Obi Mabuse leads festive flashmob

Hundreds of Christmas shoppers watched in awe as a flash mob of 30 dancers and singers, led by Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse, performed a routine in Westfield White City. Starting off as an unsuspecting barista in the shopping centre, Oti was shortly joined by undercover security guards, grotto elves, shopping assistants and cleaners.

The dancers then pulled away her uniform to reveal a beautiful blue princess dress which kickstarted the mesmerising festive spectacle. Performing a three-minute routine, Christmas shoppers and commuters were left captivated by the impromptu dance as the troupe perfectly executed a series of jaw-dropping lifts and spins.

One bystander said: “That was so magical, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it – it has made me feel like Christmas is coming.” While another added: “Oh my goodness – I can’t believe it. I was literally walking past, then that music, it was brilliant. The back flip was my favourite as I thought he was actually a security guard.”

The flash mob was devised by award-winning movement director and choreographer Richard Marcel, who has previously worked on Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor and Lip Sync Battle. The group took to the shopping centre to celebrate the launch of the new Disney+ film, Disenchanted – and the performance was set to a new track in the new film, Love Power.

Oti Mabuse:

“I am a huge fan of all things Disney so to be transformed into a Disney Princess was a dream come true. I loved the first Enchanted film so jumped at the chance to surprise shoppers with this dance. When performing in such an environment, it is never easy to predict just how smoothly it will go – but the team did amazingly and it was such a joy to see the reaction of all the shoppers.”

Disenchanted, which debuts on Disney+ today is a sequel to the musical film Enchanted and follows Giselle, Robert and Morgan 15 years after their happily ever after.