Flash Mob Power Ignited by Dancers
Dancers from the musicals Chicago and Wicked participated in a flash mob yesterday that made a difference. It honored the victims of Newtown and urged action for greater gun control. The woman who organized it, Broadway veteran Lorin Latarro, is profiled in our February “On Broadway” column for her choreography on Scandalous; she’s also assistant choreographer for soon-to-open Hands on a Hard Body.
But yesterday was something different: choreography for the crowds in the street, not the elite ticket-buying audience of Broadway theaters. With 200 volunteers, Latarro’s flash mob stopped traffic in Times Square, raising awareness about gun control.
Working in partners, some performers fell to the ground, while others knelt over the “wounded” and then drew chalk lines around them.
“If we could change one mind,” Latarro was quoted as saying in The New York Times, “then we did something important.”
In an email this morning, Latarro wrote: “Was a powerful day and loved combining physical gesture for change. The silence was arresting. It was completely quiet in Times Sq for about 4 minutes. Everybody just watched.”
On her Facebook page is this note: “Call your congressman today, it’s the last part of the choreography. 202-224-3121.”
Find more photos of the preparation and performance of the flash mob here.
