Rahm Emanuel Leaps into New White House Role

Lindsay Live | Nov 06, 2008 | 2

President-Elect Obama chooses Rahm Emanuel (former ballet dancer) as his Chief of Staff

Rahm Israel Emanuel, a top Democratic Congressman from Illinois who served as an aid to President Clinton, has just accepted President-Elect Barack Obama's offer to be White House Chief of Staff starting on January 20, 2009. Emanuel's political career began in the early 1980s as a local activist in the state of Illinois, but many do not know about his rather intriguing past... as a ballet dancer!

According to reports by many news sources, Emanuel trained in classical ballet while he was a student at Jewish day school. Later, he received a scholarship to dance with the Joffrey Ballet. However, he turned down the offer and instead studied dance at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where he graduated in 1981.

A simple Google search reveals that the new Chief of Staff trained at the Evanston School of Ballet located in Evanston, Illinois, under the direction of Kerry Hubata.

In a 2006 Chicago Tribune article by Naftali Bendavid called "Rahm Emanuel: The House Rahm Built," Hubata was quoted as saying the following about her former ballet student turned politician:

"Intense would be a word I would have used even then," said Kerry Hubata, his former ballet teacher. "I've seen kids with physical talent but didn't work as hard. Others, who weren't as gifted physically but had the desire and didn't mind the pain, succeeded more. He had the drive."

If you ask me, this is just what we need in the White House! The last time we saw ballet at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was in 1993 when Chelsea Clinton started dancing at the Washington School of Ballet. The only dance the Bush Twins ever did was at the local bar (and I'm not referring to the ballet barre!). Maybe Rahm Emanuel can help little Sasha and Malia with their pirouettes in his down-time. How cute!

Yay for an administration that values and appreciates the beauty of ballet and the arts!

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