A woman in Bristol, England, told her family and friends that she wanted something different for her funeral. In particular, she wanted a troupe of dancers to crash her funeral, unannounced, and perform a routine to Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.”
Sandie Wood, 65, who died of tongue cancer in September, got her wish for a funeral full of surprises when her friends organized a flash mob that burst out in dance during her memorial service.
“She wanted everyone to remember her funeral but not for a sad reason,” friend Samantha Ryalls, 43, who helped arrange the flash mob, told the BBC.
“Everyone is sad and grieving because she is not here anymore but that doesn’t mean her final day had to be that way.”
The manager of the dance group Flaming Feathers, Claire Phipps, said Wood knew the group would be performing at her service.
“Her best friend Sam booked us, but this was about six months before she passed — so Sandie basically planned her own funeral,” Phipps said.
She added that some in the church were stunned, but most eventually warmed up to the performance.
“It was very odd to first pretend to be there for the funeral, and then to see family and friends crying and upset,” Phipps said. “To then have to get up and rock out to Queen felt very weird — but it did go really well.”
Wood requested that her casket be purple and feature shoes and handbags — things she loved to buy and collect, a friend said. She also asked that people leave the church after the service via a conga line.
“She wasn’t a boring person,” Ryalls told The Washington Post. “She wasn’t traditional either. She wanted her funeral to reflect her.”
Woman “broke tradition” by planning surprise flash-mob dance for own funeral https://t.co/TmCa3TVnPK pic.twitter.com/gcRBn0exA6
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) January 12, 2023
©2022 Cox Media Group
