THE King of Pop has passed on, but that won’t stop some New Yorkers from celebrating Michael Jackson’s upcoming birthday in a big way. On Saturday, what would’ve been his big 5-1, a flash mob will see hundreds of fans suddenly break into dance in locations across the city.
Organizer and ex-dancer Dinna Alexanyan says she was looking for a way to honor the late pop star. “He had such a huge impact on the dance community and on me personally. I remember as a kid replicating the choreography from all the videos off ‘Thriller.’ “
The goal of the flash mob is twofold: to commemorate MJ’s legacy and to garner attention for Alexanyan’s nonprofit, Sybarite Productions, which produces local dance workshops and showcases. She admits she didn’t even know what a flash mob was until recently, when she saw one on TV.
Alexanyan has been teaching the dance at training sessions over the past several weekends, but anyone interested in joining can watch an instructional clip at sybariteproductions.net and practice at home.
“It started out as something in the dance community, but we’re opening it up,” she says. While she’s keeping a tight lid on where the performances will pop up and what they’ll entail, Alexanyan reveals the dance will “incorporate signature Michael Jackson moves and a well-known song.”