By Max Davies
Wallan’s Wellington Square was last week the setting for a surprise flash mob performed by students from a community dance school as part of Youth Fest 2022.
Held by RPA Studios with support from OKR FM and Benjamin Gregory with BGGROUPAU, the flash mob featured a group of students aged nine to 16 who performed a hip-hop inspired dance routine for the Wallan public last Friday.
RPA Studios last held a flash mob at Wellington Square in 2018, with one student from that performance also dancing this year.
RPA Studios founder and principal Rhiannon Johnson said Friday’s performance was refreshing for students who could not perform in recent years.
“This was a great opportunity for the kids, especially after a good few years of not being able to get out amongst people and perform,” she said.
“They’ve been really excited about it, they’ve worked really hard and I think things like this are fantastic for the young performers.”
Ms Johnson said the flash mob was also a way to remind people that the performing arts were an option for kids.
“Often the performing arts are forgotten because football and sports always come first for a lot of people,” she said.
“But a lot of children dance, and a lot of children perform, that’s their thing so it’s good to get out and do it.”
RPA Studios was established in Kilmore in 2002 and has since expanded to Craigieburn and Beveridge, with a new branch set to open in Kalkallo next month.
The studio is aimed at providing performing arts tuition for children and adults who live outside of metropolitan Melbourne, with dance competitions available for interested students alongside regular events and activities.
Teacher Joshua Pagram said the flash mob was a way for the school’s students to get back into performing in public in a more casual setting after COVID-19.
“This was a really good experience for the kids in getting them out, introducing them back to performing without making it overwhelming or too hectic,” he said.
“This was just a bit of fun for them and they enjoyed it.”
Mr Pagram said it was rewarding to be able to see the improvement of the students during their time with the studio.
“The most rewarding thing is watching these kids that we’ve had for such a long time mature and grow with the studio with the studio as it’s happened,” he said.
Ms Johnson hopes RPA Studios will continue to be able to hold public performances such as flash mobs in the future as the studio continues to grow in the Mitchell Shire and the City of Hume.
