September 16, 2012

Cornell’s Got “Gangnam Style”: Flash Mob Performs on Ho Plaza

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Many Cornell students hurrying between their classes on Friday were treated to an elaborate flash mob in the middle of Ho Plaza. The event, organized by BreakFree Hip Hop Crew, featured over 100 people dancing along to “Gangnam Style” by South Korean rapper PSY.

The group, which does a flash mob every year, chose the song because the dance was fun and “didn’t seem that difficult,” according to Alan Liang ’13, vice president of creative design for BreakFree.

“One thing from our experience is that you can’t have something that’s too difficult,” Liang said. “Otherwise no one will want to do it.”

The flash mob featured BreakFree’s crew members, which number about 20, plus others that had trained with the group during a three-hour training session on September 8. The dance sparked such great interest among students that the group had to move the training from Willard Straight Hall to Barton Hall, Liang said.

While BreakFree didn’t plan on telling the Cornell community about the flash mob in advance, many students found out after seeing a Facebook event the group had sent out to their friends announcing the dance.

“When we posted [the event] we invited our friends, and they invited their friends, and so on,” Liang said.

“Gangnam Style” has quickly become a worldwide sensation since its release on July 15, with the official music video garnering over 188 million views on YouTube as of Sunday. Just in the past week, PSY has performed his hit song on Saturday Night Live, the Today Show, and Ellen.

BreakFree president Flora Baik ’13 said that the flash mobs are one way the group tries to promote dance and hip hop culture at Cornell.

“Flash mobs are a great way to involve the whole community,” Baik said.

Check out BreakFree’s performance below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWetGqX9uFc

Update: Here’s the flash mob’s “official” video by OhhhDFilms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY3BtQ0stNA

Original Author: David Marten