WATCH: Irish dance flash mob takes over a mall in Vienna

Irish dancers put on an unforgettable surprise show for unsuspecting shop‐ pers in Vienna, Austria a few years back. This flash mob, which took place on St. Patrick’s Day in 2014 at the Wien Mitte Mall in Vienna, begins with one lone dancer tapping her feet unaccompanied and grows into a huge - and highly coor‐ dinated - rhythm and dance experience, capturing the attention of the mall’s three levels.

We’ve seen Irish dancers surprise and delight crowds in Shannon and Dublin Airports, in a Sydney train station, and in a Canadian home goods store. We can't wait to see where Irish dancers will pop up next!

Enjoy!

Flash mobs are often organized via soci‐ al media or other communication plat‐ forms, with participants being given in‐ structions on where and when to gather and what specific action to perform. These actions can range from choreo‐ graphed dances to freeze frames to singing in unison, and they often attract attention from bystanders who may not be aware of what is happening.

We sure are big fans of these Irish dance flash mobs though. Long may they continue.

The introduction of Irish dance in Austria is relatively recent but has grown steadily over the past few decades. Irish dance gained popularity in Austria mainly due to the global spread of Irish culture through media, tourism, and cul‐ tural exchange programs.

The initial exposure to Irish dance in Austria likely came through television broadcasts of Irish dance performances, particularly those featuring renowned Irish dance companies such as "River‐ dance" and "Lord of the Dance". These performances captured the attention of Austrian audiences and sparked interest in learning more about Irish culture, in‐ cluding its traditional dance forms. * Originally published in2014.Updated inMarch2024.