You’ve seen the infamous Mentos-and-Coke video, the treadmill dance, and the puppy versus robot–and maybe mashups like one of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acting as if he were in an iPod commercial.

What do handmade cubbyholes and video mashups have to do with one another? Or R&B ballads and contemporary dance? Lately, two experiences quite separated in time and place have taken on for us an ...