009 1:51:00 PM EDT 

 

Links to this post :

 
  Splash Dance Flash Dance Mob Flash Flash 
 
Well, you wanted more flash mobs, and you got it. When does flash mob dancing jump the shark? Just kidding. Flash mobs will never stop being cool, because there's so many different things you can do. The Fine Arts Fund organized this ...
<$I18NPostedByBacklinkAuthor$> @ December 19, 2009 10:37:56 AM EST
  Cincinnati Splash Dance Surprise
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The First Ever Splash Mob Dance

Posted by Margy Waller on 09/25/09
 
 
Photo: Scott Beseler 

 

1 Comments :

Randy Simes said...

Scott always manages to grab the most fantastic photos. Great stuff.

September 30, 2009 9:43:00 PM EDT
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