Students get 'flashed' at Schine

About a dozen Syracuse University students stopped people in their tracks Thursday afternoon with a “flash mob” dance performance at the Schine Student Center.

Flash mobs involve gathering a large people in a public place to perform or engage in an unusual activity. In 2008, dozens of students descended on the Quad to make snow angels.

True to flash mob form, some people heard about Thursday's mysterious performance through @flashmobSU on Twitter or from chatter around campus.

“I was told it would be a good place to be,” said Jeffrey Carroll, residence director of Brewster and Brockway halls, who heard about the event from one of his resident advisors.

Carroll was among the small group of people that lingered around the atrium minutes before the flash mob, organized by the First Year Players musical theater group, performed at about 12:30 p.m.

The song “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray filled the atrium as two students started to dance near the dining center entrance. As the number of dancers grew to a dozen, passers-by cheered and snapped photos.

Event organizer and FYP member Ray Lapena said a famous YouTube video of a dance performance to the “Sound of Music” theme in Belgium was the source of inspiration for the Schine mob.

“We’ve never done anything like this,” Lapena said. “It is something new and exciting for us. It was really just for fun.

"Because on a mundane, Thursday afternoon how cool would it be to see a bunch of random people get up and start dancing.”