Fringe FLASH!

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In the weeks leading up to Fringe an intrepid core group of dancers met on the green lawn of fabulousness to rehearse for a Fringe Flash mob. I promised the PR people that I would not show the sketch of the top secret rehearsals until after the flash mob had actually been performed. Having sketched several Flash mobs to promote tourism in the City Beautiful, I was used to seeing a much larger crowd rehearsing, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up in heart. I donated a design for the Fringe Flash Facebook page to help this grassroots promotion.

The music used for the choreography was from every high school musical film. For the first part of the rehearsal everyone was organized in lines as they followed along. Later they circled around a garbage can which symbolized a fountain that exists at Church Street Station. I particularly liked the music from Fame. I had worked on animation that used this music when I was in college in New York City so the song hits a chord in me of yearning to fulfill ones potential. I can’t help but sing along!

I didn’t make it to the final Flash performance at Church Street Station, but the video shot shows that the Flashers took everyone by surprise. I also got to see a second performance right after the ribbon cutting on the green lawn of fabulousness. I discovered that I messed up this year and I am not a Fringe performing artist like I was last year. I brought you coverage of as many shows as I could sketch last year. It was a magnificent theatrical drawing marathon. This year I feel naked, stripped of my lanyard. Not having a lanyard seems a sure sign that the Rapture is here and I am doomed to five months of torture. I will only be able to beg my way into a few shows where I know the performers. Oh well, there are other events to sketch and besides I need to focus on the Mennello Museum mural. Which reminds me, I plan to sketch particularly outrageous performers on the green lawn of fabulousness for the mural and to help promote their shows. I will be sketching the sensual performers from “Big Swinging Dicks” as well as Voci Dancers. I’m thinking that I should make a T-shirt that says, “Will sketch for tickets.” I need to keep working the angles to get the next sketch.

I was told the Rapture will happen at 6pm today. Since I doubt I will rise to heaven, I should say it will be an honor and privilege to party with all the sinners left behind at the Fringe!

Flash 2

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A second Flash Mob was planned to promote Orlando, The City Beautiful. Secret rehearsals were held at the Orlando Convention Center. I was happy there was Free parking available behind the West building. I don’t sketch many Convention events because of the price of parking. There was a long walk from the back entrance first up and then down frozen escalators. I followed a man who looked to be in his 80s and when I passed him, I followed two high school girls that looked like they knew where they were going. When I entered the convention room I was stunned by the vast empty space. The rehearsal took up less than a quarter of the space. When I entered, Randy Ross was speaking with all the volunteer dancers letting them know that they had to mingle and act natural prior to this flash mob performance. The last Flash Mob at the Millenia Mall, people stood around in a circle leaving the staging area wide open. It was painfully obvious that a staged performance was about to begin. This time they planned to do it right. Linda Elchak of NAO Dance then took over the rehearsal getting two large groups formed. This was the second rehearsal so most people quickly took their places. New arrivals were instructed where to line up.

I love the music they choose for these flash mobs, it is fun to sketch to. My favorite moment in rehearsal came when a group of about 20 retirees took center stage and shook their booties to Whoop There It Is! All the younger performers cheered and whooped. The youngest performer was the nephew of Linda Stewart and he held his own keeping up with the best dancers. Enthusiasm and a lust for life has no age limit. I decided not to publish the sketch prior to the Flash to keep the performance top secret. At one point Linda said, “Don’t go past the grid, you will fall into the water.” At that point I assumed they would perform at Lake Eola. I had to work during the time the Flash Mob happened. In hind sight it would have been an impossible sketching situation. If you went to Spring Fiesta at Lake Eola at the right time then you got to experience a high energy treat!

