Jailhouse Rock

My husband showed me this video last night...

An article about the dancing inmates can be found here. Some excerpts from the article:

"Hundreds of inmates at the prison in Cebu, Philippines, have taken to performing large-scale dance numbers to such classics as Michael Jackson's "Thriller," Queen's "Radio Gaga" and several songs from the "Sister Act" films to help pass the time while serving sentences or awaiting trial. "

"Melita Thomeczeck, the Philippine's deputy consulate general in New York, is not surprised by the prison's unconventional rehabilitation regimen. "It's probably like some kind of 'ra-ra' event. Probably something the warden set up to pull their minds off other things.""

"Filipino detainees try to make their life less difficult by engaging in such activities," said a Filipino police officer working in New York. "Music and dancing is so much a way of life in the Philippines, and Filipinos have this tendency to sing and dance their way out of even the most complicated situations."

"Rather, Latessa argued that more appropriate rehabilitation programs, like substance abuse or family reunification programs, should be implemented with such coordination and vigor.

But the Filipino police officer believes such group song-and-dance programs are not a distraction from rehabilitation, but an integral part of it. "It combines the need for physical exercise and their love to sing and dance. In more ways than one, it contributes to their rehabilitation and eventual reintegration."

Thomeczeck sees the possibility of an even greater positive effect: "It's a way to put themselves together physically and probably spiritually."

More videos of the 'dancing inmates' can be found by searching inmates dance or any other combination of similar words....