Stumbling through the ‘Obama Shuffle’
Stevie Wonder’s soulful crooning began, and my first attempt at the “Obama Shuffle” ensued.
“Like a fool I went and stayed too long,” he sang, and I responded with a smooth grapevine that turned into a “Temptations Shuffle” to the side, followed by a “sassy hop” to the front and then back.
The line dance, done to Barack Obama’s campaign song, was created last summer to mark the successful campaign of President Obama.
“I love doing it because it’s a tribute to Obama,” said Amarlis Williams, 46. “People just love anything associated with Obama.”
As Obama’s victory became more of a possibility, the dance grew more popular and would conclude with festive rounds of “Obama” chants.
“The energy was great,” Williams. “You could really feel it.” On Election Night, members at True Bethel Baptist Church quickly learned the dance to celebrate Obama’s historic win. “It was pandemonium,” said Cheri Brown, the instructor who taught the congregation the routine after learning it at a conference in Delaware. “It was off the hook.”
People crowded the stage of Kleinhans Music Hall to do the “Obama Shuffle” during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration earlier this year.
The dance includes complicated movements like “pick up the money,” in which you lean forward; and “hitch hike,” where you swing side to side with your thumb sticking out.
The fancy footwork tripped me up a few times as I tried to learn the dance in St. Phillips parish on Fernhill Avenue, where Brown teaches classes. It was difficult stringing together all the different steps.
“I was the same way when I first started,” said Carolyn Harris, 51, who has been dancing for more than four years. “The different steps are very intimidating.”
But that didn’t stop the laughter as I frequently missed steps and fell behind.
Brown was encouraging, saying I did get the basic moves of line dancing – the cha cha, grapevine and turns.
“You’re fine as long as you keep the beat and be on time with your steps,” she said.
Brown describes the dance craze as urban or soul line dancing. There’s less kicking and hopping compared to its country cousin, she added.
The community has moved past the Obama dance because he’s now president and dances get old fast.
But Brown thinks the two older dances called “The Michael Jackson,” both danced to the late pop star’s music, will make a comeback to honor Jackson.
“It’ll be a way to commemorate and pay respect to him and his music,” she said. “I can definitely see us doing them at parties.”
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