Just got home from an inspired, amazing night of dancing and music to support Barack Obama. Local lindy hopper Ramona Staffield got together an all-star cast of musicians, singers, lindy hoppers and hoofers to throw on a fundraiser dance concert at Union Pool tonight in Williamsburg. The event was officially in support of the non-profit Music for Democracy, which is mobilizing musicians around the country to get their fans to vote for Obama.
Tonight’s headliner was the Gordon Webster trio, with amazing singers Brianna Thomas, Mimi Terris and Naomi Uyama. (That’s Naomi singing in the video clip here.) We also were entertained by some amazing tap dancing, a lindy hop performance, and Dawn Hampton doing a lovely spoken word piece.
But the heart of the night was the music. I was blown away by the musicianship and singing of the performers, so much so that I didn’t even want to dance every song. Just standing by the stage and clapping along was satisfaction enough. And for a lindy hopper to say that is something.
Also there was hardly any room to dance. We had a good crowd of around 50 folks in the tiny performance space in the back of Union Pool. The room had a nice Brooklyn feel, somewhat rundown but still elegant. Some folks were dressed to the nines and others were in jeans and tee-shirts. Didn’t matter — we were here to support Obama and have a great time.
At the end of the night, they put some soul music and we just funked out on the dance floor, which was a great way to end an incredible evening. I’m so blissed out on music and dancing now. And so proud of the organizers for putting this together for a great cause — to get Obama into the White House next month!