Barack Obama Has a Ball With the Youth

Jan 21, 2009 at 11:40am

Barack Obama had a lot on his plate yesterday. But all that swearing in didn’t stop the 44th President of the United States (in most people’s eyes, anyway) from having a little fun with his wife Michelle at the MTV & ServiceNation: Live from the Youth Inaugural Ball at the Washington Hilton last night.

The President and First Lady (47 and 45, respectively) were greeted by massive applause as they took the stage at the packed event (fire marshals were forced to turn away ticket-holders).

After thanking the crowd for their hard work and support, the Chief Executive asked Michelle—who wore a one-shouldered ivory gown adorned with Swarovski crystals and fabric petals designed by Jason Wu—to slow-dance.  Barack made a momentary gaffe at one point when he spun his wife in the wrong direction.

Taiwanese-born, Manhattan-based designer Wu, 26—whose previous clients include Ivana Trump, January Jones and Amber Valetta—explained to the Associated Press that he wanted the gown to “look like a sign of hope…It’s soft, feminine, but powerful; I wanted to convey all that in a dress.”

“That’s what’s called old school,” Obama told the audience after the dance.

Musical performers included Fall Out Boy (who closed out the concert), Kanye West, who delivered a medley of hits from his albums Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak, and the always classy Kid Rock, who performed his Clinton-era hit “Cowboy” and the Lynyrd Skynyrd chestnut “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Predictably, the event was packed with celebrity faces, including Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Tobey Maguire, Rosario Dawson and Usher.

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