Thomas Choinacky is a Dance Machine

By Catherine Caperello
Add Comment Add Comment | Comments: 1 | Posted May. 29, 2009

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, Thomas Choinacky strolls into LOVE Park, lays down his bag and his boombox, and sets up a tripod. Suddenly, “Dancin’ in the Streets” is blaring and Choinacky gets lost in the music. He snaps, he twirls through the legs of the LOVE statue and gets his groove on. It looks silly. Some park-goers giggle and point, others pull out their camera-phones to capture the impromptu, unexplained randomness that they witness.

For the 24-year-old Choinacky, it’s all about fun, Footloose style. This was the 27th part of his Dance:31 series, where he has been filming such random-dances every day of this month - 31 different songs in 31 different locations. Each night he uploads the day’s work up to YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

Tonight he’s going to be at Whole Foods at 10th and South Street, sometime between 6 and 6:15 – starting on the roof and dancing down the stairwell.

He’s been dancing all over Philly: the Broad Street Run, Reading Terminal Market, Eastern State Penitentary, the Split Button at UPenn and even on the Frankford-Market SEPTA line. His favorite spot was in the Swan Fountain at Logan Park. Choinacky has been stopped by the cops at City Hall, told to pick up his stuff at Citizen’s Bank Park. When he left town for the weekend to go to his cousin’s wedding in DC, he danced there too – in Chinatown and on the steps of the Lincoln memorial. Bystanders are even caught dancing in the shot when he runs up the steps in the distance.

He’s got 110 Facebook fans (myself included). The performing artist for AnthologyProject, has loved this project so much that he plans to extend it past the original 31 days and jus’ keep dancin’. Choinacky has contacted officials at a book that cannot be named to see if there is any type of record for consecutive days danced in public – and to his delight, those folks are reviewing the application. This is an opportunity to do what he loves most – perform for others and have fun doing it.

Dance:31 will culminate on Sunday at Noon when Choinacky feels the beat at "Game Park": just north of City Hall, where the oversized board game pieces are. You should check it out. I know I will.

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1. Susan and DAvid said... on Aug 11, 2009 at 03:54PM

“Thomas rocks. His project was so sincere and enjoyable. DANCE THOMAS DANCE!”

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