Everybody dance: Flash mob boogies in unison at Tanger Outlets
At first, the crowd at Tanger Outlets could have been mistaken for the normal cluster that forms when some friends run into each other on a busy shopping day.
It kept growing past coincidence, until more than 80 people milled around between the Coach and American Eagle stores.
Then, at 2 p.m., the mall’s central space became a dance floor.
For several minutes, the crowd bounced their hips, step-touched backwards, and when the lyrics commanded, clapped their hands as they joined in the fun of International Line Dance Flash Mob Day.
The annual day, launched by a pair of Germans in 2020, inspires hundreds of flash mobs around the world. A map on the day’s website showed dances planned in every continent but Antarctica.
Nancy Brown of Collier heard about the flash mob and told students in the line dance classes at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
It gets the body moving, she said. And by requiring dancers to memorize steps, also keeps people thinking.
“It’s good for the brain, and it’s fun,” Brown said. “It’s music everybody likes, and it’s a much better way to exercise than running on a treadmill or something.”
Tanger’s mob was formed by Linda Caputo of Canonsburg, who teaches line dances at three venues around the area.
She heard about the celebration and liked it. Her first call was to Tanger, which quickly agreed to host.
To provide the music, she brought in Neal Hinterlang of North Huntingdon, who hosts line dance nights at the Meadows as DJ Neal.
Caputo chose a mix of Sister Sledge’s “Everybody Dance,” one of three songs with accompanying dances available to choose from on the official website.
An instructional video listed the dance as “absolute beginner” level, making it as inclusive as possible.
Alternate versions were also available for arms-only dancers, wheeldancers and kids.
“It’s great,” Caputo said, looking around at the crowd that was still gaining in numbers minutes before the dance. “We chose an easy song, so everybody could be part of it.”
Many of Caputo’s students came to join in. Carmen Osborn of Penn Hills has been doing country-and-western line dancing for a little over a year.
“There’s a socialization,” she said. “You get to meet people who have something in common.”
Dancers formed lines next to friends new and old. As the music began playing, people on all sides of the mob whipped out their phones to capture the moment.
When the song ended, the dancers applauded.
And when Caputo told DJ Neal to run it back, they gleefully jumped back in.
Mackenzie Gallant of Washington learned about the flash mob through Hinterlang’s line dance nights.
A regular attendee, it only took her 10 minutes of watching the instructional video to learn the steps.
Gallant was joined by her children: Aiden, 6, who joined in the dance; Dallas, 2; and Wyatt, 1, who Gallant carried as she danced.
“I really enjoyed being able to include my kids in it, and you don’t get to do that very often,” she said. “That was really exciting.”