Let me set the scene: It’s a beautiful day to be at Universal Studios Hollywood. You’re walking down Universal Boulevard in Production Plaza. The Southern California sun is nice and warm, that pretzel in your hand is delicious. As you make your way to the next attraction on your itinerary, two custodians walk out pushing a trash bin. You think nothing of it. Not until their trash bin turns into a giant speaker and they start dancing! Without even planning on it, you, my friend, have just walked into the longest running dance performance at Universal Studios Hollywood: Street Sweep!
These playful custodians aren’t here to pick up the trash. They’re here to toss brooms in the air and attract an audience of curious guests, ready to sway to the beat. Even those too busy to stop and watch can’t help but smile and peek over the crowd. In the span of five minutes, the Street Sweep dancers can very easily sweep their audience off their feet.
“What works so well with these performers is the heart and soul that goes into this,” says Tania Pearson-Loeser, the Street Sweep show director. “They want the guests to have a good time. They are so responsible for the success of the show, in my opinion.”
I was able to shimmy into Tania’s schedule to talk about where Street Sweep came from and how this show has stood the test of time. Here’s everything you need to know about these playful custodians sweep sweeping the floor.
Surprise and Delight: The Origin Story
Tania has been working with Street Sweep for eight years. As a professional stunt performer with a background in dance, choreography, and acting, Tania is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to entertainment. Besides Street Sweep, she oversees several other live shows at Universal, including a few of the characters doing meet and greets around the theme park.
To learn more about Street Sweep creation, Tania takes us back to 2009, when the original show director and choreographer Dan Mojica created the Street Sweep concept and original choreography. “Dan had this unique idea and methodology on how to roll out what we call a ‘surprise and delight’ moment.” Tania says. “The guests don’t know what’s going to happen, right? They’re not waiting in line. When you wait in line you grow anticipatory about what you’re going to see. This is just off the cuff.”
The idea was to surprise guests unexpectedly. In Street Sweep’s early days, the dancers would show up on the red carpet at the theme park’s main entrance. They were meant to give guests waiting to enter a sense of what awaited them inside. They would pull out brooms, and begin, ahem… sweeping. They were so convincingly ordinary, guests would even hand them trash. You can imagine how confused and excited the guests felt when these custodians broke out into some wild moves and the trash bin transformed before their very eyes.
“It’s so much fun when you see the bin that they roll out actually open and convert into this speaker-thing.” Tania laughs. “I mean, come on! It just gets me every time and I’ve seen it for years.”
Dan has since sadly passed away, but Tania still channels his spirit in her work at Universal. In its 16 years of existence, Street Sweep has seen some changes, which include adding a Halloween and Christmas version of the show, changing up the music, and moving from place to place. Street Sweep has gone from the theme park’s main entrance, down to the Lower Lot, and to Production Plaza where it is today. Despite this, Tania says she never steers too far from Dan’s methodology. “It just wins. You can’t redo it. He was very into bringing everyone together. I thought that was really special.”
Meet the Dancers
The Street Sweep cast includes several performers, but Tania tells me about two specific dancers who have had a huge impact on the Street Sweep choreography we know today: Lenny and dance captain, Vinh. The two have developed broom tricks that make the show even more exciting. “It used to be that each person had a broom and they did their own thing,” says Tania. “These guys started tossing the same broom back and forth and it really upped the ante on the one-upmanship that goes on when they dance together.”
Lenny and Vinh both joined the Street Sweep team in the spring of 2010, but they’ve been dancing their entire lives. With fifteen years of Street Sweep experience under their belts, their routine is second nature, and they have no trouble at all entertaining a crowd.
I watch Lenny and Vinh walk out onto Universal Boulevard, push their trash bin and brooms, and begin to sweep. As they “clean,” they speak to guests walking by and start showing them a dance move or two. That’s when Vinh turns on their boombox and the trash bin converts into a giant speaker. Guests everywhere notice the music and gather around — then our street sweepers start dancing!
I’m amazed by how Lenny and Vihn spin their brooms and toss them into the air. Lenny even twirls his broom over his head. They’re upbeat and excited and their passion is contagious. Guests are recording the show on their phones, clapping along, and swaying to the beat.
A Moment in the Spotlight
To get guests to participate, Street Sweep implements dances from social media and pop culture in what Tania calls their “street party” segment. This is toward the end of the show, where everyone gets a chance to dance — and I mean everyone. I’ve seen grandparents get pulled in from the audience, children run in ready to breakdance, groups of friends laugh and film one another doing the splits. Today, a two-year-old breaks free from his family, stands in the middle of the crowd, and breaks out into dance, just like an iconic pop star.
“This is one of the only shows to give the audience a chance to be in the spotlight. It’s not about us anymore. It’s about them.” Lenny says. He tells me about when he was a kid anticipating a trip to Universal. He’d go to sleep wondering what he’d do if he was ever watching a show, and they suddenly picked him out of the crowd. These childhood memories motivate him when he sees children excited to dance and be a part of the show.
With so much to do around Universal Studios Hollywood, Lenny and Vinh tell me about how important it is for them to make an impression on their audience. “I want them to sit down at the table years from now and think back,” Vinh says. “I want them to say, ‘Hey, remember that time when grandma came out and did the nae-nae?’ That’s something they’ll remember forever.”
At the end, the guests who dance and participate receive a special Street Sweep button as a keepsake. “When a guest receives a button, there’s something super satisfactory about it. Like when you see somebody holding open the door for someone else and you get that feeling.” Tania says, smiling. “That’s the feeling I get.”
Sixteen years and counting, Street Sweep represents what Universal Studios Hollywood is all about — fun, unforgettable memories. Dan Mojica’s dream of bringing people together lives on in Tania and the Street Sweep dancers, like Lenny and Vinh, who fuel guests with their passion. People visiting the theme park leave pleasantly surprised at the energy and excitement that this show brings. There are countless Street Sweep videos on the internet to attest to this. And what’s there not to love? During Street Sweep, you get to be the star of the show!
Don’t miss out on a Street Sweep performance the next time you’re at Universal Studios Hollywood. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself sweep sweep-ing the floor!
Have you ever danced with the Street Sweep crew? Let us know in the comments below!