Flash mob dancing is a growing global phenomenon, but little, if not nothing, has been heard of it in Kuching. Until last Saturday that is, at The Spring, when over 200 members of the Limkokwing Borneo staff and student body randomly ‘popped’ out of nowhere, as they performed a series of choreographed dance moves to an amazed crowd of weekend shoppers.

It was not an entirely random performance however, as this event was organized to show Limkokwing Borneo’s support for the Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society’s (SCCS) ‘Go Bald-er’ fund raising campaign and if you happened to be one of the many shoppers or drivers, chances are you are witnessing after a rather spontaneous and rare musical performance put on by the members of the Limkokwing Borneo family. Performers were disguised as ordinary passers-by or shoppers when suddenly, other “performers” joined in and the group got larger and larger filling up an entire corner of the shopping complex.

This was the first time ever in Kuching that a Flash Mob Dance was performed. Flash Mob Dance is a choreographed routine of different dance moves to a medley of various genres of music. Limkokwing’s particular brand of music ranged from modern hip-hop to the traditional joget as well as the ever popular Indonesian poco-poco and the native African ‘Madan’.

It was not long before that it seemed as if all the “shoppers” were dancing in unison, making it an amazing spectacle if the shouts and whistles of encouragement were anything to go by.

At one point, the flash mob group cheered as it seemed they had ended their routine after ‘Joget Malaysia’ leaving the crowd thinking that they were done with their performance. All of a sudden, the Flash Mob dancers took off their outer jackets to reveal the Limkokwing Borneo t-shirts that they had inside before starting off again with ‘Crank That (Soulja Boy)’, leaving the crowd cheering as they continued to watch the entire group moving in unison to the music.

The cheers from the crowd roared when the familiar tune of Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ began playing as the Limkokwing Flash Mobbers danced the trademark MJ moves before ending the whole performance with ‘I’ve Gotta Feeling’.

This rare performance was staged to celebrate youth expression, creativity and spontaneity in the spirit of fun. Expressions of shock and amusement were written on the many faces of passers-by and onlookers that they were drawn into a spontaneous musical performance that started and ended within a blink of an eye that left the crowd dazed. Needless to say, the Flash Mob Dance was a success judging by the intense reaction from everyone.

“We hope to encourage more and more of these types of performances by our students as we see it as an opportunity to let our students explore their creativity,” said Salleh Mohiddin, a Limkokwing lecturer who was also involved in the Flash Mob Dance. “At Limkokwing, we want our students to know that there is nothing intimidating about starting a new trend, or trying out new things. What’s important is that they step up to the challenge and make the impossible possible.”

The entire Limkokwing Borneo family volunteered to perform the flash mob dance performance as part of their contribution to the SCCS ‘Go Bald-er’ awareness drive. This campaign aims at educating the public on children’s cancer and the effects of chemotherapy on all cancer patients as well as to ask the public to show their support and to cast aside the common perception that being bald equates ugliness.

“Being in the flash mob is great as not only are we starting a new trend in Kuching, we are actually contributing to charity!” said Liew Gia Ler, a Foundation in Design student. “We are having fun while doing something meaningful, so that’s really fantastic.”

Toby Michael, a Diploma in Architecture student from Nigeria shared similar sentiments as he gyrated enthusiastically to the music. “Dance has always been a form of expression to me and I was really thrilled to be able to participate in the flash mob.” 

“It’s really amazing what a group of people can do when they set their minds to it, and the effect that it can have on others is really mind-blowing,” said Sally Choi, a Mass Communications student from Korea. “We really caught everyone by surprise and listening to all of them cheer us on as we danced was just exhilarating. The fact that we are doing this for charity is definitely an added bonus. I’d like to thank Limkokwing for always encouraging us and giving us the opportunity to express ourselves creatively,” she added.

Limkokwing Borneo fully supports any charitable organizations and this is just one of the many community activities carried out by Limkokwing staff and students who aim to foster a sense of care and responsibility towards the community.