KOCHI: Every year, to kick off World Kindness Week, Life Vest Inside, a New York-based non-profit organisation, holds ‘Dance for Kindness’, a worldwide freezmob/flashmob during which groups from all across the globe unite under the banner of kindness and join together to perform to the same song, same dance, all happening on the same day.
This year for the very first time, Kochiities too danced for kindness.
‘Dance for Kindness’ is aimed at building awareness on World Kindness Day which falls on November 13. The purpose of World Kindness Day is to look beyond ourselves - beyond the boundaries of our country, beyond our culture, our race, our religion and realise that we are citizens of the world and that kindness is a common thread that unites us all.
This year, as many as 90 locations across the globe unanimously danced for kindness on November 9. From New York to Melbourne, Brazil to England, Canada to India, all countries came together in the name of kindness. In India, several locations both big cities as well as small towns, including Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kadapa and Bareilly participated.
Asha Cherian, based in Kochi, says: “ I have been a Kindness Ambassador at Life Vest Inside for over a year now. I was introduced to Life Vest Inside last year when I registered as a dancer for the flash mob in Mumbai. Unfortunately, I missed the event since I was in Kochi at the time of the dance. So, this year since I was back in Kochi and decided to take up organising the event for the very first time in Kochi by registering myself as the Group Leader.”
“Since the event is aimed at creating awareness of a simple but great cause such as kindness and since the medium was dance in its most exciting form - Flash mob, I was able to get the necessary support from various organisations without much trouble,” she added.
Lulu mall, Kochi’s biggest hub where Kochi comes to unwind on weekends, was the event location partner. The Floor Dance Studio, Panampilly Nagar, was the dance partner for the event. Arunima Gupta and Maria Roy encouraged their students to be a part of the event. They were supportive in conducting rehearsals and preparing their students for the flash mob.
“ With a great deal of help from friends and friends of friends, we put up a great show to spread awareness on World Kindness Week with over 40 participants dancing amidst the huge crowd of spectators that gathered at the Lulu atrium to witness Kochi’s first ever Dance for Kindness Freeze mob and Flash mob,” adds Asha.
Other than conducting the flashmob the group also handed out 100 cards and flowers to the audience to brighten the smiles on their faces. The group also plans to start a Facebook page that can be used to share stories.
Life Vest Inside is a non-profit organisation based in New York on a mission to empower and unite the world with kindness, set out to effect global change through inspirational media, technology, education, and on-ground social engagement.