Do you remember the first time you saw the Eiffel Tower? What if when you saw a monument you had to stop, drop and start performing? For Pennsylvanian duo Jon and Payton they did just that at the Colosseum in Rome, overlooking the city of Florence, at the top of a mountain in Switzerland, and outside the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
And the best bit? They got their entire Contiki group involved, resulting in a flash mob of epic proportions.
Payton and Jon joined their European Discovery, lead by amazing Trip Manager Nic Cladakis, and as they started sharing info about themselves with the other travellers (as is the customary way to get to know people), the group learned about their musical theatre and performance background. That’s when the idea was born. “Nic jokingly suggested we put together a flash mob, so we took him up on the offer” Payton says.
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With a number of theatrical productions and choreographed routines under their belt they sat down and mapped out the epic dance that would take them across Europe. “On our night in Venice, we choreographed the dance and sent it to our group with step by step instructions. The following day, we rehearsed the dance on the bus and at the hotel to make sure everyone knew the steps.” Then it was show time…
Amazing right?! Five’s banger ‘Everybody Get Up’ was the group’s ‘wake up’ song and Jon and Payton praised Nic’s choice and ability to get the bus pumping. Little did he know it would become the track that stopped Europe!
“One of our favourite things about Nic was how he made the bus ride so fun. Every morning we started with our trip song, and whenever we arrived at a new location, he would blast the “wake up song”. It was the perfect way to get everyone awake with the guitar blaring and the lyrics “everybody get up”. It became an inside joke on the trip, so we knew it would be perfect for the flash mob.”
While not everyone feels the funky monkey groove, Jon and Payton said they were blown away by how much everyone wanted to get into it. “We were so excited about how willing everyone was to learn the dance and join in the fun” they explained, “It was so funny to see how serious everyone was about rehearsing and getting the steps right.”
With any flash mob you can expect passers by to take notice (kinda hard not to after all) and we asked them if they had any funny moments because of it. “We had several people clapping, stopping, staring, and taking photos and videos” Payton revealed, “We even had people join in who were not on the tour. You can even see them in some of the video clips!”
Of course it wasn’t just the flash mob that made the trip unforgettable, Jon and Payton say it was more than that… “It was truly a once and a lifetime adventure through Europe that we will never forget. The tour lives up to its name of European Discovery, as we got a taste of several countries and cities and their cultures. We also made countless friends and memories along the way. We cannot wait for our next Contiki!”
A Contiki experience unlike any other, but will the flash mob return for their next trip? Watch this space…
