Hearts 4 Hearts – Flash Mob

Fifty volunteers from Sydney’s Mango Dance Studio, took part in a flashmob for hearts4heart foundation to raise awareness about the extent of heart disease’s effects on the community and how it can strike in both the elderly and the young. While bursting into dance on the streets of Sydney sounds like a lot of fun, there is a serious message behind it – heart disease affects a lot of people and in many cases can be avoided through exercise and diet.
“Heart disease isn’t just about sudden, life-ending strokes or heart attacks. It’s also quite common for people to have chronic conditions that cause symptoms including fatigue, nausea, headaches and chest pain even if they appear otherwise healthy,” says Dr Dugal from St Ives.
Hearts4heart CEO, Tanya Hall was motivated to establish the organisation as a result of her own heart condition. Born with a hole in her heart, Tanya has endured years of illness and medical procedures to treat it. “Unfortunately not all heart conditions are avoidable but mine is treatable and there are plenty of people like me out there but when I’ve been at my sickest, it can be a very isolating feeling.
“I started hearts4heart to form a support network for people with heart disease to share their stories, tips on managing their illness and how to not let it get the best of them. A lot of people would look at me and never suspect I have a heart condition. I appear to be a healthy young woman but the fact is my condition has made me very sick at various times throughout my life,” says Tanya.
With the help of Mango Dance Studio Choreographer / Director Farah Shah jumped on board to support the worthwhile cause.  “As soon as I heard about it I thought it was a great cause and something I wanted to help raise awareness about as much as possible. I didn’t realise it was the largest killer in Australia and that people of all ages, including children can have heart disease.“ says Farah. “I was blown away that there were no support groups for people with heart disease and thought we must do a fantastic FLASH MOB for people to take notice” says Farah.
Before you know it, Mango Dance had organized 50 volunteer dancers rehearsing in All Stars Performing Arts School in North Sydney. “The vibe and rapport in the rehearsals was amazing” says Farah. “I think it was because everyone was volunteering for a great cause”.
Shah had them dancing a Jazz piece to Lady Ga Ga, followed by some intense Hip hop and Shuffling to LMFAO with a grand finale of 50 dancers doing a Bollywood spectacular to “Jai Ho”.  “It was so much fun, we loved the dance routine and even more the people we were dancing with. We were all donating our time for a common cause.” says Mango dance student Dr Pradnya Dugal .
Farah Shah has Choreographed for  “So You Think You Can Dance” (Australia), The Australian MTV Awards, Commercials for SONY INDIA and UNCLE BEN and even featured on The Kerry-Anne show, Australian Idol and New Idea.
When 50 dancers hit Pitt St Mall and danced in front of International store Zara, the audience did not know what hit them. Camera phones came out and the crowd got into the piece cheering along. The volunteers wore Hearts4Heart T-shirts and promoted the foundation with lots of energy and enthusiasm. “A girl from the audience approached us and said thank you , I have heart disease and did not know you were around” says Tanya. The flash mob was a success !
Driven by a passion to help others, hearts4heart was created to provide direct support for all affected by heart disease. By raising awareness the organisation hopes to save lives. Watch YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXh-IGWIgUM
Hearts4Heart www.hearts4heart.net.au
Mango Dance Studio & Productions: www.mangodance.com.au