While the Arcadia High School (AHS) Color Guard and Percussion are busy preparing for the upcoming Spring Pep Assembly, they aren’t the only ones who will be performing in the North Gym on Mar. 15. The Senior Flash Mob, an event organized by AHS’ Associated Student Body (ASB) and Orchesis, will give interested seniors an opportunity to show off their moves.
As Senior ASB President Jeremiah Jun explains, “Senior Flash Mob is an annual event that is part of the Spring Pep Assembly. While the assembly showcases our Color Guard and Percussion, there’s usually not many other performances and sport events that happen during this time. So to add extra performances to the assembly, Senior Flash Mob became a tradition.”
Jun believes the beauty of this event is that it gives every senior an opportunity to participate during a school-wide event.
“You don’t have to have much experience to do it, you just have to sign up. This year, we have 120 people who filled out the interest form. We had about 80 students last year, and this year’s greater number means we’ll be able to fill up the North Gym,” explains Jun.
For this year’s Senior Flash Mob, five songs have been chosen for the dances: “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars, “Suit & Tie” by Justin Timberlake, “Princess Diana” by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj, “Water” by Tyla, and “Time of Our Lives” by Ne-Yo and Pitbull.
The dances that accompany these songs are choreographed by Orchesis members senior Mia Tsou, senior Danielle Workman, and senior Ashley Wu. Their efforts go beyond designing the dances, however, as they also help students prepare for the assembly by demonstrating the dance both in-person and digitally.
“We created a Google Drive folder with the dances, and Danielle recorded videos of her doing the dances as a tutorial. We’re also going to record all the people dancing so people can learn from their friends rather than just seeing the choreographers do it,” explained Jun.
While teaching 120 seniors to dance in sync is no easy task, Workman has thoroughly enjoyed her experiences leading the Senior Flash Mob in rehearsals.
“It’s a lot of fun teaching 120 people to dance just because it’s everyone I know from my senior class, and I think it’s a really, really great and fun experience to be able to bond with everyone one last time before we graduate,” commented Workman.
Workman and the other Orchesis members’ extensive experience in teaching large groups of people to dance has also helped in organizing the Senior Flash Mob.
“All three of us are part of Orchesis, so we always are teaching big classes like our open hip-hop and K-pop class, as well as the Orchesis company and the middle schools,” Workman elaborated.
For some members of the mob like senior Theodore Lu, the intensity of the rehearsals can be unexpected at times.
“It’s my first time in the rehearsal. It was a lot of fun, but people are moving their bodies too fast, it’s scary,” joked Lu.
Members of the mob like senior Jiali Jiang, however, are nonetheless excited about both the rehearsals and the big day they perform.
“Honestly, it feels really cool and fun because this is our last year! This is where all the seniors come together and have the opportunity to work together for one last time before we all leave for college. It’s kind of bittersweet, but this has been a great experience. I definitely feel really excited because I get to perform with my friends!” exclaimed Jiang.
Senior Flash Mob also has its own Facebook page where announcements and progress videos are posted for every rehearsal. Overall, Senior Flash Mob will be an exciting event to look out for during this year’s Spring Pep Assembly! To all the seniors preparing for the event, keep up your efforts—the AHS community enthusiastically awaits for your big performance.
Photo courtesy of AHS ASB
