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The rainbow of pantsuits worn by Hillary Clinton has long been the stuff of derision, then cheeky self-deprecation, and lately Instagram homage. Now you can add flash mob to the list, after 150 or so dancers, clad in the presidential candidate’s two-piece of choice, staged a pop-up performance on Sunday in Manhattan’s Union Square Park.
Choreographer-filmmaker Celia Rowlson-Hall and director Mia Lidofsky, who organized the event in less than a week, hosted the party to show solidarity for the candidate. “We’re not just out here to dance—we’re out here to say we support what this woman stands for,” explained Rowlson-Hall, wearing navy pinstripes and a The Future Is Female T-shirt. To assemble their so-called “pantsuit posse,” the pair reached out to friends and colleagues across the cultural community. Washington, D.C.–based choreographer Crishon Landers, whom Rowlson-Hall recently met on the set of Girls, came on board to cocreate the moves, and filmmaker-cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo oversaw a crew of eight camera people for an accompanying video. As for the exuberant cast, there were principals from the Martha Graham Dance Company, members of Broadway’s Fiddler on the Roof, ballerinas, break-dancers, and even young future voters.
While Clinton is known to be partial to Ralph Lauren and Armani, these admirers’ looks had their own flair, as documented by Vogue.com’s Daniel Arnold. “We’ve cleared every Goodwill and thrift store in New York!” Lidofsky said with a laugh, adding that a network of stylists also contributed trousers and blazers. If the costumes carried a political message, so did the choreography, set to Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling.” Pantomiming the chorus, Rowlson-Hall pointed out subtle gestures linking back to broader issues like reproductive rights, equal pay, solar energy, and #BlackLivesMatter. And as the dancers stretched into arabesque, puffed their lapels, and flipped through the air (reminiscent of Kate McKinnon’s somersault as Clinton on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live), the gathering crowd was reminded of the pantsuit’s inherent practicality—whether for nonstop campaigning or a well-timed shoulder shimmy.
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