Let’s move: First Lady dances for a cause
First Lady leads 14,000 in super performance to celebrate Let's Move! campaign
It's official: Michelle Obama can move. She's danced to promote icarly, relishes grooving in public at any given opportunity - much to the chagrin of her daughters who, Mrs Obama told CBS, are embarrassed by their mother's moves - and is no stranger to the stage.
The First Lady on Thursday once again proved she can shake her thing, leading an entire arena in a dance to celebrate the second anniversary of her campaign to lower childhood obesity in the U.S.
The birthday tour of her Let's Move! initiative kicked off in Des Moines, Iowa, where a raucous crowd of 14,000 joined the 48-yearold in dancing the Interlude.
Though a starring role in Glee may not be a likely option for the potential showbiz talent, Mrs Obama's moves of late certainly give the impression that she is auditioning for a coveted part in the Fox hit musical show.
The University of Northern Iowa Interlude Dance routine has become a Youtube sensation, and the First Lady was more than happy to back her claim that she is 'pretty much willing to make a complete fool out of [her]self to get our kids moving', as she told a keynote audience last November.
Joined by Rob Harper of Biggest Loser and sports stars including iceskater Michelle Kwan, gymnast Shawn Johnson and WNBA player Tamika Catchings at the Wells Fargo Arena, she waved her arms in the air, swung her hips and showed the screaming youngsters how the farfrom-complicated dance is done.
Speaking to the packed house, Mrs Obama told children, celebrities and state officials: 'This is so cool!... Happy birthday, Let's Move!'
Her enthusiasm didn't end there. 'I'm proud that you guys are eating your fruits and vegetables, I'm proud that you guys are walking to school instead of taking the bus.'
Performances by the Isiserettes and American Idol contestant Katelyn Epperly kept the mood buoyant - even after a workout routine led by Mr Harper.
Iowa has set itself the impressive goal of becoming the healthiest state in the country by 2016 - with its Republican Governor, Terry Branstad, hammering the message home by proclaiming today 'Let's Move day' in the state known for its deep-fried butter.
If successful, the state's 99 counties will move 16 places up Gallup's healthiest states league table in just four years, according to the New York Times.
Last month, Mrs Obama shook her stuff at Hayfield Secondary School in Fairfax County, Virginia as she promoted a cameo on the Nickelodeon TV show icarly.
Far from the ' angry black woman' label she felt she had unfairly been given, Jennette Mccurdy, who plays Samantha on the show praised the First Lady's moves, saying: 'I think she showed everybody up in the dance department'.
Thursday's boogying tour kick-off came on the footsteps of a recent drive to reinvigorate the campaign that has seen the First Lady encouraging Jay Leno to eat more vegetables, flexing muscles with Ellen Degeneres and even jumping in a potato sack race through the White House with Jimmy Fallon.
A recent survey by the Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that eight out of ten Americans have heard of the campaign, though the newspaper says it is still too early to tell whether the efforts are having a lasting effect on consumption and exercise habits across the country.