Dancing flash mobs are popping up around Albuquerque to prevent bullying

Dance may be the key in the fight against bullying if Albuquerque Public Schools, the University of New Mexico’s LGBTQ Resource Center and Keshet Dance Company have their way with their “Don’t Just Stand There: Stop Bullying Now!” campaign.

This after bullying received national attention when several bullying-incited suicides in late 2010 made national news. Locally, according to the 2009 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resilience Survey , 19.5 percent of high school students reported being bullied on school grounds. It was higher for middle school students at 31.2 percent.

May Sagbakken, the program manager for the APS Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, came up with the idea for the flash mobs after a visit to her native Norway, where her nieces and nephews showed her videos of flash mobs across Europe. It was a great way to engage kids in a prevention campaign, she said.

[+] Click HERE for slideshow w/audio By Andrea Salazar Students, staff and community members joined in the fight against bullying with a dance number to Ozmatli's "Como Ves" on April 8 outside UNM's Student Union Building

With the idea for the flash mobs, Sagbakken approached Erin Crawley-Woods, the outreach coordinator at Keshet Dance Company, to join in the effort by choreographing the dance for the flash mob.

“We kept it simple, repetitive and with basic level and directional changes so that people could learn it quickly, remember it easily, and feel good about performing it even if they had never danced before,” Crawley-Woods said.

The dance is set to Ozomatli’s “Como Ves,” an upbeat song with a hip-hop and Latin fusion by a band known for its social activism.

Some might say dancing won’t stop bullying, but to Sagbakken it’s important that bullying prevention is receiving attention.

“Just the other day I gave 700 bracelets to one of the elementary schools, and they’re going to do a gigantic flash mob,” she said. “I think when you do that and the kids get their bracelets on, there’s an impact because they feel like we’re doing something. A lot of kids and a lot of parents do not feel like anything is being done.”

Sagbakken understands that one campaign won’t fix the issue. The community taskforce that has come out of the initiative among Bernalillo County, the city of Albuquerque, APS, UNM and Keshet, however, could have a long-term effect in the community.

After all, the “Don’t Just Stand There: Stop Bullying Now!” campaign was supposed to end at the end of April, but with more schools signing on to participate in flash mobs, there are now events through the month of May. The performances at the Albuquerque Zoo on April 30 and at Cliff’s Amusement Park on May 1 will be filmed for the web. Everyone is welcome to participate.

“Bullying prevention isn't just about bullies and those who are bullied,” said Crawley-Woods, “It's about everyone who witnesses it. We want to empower to kids to say something if they see it going on. Tell an adult. Do not be complicit.”

This article courtesy UNM.
Article written by Andrea Salazar / CJ 475 Reporter
See original story here: http://www.unm.edu/~cj475/spring2011/story_pages/salazar_story3s.htm

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