In Victoria, Canada, members of the Saanich Police Department decided to take a unique approach to community outreach one May.
This idea quickly took shape as twenty-one officers joined forces with 100 students from Spectrum Community School’s dance program to create an unforgettable flash mob performance.
The song of choice for this lively event? None other than Bruno Mars’ hit, “Uptown Funk.”
The aim of this initiative, according to a press release from the Saanich Police Department, was to “create a special relationship between students and police.”
The event allowed officers and students to engage in a fun and light-hearted way, laughing and working together toward the shared goal of performing in public.
To prepare for the flash mob, the officers attended dance classes alongside the students, practicing in their own time.
Spectrum Community School’s dance teacher, Lia Shannon, played a pivotal role in the preparation, choreographing the routine and guiding both the students and the officers through the steps.
Her efforts were later recognized when she was awarded the Chief Constable’s Citizenship Award.
Reflecting on the recognition, Shannon told Victoria News,
“It was truly such a surprise, I had no idea that award existed even. I was so honoured and delighted to receive it.”
The dance routine was professionally recorded by Roll Focus Productions and has since garnered tons of views on YouTube.
This success shows the hard work and dedication of all involved, particularly given the short timeline they had to prepare.
Shannon revealed that the entire routine was put together in just four days, with her dancers practicing diligently throughout that period to perfect their moves.
On the day of the event, May 4th, the performance began with Shannon’s advanced dancers initiating the routine.
As the crowd watched, the remaining dancers joined in, followed by the officers, who initially acted as if they were just part of the onlookers.
This element of surprise captivated the audience and added an extra layer of excitement to the performance.
“My advanced dancers start it and then I had the rest of my dancers come in, so I had about 100 dancers, and then the police are acting like, what’s going on. And then they come in and that’s when they surprise the crowd,” Shannon explained.
Interestingly, the idea for the flash mob didn’t originate with Shannon; it was actually proposed by Niki Sundher, a member of the Saanich Police’s community engagement division