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IQALUIT
On a busy Monday afternoon at Iqaluit airport, most people were waiting for flights, friends, or baggage. Some were waiting to bust a move.

Dancers in a flashmob, right, took over the Iqaluit airport terminal April 16. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

"We just walked in, and they were dancing," said Kyra Flaherty, who arrived at the airport in the midst of a flashmob on April 16. "It was really random, but cool."

"This is Iqaluit's first flashmob," said dance instructor Radha Jetty, who organized the event with Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory. "We wanted to bring people from all different walks of life, different cultures and age groups, and just get people coming together with dance."

That's what motivated her friend Rian Van Bruggen to participate.

"It's just a fun little activity to do, and it was great to get a group together who just wanted to have fun together and have a little surprise for the people here at the airport," Van Bruggen said. "It's a nice welcoming for people coming in, too."

The surprise event happened on a busy day for the airport, as many passengers were arriving for the Nunavut Mining Symposium and others were leaving after Toonik Tyme celebrations.

"We had to look for the most crowded place in the middle of the day, and that's obviously here (at the airport)," Williamson Bathory said.

Just after 12:25 p.m., the song Jai Ho – from the film Slumdog Millionaire – replaced boarding announcements on the airport's public address system. Despite the packed terminal, more than 30 dancers separated into three groups found space to surprise the crowd.

"I had no idea they were doing it, but I thought it was quite entertaining and something different," said Kelly Townson, a cleaner at the airport. Townson has seen such flashmob events on YouTube, "but not here in Iqaluit. Couldn't have picked a better time – busy spot."

She said she'd be interested in taking part in another flashmob if she ever gets the chance. So would Papatsie Rojas, who practised the moves but wasn't able to get a cab to bring her to the airport on time.

"I was supposed to be part of it," Rojas said. "I showed up and I'm looking around to get in my place, but I asked her (Kyra Flaherty) if anything weird happened, and she said, 'yeah, people just started dancing.'

The stunt took months to put together, and the group had four rehearsals. They also made a video of the moves so participants could practise at home.

"I gave a Bollywood workshop a few months ago, and this is the piece we did at the time," Jetty said. "People loved it and it was easy to learn. Anyone could pick it up, so we decided to go with the same choreography."

After all that work, she said it was worth every second.

"It was great to see people looking at us initially confused, and then laughing as they thought it was great that we decided to break out into dance in the middle of the airport," Jetty said.

Jetty wouldn't confirm whether she will organize another flashmob – "That will be a secret."

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