"Sound Of Music" Train Station Dance: Why Is It So Popular? (VIDEO)

A video of almost 200 people taking over Antwerpen's Centraal Station in Belgium and doing a carefully choreographed dance to the Do Re Mi song (aka Maria's Dance aka Maria's Song) from "Sound of Music" has garnered almost a million views on YouTube, and continues to grow, sprouting a new round of google trends today.

People like viral videos, they like flash mobs, and they like weird junk on the Internet, but this video has struck an especially emotional chord with those who've watched it. The folks at Shallow Nation called it a "sheer joy to watch"; Dancer Universe blog chirped, "How could you not smile for hours? I'm smiling now just typing this!"; and Salon.com's Table Talk offered this to the discussion:

"The dancers are presenting the purest form of art imaginable: art simply and truly for the sake of art...They managed to punch right through my cynicism and show me that good things are still out there and there are good people in the world...In a small way, I have a deeper understanding of what it is to be human because of the actions of 200 fellow humans in a train station in Belgium."

It's a publicity stunt for a reality show, but that doesn't seem to bother anyone, they just like it for what it is: a really cool, well shot video, that lets average people express their joy and talent and make those around them happy for a brief period. The producers chose the exact right song: one that harkens back to our childhoods, but also recalls Maria's unabashed upbeatness in the face of evil. We're in a global economic crisis, America's fighting two wars, there's genocide in Darfur, AIDs running rampant, and a pretty good shot that we could all be killed by bird flu in a year or two. We need this video.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[JamesSB]

They probably got the idea from the T-Mobile Dance in Liverpool Station:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM&feature=related

which in turn probably got their idea from this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo&feature=related

[maggiewilliams]

I hope that was done in the morning; what a great way to start your day huh?

Maggie
http://maggiewilliams.wordpress.com

[keylawk]

Thanks for bringing it to the Huggingtown Post, Alex. "... harkens back to our childhoods, but also recalls Maria's unabashed upbeatness in the face of evil...". We pity the victims of evil, but the evil-doers, we pity more. Bad guys fool no one but themselves.

[jeliz]

Where do they get all these performers? GarethHarris is right. We remember having fun when we see these videos, and wouldn't we all like to be dancing?

[dm10003]

this is way too clever, humorous, and gay for american rightwing teapartiers to come anywhere near.

[Diogenis]

because Americans are anal !

[Colorado127]

Im american and Im gay, maybe thats why i like it so much!

[levibatgirl]

I love this kind of stuff!

I imagine rushing through the day trying to get to where you're going and then suddenly seeing this.
It would put a smile on your face for the rest of the day.

[upbeatdem]

You are so right! Although I have never seen anything on this scale, the street musicians who pop up downtown in my city put a smile on my face. They might be good or bad, but they take you away from the feeling of a "daily grind" existence that is typical of commuting. I loved this video!

[AddictedToHope]

Still watching after all these days. Never gets old.

Found the web site for the station that produced the event. They have the original video without the YouTube compression. Much sharper - even holds up in full screen.

http://www.vtm.be/mariadans/kijkfilmpje.html

There's also a "Making Of", that will dispel any "spontaneous" doubts. I don't think flash mobs have craft services. Doesn't change the results, maybe even appreciate more what it took to bring it off. One problem - No subtitles. Not really a lot translate, mostly comments by spectators.

http://www.vtm.be/mariadans/makingof.html

[aem24]

Flash mobs are apparently all the rage. My friends and I staged one for a collaborative project for an undergrad class about a month ago, and before that project I had never even heard of flash mobs. Since then, however, I cant STOP hearing about them. Flash mob videos (like this one) are going viral on YouTube, my university is trying to organize a school-wide choreographed dance on the last day of classes, and friends are emailing me with links saying "check out this awesome video!" That is how I came across this post, which makes me wonder, are flash mobs the new "in" thing to do? Is that why this video is so popular? Just for the same unknown reasons that any fad becomes popular?

I must say, as a flash mob participan­t/organize­r myself, what everyone is saying here about them being genuine fun is very true. Ours was small and clearly amateur, but nonetheless we all had a GREAT time doing it. Check out our video, maybe you"ll be inspired to try one of your own:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Zindxp3UI

[aem24]

Flash mobs are apparently all the rage. My friends and I staged one for a collaborative project for an undergrad class about a month ago, and before that project I had never even heard of flash mobs. Since then, however, I cant STOP hearing about them. Flash mob videos (like this one) are going viral on YouTube, my university is trying to organize a school-wide choreographed dance on the last day of classes, and friends are emailing me with links saying “check out this awesome video!” That is how I came across this post, which makes me wonder, are flash mobs the new “in” thing to do? Is that why this video is so popular? Just for the same unknown reasons that any fad becomes popular?

I must say, as a flash mob participan­t/organize­r myself, what everyone is saying here about them being genuine fun is very true. Ours was small and clearly amateur, but nonetheless we all had a GREAT time doing it. Check out our video, maybe you’ll be inspired to try one of your own:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Zindxp3UI

[Wordwoman]

It's fun to watch and yet this whole thing makes me a little sad. The emotional response people are having comes from the fantasy that this is communal and spontaneous. Yet it is not. This is no secret -- Google it. It's completely rehearsed and choreographed. These are not ordinary commuters caught up in the joy of the moment and no, that doesn't take away from the fact that they are talented dancers having fun, as most performers do. But it's a SHOW. It's entertainment for consumption by passive watchers. We cry because this touches our longing for our community, but doesn't that longing deserve to be satisfied by something other than clicking on YouTube?

[AddictedToHope]

I don't think too many believe this is spontaneous.

It's just the pure joy and energy of song and dance washing over the people fortunate enough to have been there.

Rehearsed or not, if it doesn't move you, you dropped a chromosome somewhere.

People have been dancing probably since before they had a fire to dance around.

The fact that it's a publicity demo for a reality show is no problem. In fact, if that's their reality,
I like it a WHOLE lot better.

[Pursuance]

The hills are aliveee . . . . . with the sounds of Griswolds.

[belikejeanvaljean]

There's an innocent joyfulness about it. People of all ages can watch and enjoy it. There isn't too much entertainment these days that fits into those categories.

[ilpostino]

crazy belgians...

[danzbassman]

Advert or not that is pretty freaking awesome. Like the Grand Central "freeze" its just great to see people doing creative things in public spaces. I love it.

[Name Not In Use]

Unexpected things happen.

I hear the entire financial community is going to announce that the "economic crisis" was just a prank.

"We're putting all the numbers back where they were two years ago!

Nothing real has changed. It was all a prank!"

Even Madoff was in on it! Here's your money! I had it all along!