2014 National Dance Week Dance Mob

This year’s National Dance Week will be Friday, April 25 through Sunday, May 4. The week will host contests, performances and activities for the whole family in locations across the U.S., all to celebrate dance and promote fun fitness.

For the third year, the National Dance Week Foundation (NDWF) will offer and promote a Dance Mob Contest, which encourages dance studios and independent dancers to stage an NDW-themed flash mob in their cities.

Instead of hosting a national Flash Mob event on just one day, NDWF has extended the annual Dance Mob throughout the entire week. This allows dancers, studios and companies to perform a dance mob at a time that better suits them.

NDWF, an organization that celebrates how dance is part of life and how it can be part of every person, encourages dancers in every city and town in the U.S. to “get up and dance!”

The Dance Mob choreography can be learned online. Choreographer Gregg Russell has created an accessible but challenging routine for dancers and non-dancers alike.

If all participants can learn and perform this choreography, it will further unite the dancers celebrating NDW all across the country. Dance Mobs can take place in shopping malls, train stations, grocery stores and other public locations throughout the week.

NDWF encourages dancers to rally their dance schools, troops and teams, and urge all their friends, family members and neighbors to participate. To find out how to get involved or to lead a dance mob in your area, visit www.nationaldanceweek.org/flash-mob.

Following the Dance Mobs, dancers can submit a video of their performance for a chance to win one of the five awards/titles – Most Votes, Most Unique Location, Most Creative, Most Participants or Best Spirit. Once the videos are posted, the public has the chance to vote on the best one. The video with the highest votes wins the Most Votes Award.

In recognition of National Dance Week, NDWF will also host an essay contest and poster contest. The essay contest is for 5th graders to high schoolers. Dancers can write an essay on why dance is important, either from a personal standpoint or a society-at-large standpoint. The entry deadline is April 14 and winners will be chosen during National Dance Week. One winner will receive a scholarship to attend a Joe Tremaine or Dance Olympus Dance Convention for them and their teacher. Runner-ups will win a $50 scholarship to be used at a dance studio.

Likewise, the deadline for the poster contest is also April 14. The contest asks dancers to submit their artistic vision for what dance looks like. Applicants can submit their work under one of four categories – elementary, junior high, high school/college and “Facebook.” The “Facebook” category allows the poster that receives the most “likes” on the NDWF page from April 1-14 to win. A prizewinner will be announced per each category. Winners will receive their winning poster printed on a canvas and t-shirt and will win a $50 gift certificate toward art classes, supplies or school art program.

For more information on National Dance Week, visit www.nationaldanceweek.org.

Photo (left): Soundsations Entertainment & Honey’s School of Dance performing at 2013 National Dance Week Festival. Photo courtesy of National Dance Week Foundation.