Silent Boston Dance Experiment

The organizers of the Boston Silent Dance Experiment can extol the artistic virtues of urban fun and collective improv performance to Bostonist, but this was merely 13 minutes of subversive bliss to most of the 300+ silent dancers that converged on Faneuil Hall this past Saturday afternoon.

Unlike most clubs, everyone was anxious to join the nearest awkward stranger in the synchronized yet messy groove that ensued. Although the participants had very "flexible" definitions of the beginning of 1:00 pm, all muddled through with aplomb. Some of the timing could be faked and had impressive effect for participant and viewer alike, but the various pointing directions looked messy and chaotic.

In the end, it was exactly what dancing should be -- a celebration of life and community no matter how bad everyone dances. (Bostonist can be seen in a short YouTube clip looking goofy in a Red Sox cap.) Unlike the overcrowded and more disorganized Pantless T Ride, the unsuspecting observers seemed far more perplexed and bemused.

More video and photo links can be found at this blog, and instructions to recreate your own Silent Dance Experiment can be found at another blog.

Dance-dance photo-photo courtesy of Flickr user steinchester.