This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 24, 2012 - It started out with an urge to dance again, as I had as a child, and later, to temper the stress of raising three children.
By the time they were grown, I’d traded my dance shoes and piqué turns for sneakers and an elliptical machine. Then, last summer, I found STL Flashmob’s website and its more than 1,000 members.
When I saw the group would learn Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” routine, I knew tattered clothes and monster makeup were in my future. That I had to drive 45 minutes in rush hour traffic from the Tower Grove Park area to Maryland Heights to practice on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons would not deter me.
Since I was making the trip, I thought I might as well go an hour early and learn the “Evolution of Line Dance” routine the group would perform at the Taste of St. Louis. Running late, I slipped into a familiar Electric Slide. The Hustle came back in a rush of disco ball-infused body memories.
But it was “Thriller” that thrilled me. From the first 24 counts, I knew that I’d hit the sweet spot of just the right degree of difficulty.
I came home exhausted and elated, thanks to this guy with two names: Harry Sneed aka Speeg Met. As the weeks wore on, I became increasingly grateful to this man who dedicated many hours every week to patiently going over -- and over -- the same steps, always with a big grin and exclamations of “You guys rock!” even when we didn’t.
'Z Day': Out of the grave and onto the floor
As our first gig, crashing a Lemp Mansion wedding Oct. 19, drew near, I purchased a zombie-face kit at Walgreens and rifled through old duds for something to shred and smear with fake blood.
That night, a fresh-from-the-grave Snow White, police officer, goalie, three zombie brides and an assortment of other ghoulish creatures gathered in a back room at O’Malley’s Irish Pub before walking across the street and climbing up stairs to the reception area.
Guests gasped and grabbed their cameras as we lurched through the packed celebration. As the intro music scratched into our consciousness, some 75 monsters oriented themselves to face in either direction of Harry, now a mortally wounded Captain America, and the crowd delightedly realized we were going to perform the M.J. classic.
Cameras flashed as we began: “Jerk head one, walk two, three, four, jerk head five, walk six, jerk head seven, walk eight. Ride the horse, two, look down three, look down four, look forward five, six, seven, eight. Now swim, head back one, two ... .”
Basking in their amazement while remaining in character, we limped out, down the stairs and onto the street where someone shouted, “You guys rock!” “Let’s dance in the street!” Harry responded and we counted out our steps without music and then marched back to O’Malley’s for a second street performance, blocking the less-than-thrilled driver and passengers of a Metrobus.
The next night took us to The Darkness haunted house in Soulard, where KSDK-TV and numerous other photographers captured our horrifically hip moves. Next, we performed at the Casa Loma ballroom, then caravanned to Mile 277 club in South County. There, Harry hastily arranged our fourth performance of the night, a wedding reception in the adjoining motel.
I can’t reveal where the ‘Thriller’ flashmob will be this coming Saturday night but let’s just say we’ll be walking among our own kind. After that, one more wedding reception awaits our dance of the dead before we wistfully crawl back into our coffins until next year.
I can hardly wait. Halloween has become my favorite holiday.
