On Nov. 11, people of all ages gathered on the stage at Summit Park, excited and dressed brightly in orange.  Their common goal? To promote kindness.

Cincinnati’s third annual Dance For Kindness was on Nov. 11. Dance for Kindness is an annual worldwide event that was started in 2012 by the non-profit Life Vest Inside.

Life Vest Inside is an organization founded by Orly Wahba. Its goal is to empower people from all backgrounds to lead a life of kindness.

The purpose of Dance for Kindness is for everyone to realize that around the world, we all have many differences, however, kindness is what unites us all.

This year there were 247 cities, 65 countries, and over 55,000 participants that were a part of the worldwide Dance For Kindness.

Dance For Kindness is a freeze mob, followed by a flash mob. A freeze mob is when all of the participants freeze for the duration of a song in a pose of kindness.

These poses could include hugging, reading a book together, helping someone up when they have fallen, or making a heart shape.

Right after the song ends, everyone unfreezes and begins to dance. There is a specific song with choreography that can be practiced before the dance. Everyone around the world does the same dance, promoting unity.

Ms. Joy Nichols, a special education teacher at Sycamore, heard about Life Vest Inside and Dance for Kindness from a TED talk and wanted to have the event in Cincinnati. In 2016, Cincinnati participated in the event for the first time.

Mrs. Paula Anstaett, Adaptive Physical Education teacher and Mr. Ben Schneider, the music teacher at Maple Dale Elementary, as well as many others, are also a part of the event’s success.

“I hope [Dance for Kindness] makes the dancers feel connected to dancers all over the world that are standing up for kindness.

“I hope it makes an everlasting impression that kindness can truly make a difference,” Nichols said.

SHS students enjoy attending the event, including Maya Berry, who has been participating in Dance for Kindness for two years.

“It’s a time when people from all over the community come together to show their love for kindness,” Berry said.

Dance for Kindness is the kickoff to World Kindness Day on Nov. 13 and World Kindness Week, during which everyone is encouraged to do random acts of kindness and spread kindness.

“Kindness is important to me because I truly believe kindness can change the world. Kindness should be a part of everyone’s day… everyday,” Nichols said.

For more information about Dance for Kindness, it can be found on the Dance for Kindness website.