Flash! At Parliament House

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On the day of the FLASH MOB at the Mall at Millenia, dancers were invited to give an encore performance of their dance moves at the Parliament House. Admission is usual $10 but Flash Mob participants could get in free for the night. Terry had danced in the Flash Mob and she was excited to have this second “gig”. It was 80’s night. The place was filled with images from 1980’s early video games. The bartender I decided to draw was wearing a Super Mario Brothers style hot as he checked out Facebook on his iPhone. This back room bar was probably the quietest spot in the club. The throbbing 80’s beat still set me cokes surface to vibrate. Lightning kept changing from green to red and back making color choices in the painting a challenge.

Terry had remained behind near the dance floor waiting for her moment to once again strut her stuff. with all that was going on, no one noticed me sketching. Two other bartenders were dressed as big blue Smurfs. Pac Man images were everywhere.This was my first time at the Parliament House in the evening and it was a wild eye opening experience. There was such a cross section of humanity, from cross dressers, gays, lesbians, straight, young and old you name it. It was a sketch artists paradise.

The Flash Mob was reenacted right on cue. Everyone went wild and joined in the on the dance floor. It was like an electroshock jolt that set the dance floor ablaze. The disco ball spun and neon rippled out from the ceilings center. Smoke filled the space making shafts of light visible as they cut through the air. When the dance was complete, I was just finishing up my sketch. Terry and I both decided to head home. There was a huge line of people waiting to get in as we left. The evening was just getting started and I suspect things were about to get unhinged. I have heard that the Parliament House is having financial troubles and might close soon. That is hard to believe since there was such an amazing crowd. It would be a real shame if the place closed since it is the closest thing to the Moulin Rouge that Orlando has.

Mob at the Mall

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Call time for Flash Mob participants was at 12 noon on Saturday January 29th. The Flash Mob itself was scheduled to start at 2 pm.Terry and I arrived at the mall at noon and entered through Bloomingdale’s. The first thing I saw was a bright pink short on a mannequin that said,”Mall Princess”. Before we got to the central Grand Court, Terry insisted I meet the sales women at Cole Haan. Terry is on a first name basis with the sales staff and they started talking about hair styling. I was in agony wanting to start my sketch. After leaving the store Terry met a Facebook friend and she joked about how difficult it is to get me to the mall. The woman pointed out that her boyfriend loved shopping for her at the mall. Groan…

Finally I got to the spot where I wanted to set up and sketch. It was now roped off for the video camera crews. A mall security guard named Tom was watching the roped off area and I explained that I planned to sketch. He was fine with that, and he let me duck under. Having already sketched the Flash Mob rehearsal from this angle, I decided to do a sketch on the digital tablet. I am still adjusting to sketching on glass, but one feature I like is the ability to keep enlarging the canvas. I kept enlarging the canvas to take in more of the mall architecture.

About 5 times people approached me and asked if I was Thor. I had shared my last sketch on the Flash Mob event page and the volunteer dancers really seemed to appreciate what I was doing. The entire hour leading up to the performance, people gathered around the circular staging area waiting for something to happen. In this age of social networking, word had spread fast. In videos I had seen of Flash mobs in other cities, it seemed like people were caught off guard, the flash mob seeming to happen spontaneously. Here in Orlando that element of surprise was lost. I had only moments to sketch the actual performance. When the performers melted back into the crowd, I kept working trying to capture the energy unleashed.

Flash Mob!

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Terry decided to join me on a trip to the Mall at Millenia to experience and dance along with the Flash Mob. When we arrived after having a nice dinner at Crave, she insisted on walking from the parking lot, through Needless Markup. The Fresh mob was going to happen in the heart of the mall, a circular central area known as the Grand Court. I circled around on the upper level till I decided on this spot as the best vantage point to sketch from. My instinct was correct since the performance was staged facing in this direction. I started sketching the space and people wandering the sidelines, while Terry wandered off to shop.

