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" Audiences usually know when they&amp;#039;re in for a show, but over the last few years a new type of impromptu performance has taken the world by storm: flash mobs, in which groups of people congregate in public places to perform seemingly random synchronized acts. In one instance, a horde of pants-less people boarded New York City subways. Another time, thousands simply stopped and stood frozen in Paris for five minutes before walking off without so much as an explanation. One thing each event has in common is that the lucky onlookers, who were just going about their business, had no idea that they were about to witness an unforgettable flash mob event.  Crowd Sourcing      In September 2010, the Black Eyed Peas joined forces with the audience of The Oprah Winfrey Show for a flash mob performance in the middle of Chicago&amp;#039;s Magnificent Mile. Bringing tears to the eyes of viewers and even Oprah herself (who didn&amp;#039;t know about the surprise routine), the choreographed crowd danced in sync to the band&amp;#039;s hit &amp;quot;I Gotta Feeling.&amp;quot; Self-Pantsing      In January 2010, Improv Everywhere held its 9th annual &amp;quot;No Pants! Subway Ride&amp;quot; in 44 cities around the world, with over 5,000 participants. During the event, 3,000 pants-less people in New York City alone boarded 100 different subway train cars for an innocent laugh at passengers&amp;#039; shocked reactions. Santa&amp;#039;s Helpers      In November 2009, OfficeMax set out to promote their &amp;quot;Elf Yourself&amp;quot; website with a huge flash mob in New York City&amp;#039;s Union Square. Hundreds of performers descended upon the park dressed in elf attire and danced to the beats of popular Christmas tunes, stunning their unsuspecting audience.  Perfect Parasols      In November 2009, in Vienna, Austria, a group of performers showed up at a square, all holding green umbrellas to promote MrGreen.com, an online casino.  They&amp;#039;re Bad      In July 2009, children in Montreal paid tribute to the King of Pop with a flash mob routine to the popular Jackson tune &amp;quot;Beat It.&amp;quot; This particular mob occurred at the Champ-de-Mars as part of a four-performance series that included the Place des Arts, Victoria Square and Place Jacques-Cartier.  The Station Is Alive with the Sound of\u2026      In March 2009, Antwerp, Belgium&amp;#039;s Central Station became an impromptu stage when 200 performers &amp;quot;spontaneously&amp;quot; broke into a choreographed dance routine to The Sound of Music&amp;#039;s classic &amp;quot;Do-Re-Mi.&amp;quot; Hoping to encourage locals to audition for a Belgian TV production of The Sound of Music, the group was able to stun onlookers for the entire four minutes.  Not Your Everyday Commute       In January 2009, 400 &amp;quot;commuters&amp;quot; in the middle of London&amp;#039;s Liverpool Street train station broke into a synchronized dance routine to a medley of pop songs that included &amp;quot;Shout!&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t Cha.&amp;quot; The dancers included London Underground workers, tourists and locals, who all came together to advertise for a T-Mobile campaign.  Keep it Moving      In November 2009, a group broke into dance in the middle of a crosswalk in Bergamo, Italy, to electro-pop band Nena and the Superyeahs&amp;#039; song &amp;quot;Jungle Drum.&amp;quot; Responding to the band&amp;#039;s post on Facebook, the group of 120 participants practiced twice a week for a month before their crowd-stopping show.  Red Light      Freeze flash mobs have become more and more popular because of the reaction they elicit from onlookers. In March 2008, 3,000 participants (in what was the world&amp;#039;s biggest freeze flash mob ever) stood frozen for up to five minutes in Paris before going on with their business, leaving tourists and passersby stunned as they tried to make sense of the event.  Mall Musical      Also in March 2008, Improv Everywhere produced this &amp;quot;Food Court Musical&amp;quot; in a Los Angeles mall. The 16 participants were given wireless microphones with access to the mall&amp;#039;s PA system so they could perform a song-and-dance number for shoppers, with hidden cameras strategically placed to capture the moment. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/videos/a2209/10-greatest-flash-mob-moments-114561/>