Like most viral trends, the mannequin challenge came, went and hopefully froze in time forever. But as Asia’s famed dance fest Djakarta Warehouse Project proves, some mannequin challenges are worth an ~anachronistic~ watch.
Last week Djakarta Warehouse Project shared an official footage of Asia’s biggest mannequin challenge, which went down at the record-breaking eighth edition of the Indonesian festival that took place from December 9-10, 2016.
The video shows over 40,000 local and international attendees at a complete stand still and utter silence when Yves V took to the stage and played Rae Sremmurd’s familiar track “Black Beatles”.
See also: On Top of the World: A Conversation with Yves V
The Belgian producer and the Ismaya Live crew considered it “no mean feat” to keep that many people stock still and quiet for 19 seconds before the massive crowd erupted to the sounds of the hiphop hit.
Watch the video in full below. And believe us when we say, if anything can put a cap on last year’s biggest trend, it’s this.
The mannequin challenge isn’t the only video from the event doing the viral rounds.
On the second night of the festival, the dance floor sank to their knees as DJ Snake dropped “Get Low”. For Nicolas Anggono, it presented the perfect opportunity to pop the question to his girlfriend Jeane Angkow. The moment, which was captured for posterity by a friend, has now surpassed a million views on DWP’s official Instagram account.
For event organisers Ismaya Live, the moving act was the icing on the cake for the philosophy and ethics of the Djakarta Warehouse Project. Co-founder and CEO Christian Rijanto explained further:
“Seeing flags from around the world lifted up high around the festival embodies the spirit of ‘Bhinneka Tunggal Ika’ or ‘Unity in Diversity’ that our nation, Indonesia, embraces. Whether it’s two people, or the tens of thousands, we all come together to unite.”
Djakarta Warehouse Project head talks 2016 edition, local demands and future projects
We can certainly expect more of that spirit this year as Djakarta Warehouse Project promises to return in December with an even bigger edition.