Flash Mob Dance and the Territorialisation of Urban Movement

Abstract

In this paper, I examine Flash Mob Dance as a new dance genre, incorporating elements from previous modes of non-institutional theatrical and other forms of performance through online ethnography. Consisting of one-off collective dance events organised in public spaces through mobile phone and internet communication, it effectively reconfigures urban spaces by implementing diverse staging strategies. Through the creation of temporary performance sites, the flow of people and traffic is disrupted, creating potentially new forms of sociality, regardless of whether the performance has political, economic or other objectives.