When everybody assembled, Linda Elchak, the choreographer, stood on one of the cushioned couches and she shouted for everyone to find their personal space. My own personal space got a bit crowded when a couple set up chairs right beside me and then ignored what was gong on and yacked the whole time. Luckily once the music was fired up their conversation was drowned out. In the center of the court an acapella singing group began to perform. Then from the sidelines a crowd of people filled the circular space. The music shouted out, “I can see clearly now, the rain is gone.” I spotted Terry. She had joined the crowd and was picking on the dance moves fast.

Everyone raised their hands in the at and shouted out. “I had the time of my life!”People were jumping in place doing jumping jacks and executing a wave from east to west. The entire court was set up like a giant compass and people in separate quadrants often had their own moves to work on. After the performance was over, Linda shouted down to a young woman who had given a particularly expressive and emotional performance. “You! Can I talk to you after?” Who knows, perhaps a star was discovered.

The Flash Mob is happening today at 2pm in the Mall at Millenia. I plan to just enjoy the experience and leave the video cameras to document this high energy historic event. Come on out! You’ll have the time of your life!

Flash Mob Rehearsal

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Thanks to Facebook I found out that there was going to be a flash mob event right here in Orlando. If you are unfamiliar with Flash Mobs, it basically has people spontaneously break into dance in a public place. There were going to be a few rehearsals for the core group of dancers on the week leading up to the event. I contacted Nao Dance Collective choreographer, Linda Elchak, for details and she invited me to Studio K (12211 Regency Village Drive) to sketch the dancers rehearsing. On the day I went to sketch it was pouring outside. The drive down to the dance studio was treacherous. It was like driving through a waterfall for half an hour. When my truck hit a deep puddle the steering wheel would jerk right, due to the sudden friction. Bright blinding flashes of lightning illuminated the windshield and the wipers could not keep up. High winds kept buffeting the truck. I drove more by instinct rather than sight. My cell phone lit up and I glanced at a text from Terry, “Waiting for the storm to blow over, hope you are safe inside too.” The truck hit a deep puddle and I dropped the phone, grabbing the steering wheel to correct.

The dance studio was out in the middle of nowhere down by Disney. I drove till the street ended with some barricades and then I back tracked. I lucked upon the dance studio, which was a warm inviting beacon in the storm. Stepping out of the truck I was sure my tiny portable umbrella would catch a lightning bolt. I ran to the dance studio and stepped inside shaking off the damp and cold. Linda welcomed me immediately and I felt at home. Dancer, Michael Sloan who I have sketched before with DRIP Dance company, also shook my hand. In the dance studio lobby, maybe 30 or so dancers were gathered. I imagined some might have come from the theme parks and some people just answered the call to dance just this once in a public place. Inside the dance studio a ballroom dance lesson was just finishing up. I suddenly realized I would need my stool so I dashed back out into the rain to get it. When I got back the core group was inside assembling for the dance.

A techno version of “The Sun will come out Tomorrow” began to play and the dancers elegantly raised one arm then another as their walked to their marks. An announcer said, “welcome to Orlando.” The dance moves were energetic and aerobic. All the moves were straight forward and simple so many people could follow the dance when it gained mass. I followed the movements of the dancer in the green shirt. She didn’t just follow the movements, she managed to give meaning to each move and had that extra elusive spark of energy. I saw Linda acknowledge her and soon Linda was shouting at the top of her lungs, “Come on people! Work it! Show me what you got!” The dancers were jumping up and down in place with their hands in the air as the music switched DJ style to “Let the Sun Shine In!” Now everyone was moving with high energy, clapping high, clapping low. I was tapping my feet to the beat fully enjoying the performance, a fantastic energy to sketch too. By the end everyone was flush as they mingled and once again melted into the side lines.

When the heat and bustle of the rehearsal was over, I bundled up and went back outside to the real world to face the storm. There is one more rehearsal tonight at 9 pm at the Mall at Millenia . The Flash Mob is happening tomorrow January 29th at noon in the Mall at Millenia (4200 Conroy Road). I’ll be there sketching and who knows, I might just bust a move.