If there’s one thing we all love to do, it’s dancing. Most of us have been dancing since we were able to stand on our own feet. Just picture this: a baby swaying to music—adorable, right?
As we get older, dancing becomes something we enjoy doing with others. This was perfectly demonstrated in Victoria, Canada, during an extraordinary community outreach by the Saanich Police Department.
Students from Spectrum Community School’s dance program teamed up with 21 police officers to pull off an epic flash mob. In total, 121 participants rocked the performance.
The Police Department aimed to “forge a special relationship between students and police.” And boy, did they succeed! Everyone had a blast—laughing, dancing, and working together toward their common goal.
To prepare for the flash mob, officers attended dance classes and worked closely with the students—yes, on their own time. Talk about commitment!
Lia Shannon, the dance teacher at the community school, was instrumental in choreographing and training the dance troupe. Her stellar efforts earned her the Chief Constable’s Citizenship Award.
Shannon gushed, “It was such a surprise; I didn’t even know that award existed. I was so honored and delighted to receive it.”
The performance was professionally recorded by Roll Focus Productions. Since being uploaded to YouTube, it’s garnered an incredible number of views.
The big event happened on May 4. Advanced dancers kicked off the routine while the crowd watched in amazement. Soon, more dancers joined in, and then—surprise!—police officers posing as onlookers jumped into the act.
Shannon recalled, “My advanced dancers started it off, then the rest of my dancers joined in, so we had about 100 dancers out there. Finally, the police officers, who were pretending to be part of the audience, jumped in and wowed everyone.”
She was also taken aback by the dedication shown by the police officers. “I had them in my class—17 officers at a time,” she shared.
One officer, in particular, needed extra help. Shannon recounted, “He came in and practiced with me. I told him, this part is tough. But he was super earnest and said, ‘I’m going to nail this.’”
What started as a fun project turned into a meaningful experience for everyone involved. “The connections the kids made with the police officers are heartwarming. They’re now happy to see these officers around. It’s created a special bond,” Shannon noted.
You can watch the video for yourself here:
