Tammy, who runs You Should Be Dancing Studios, invited me and a friend to participate in a cool promotional event at Saks Fifth Avenue department store last night. The gig was a dance party as part of "Fashion's Night Out," a series of parties going on all over the city as part of Fashion Week. Our "job" was to dance on the 4th floor of the department store to DJed music and invite people in the crowd to join us or take a quick dance lesson. Sounds like a normal night out for me!
However it wasn't as easy at it looks. Saks was stuffed to the gills with fashionistas in their finery and high heels, sniffing out celebs and fighting for free passes to runway shows. Getting onlookers to cut loose on the dance floor, in the middle of Sak's Fifth Avenue, under bright lights, with a crowd of people staring at them, was a challenging proposition. Nevertheless, we perservered and did succeed in getting several designers, models, and bystanders to dance with us.
Not that I knew who anyone was. While I have an appreciation for beautiful and well-made clothes, I don't really follow closely any trends or the hottest designers. So I relied on my friend and dance partner for the evening Atalanta to inform me of who all of the celebs were in the house. Apparently several were there, as security personnel and handlers were constantly jostling us dancers aside and making way for photo ops.
Most noticeable, designer Zac Posen (pictured above) hung out with us for awhile, dancing, laughing and being a good sport about the whole thing. He even held a "dance off" to Michael Jackson's "Beat It," offering a free pass to his show for the best dancer. (Sadly, I was not allowed to enter.)
All-in-all, a fun and interesting dance gig. It's not every day you get to lindy hop in a high-end department store with models and designers while the paparazzi takes your picture! Thanks, You Should Be Dancing for the opportunity, and my friend Atalanta for being such a supportive and fun dance partner.