Apr 28, 2026 By Jen Garofalo 3 min read

Whether you know how to dance or you have two left feet, Linda Caputo would like to see you.

The Canonsburg woman is at the helm of a flash mob set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Tanger Outlets in South Strabane Township. It’s part of International Line Dance Flash Mob Day, a worldwide event started by a duo in Germany in 2020 to bring together anyone who wants to dance.

That’s not all that different from what Caputo does when she teaches line dancing classes at three area venues.

On Saturday, she’ll get everyone moving to “Everybody Dance!” by Sister Sledge – right in the center of the outlets. Anyone – whether you’ve been doing the Grapevine since you could walk, or you’ve never moved to a beat in your life – is invited to join in.

“Don’t stress,” she said, “just have fun with it.”

The moves for “Everybody Dance!” are “very simple,” Caputo said. “And that’s what you want for a flash mob.”

For those who don’t know, a flash mob is a group of people who come together at a specific time to do a specific thing. Often, it starts with one or only a few people, and others gradually join in. That’s how Saturday’s dance will go.

Caputo hopes plenty of people will show up or pause their shopping to join in and let the movement “lift their spirit.”

That uplifting feeling is one of the reasons she loves to dance and to teach it so much. Keeping in shape is another reason, but there’s another benefit that people might not realize.

“It’s great for your mind. You’re thinking of all these ways to move, and these steps, how they’re all put together,” she said.

Her classes at 30 and Out Fitness in Washington, Ginger Hill Grange in Finleyville and Dormont Recreation Center include people from their teens to their 80s.

She focuses on teaching the basic steps, then, she said, “It’s just putting the steps and the sequence together to learn dances. And repetition.”

The difficulty of “Everybody Dance!” is listed as “absolute beginner” on the International Line Dance Flash Mob website. There are tutorials for the standard dance, as well as ones for an arms-only version, a version for those in wheelchairs and one for children.

Caputo said there’s no registration for Saturday’s flash mob, just a request that participants be there by 1:45 p.m. Dancers should gather in the center of the outlets near the Coach and American Eagle stores.

The only other requirement: don’t worry about being perfect.

“Peace, love and line dancing” is what it’s all about, Caputo said. “Just have a great time.”

To view the tutorial for “Everybody Dance!” visit https://linedanceflashmob.com/.