Dancing with Matt

Having learned about "Where the Hell is..." Matt's Gasworks Park appearance by reading this very blog, Erma and I made a last-minute decision to head down to the park on Saturday afternoon. We arrived a few minutes after 3:00 to find a large group, several hundred people, gathered on a grassy slope near the old gas works under a threatening sky.

Many were in costume.

There were also a fair number of our four-footed friends in attendance.


Everyone was required to sign a release form. Matt himself said hi to each of us and took a photo. (That's him on the right, with the camera.)

We each got a green rubber wristband, marked with the date and the name of the corporate sponsor. Here's Erma wearing hers, Seattle skyline and Space Needle in view across Lake Union:

The whole operation was very low-key and low-tech. To get everyone organized, Matt just started talking.

He explained that this would be the final scene of his new dancing video. Nothing complicated: he just wanted us all to dance with him, in any way we wanted, with as much energy as possible. There would be no music.

He made sure that we were spread out across the full camera frame.



After we filmed an initial scene, 15 seconds of dancing, we were divided into two groups for the big finale. This scene would begin with Matt dancing alone with one of his nieces, and then the two groups would rush in from off-screen and join him. (Click through to the larger image to see Erma in the crowd.)

The whole affair lasted less than 30 minutes. It was a fun community event--so far as we could tell, everyone was having a good time.

The final video is scheduled to be posted June 21 on Matt's web site, where you can currently view his earlier dancing videos.

Additional pictures we took of the event can be viewed here.