Cee Lo Green and Lady Gaga made recent appearances in Ames, but it wasn’t quite the real deal. They were look-a-likes; part of performance by Random Acts of Dancing, a local flash mob organization of more than 100 dancers. 

The group recently packed Perfect Games on April 15 for a surprise performance. 

ISU students Jackson Davidson, freshman in pre-business, and Allison Pederson, senior in graphic design, broke through a crowd and performed the West Coast Swing to the Black Eyed Peas’ song, “The Time (Dirty Bit).”

Onlookers gathered to watch the group dance to three more songs that featured residents ranging from ISU students to stay-at-home moms, to a grandmother and her 7-year-old grandson. Dancers of all skill levels were welcomed to join the event.

Alissa Dietz, creator and choreographer of Random Acts of Dancing, spread the word about the group’s first performance through Facebook. Dietz posted dancing tutorial videos that participants could use to practice the dance routines. The group only met and practiced together once before their performance.

Davidson has experience in tap, ballroom, and hip-hop dancing and was one of the show’s opening dancers.

“The thing that I enjoy about Random Acts of Dancing is that it doesn’t matter what kind of experience you have with dancing, whether you have never danced before or have danced your entire life,” Davidson said. “The point about this group is that you just leave it all out there on the dance floor and have a fun time.”

Morgan Tue, sophomore in kinesiology and health, joined Random Acts of Dancing after hearing some friends talk about it. Tue said her only dance experience was lessons she took as a child.

“I enjoyed getting to see everyone’s reaction to our performance and how everyone was really getting into it,” Tue said. “Everyone was so shocked and surprised when we started gradually adding people into the dance. It was a total success and a nice change of pace from the typical Friday night of a college student.”

Dietz also works as a real estate agent for Century 21. Dietz and five of her co-workers, who were also part of the flash mob, experienced the loss of their colleague, Ashley Okland, just days before the event. Okland was murdered at an open house in West Des Moines on April 8.

“It was such a heavy, sad week,” Dietz said. “We went to her funeral the day before the performance.”

Dietz decided to go through with the performance and dedicate it to Okland. While Okland’s death was allegedly the result of a random act of violence, Dietz wanted her dancers’ performance to be a random act of love, compassion, and kindness, that would put a smile on the faces of those who participated in and watched it.

Random Acts of Dancing’s next performance will take place June 4 in Des Moines. To find out about joining the group check out their fan page and group on Facebook.