Dance flash mob ‘so much fun’
Stepping out . . . Dancers crowd George St for a flash mob on Saturday.
THERE was a surreal moment when George St shoppers were suddenly surrounded by more than 60 people who broke into song and dance as part of a flash mob on Saturday.
The event was choreographed by Dunedin’s Rasa School of Dance teacher Xzenia Kutia.
‘‘I’m ecstatic. It was so much fun. ‘‘It feels a bit surreal that it’s done,’’ Ms Kutia said after the event.
Three groups of dancers took part in the flash mob, which incorporated singing, poi and a performance from local rap artist and songwriter Tali Joy.
Beginning outside The Bog, the flash mob started with the dancers swinging poi to a performance of the song Tutira Mai Nga Iwi, handing out poi for the general public to take part.
‘‘We wanted everyone to join in and to make it accessible — poi is for everyone,’’ Ms Kutia said.
The flash mob was part of City Moves 2024 — an opencall choreographic commission to bring dance to public places, funded by the Dunedin City Council.
‘‘We put it together in two weeks, but we had to postpone it because the road wasn’t finished
‘‘Each group had one rehearsal together and then we just put them all together.’’
After the poi, dancers marched down George St performing a flag routine.
Once the flash mob got to the Golden Centre, Joy performed a song for them to dance along to. The flash mob was made up of dancers from all age groups and many members of the crowd joined in.
‘‘It was so cool seeing people get involved.’’
Ms Kutia also choreographs for and manages the Otago Dancers — the official dance team for the Otago Nuggets basketball team. Recently, Ms Kutia choreographed for Blumhouse Productions and Netflix.
In 2023, she choreographed the pregame and halftime entertainment for the All Blacks test match in Dunedin.