Photo courtesy of Harper's Bazaar
Michelle Obama proclaims her passion for the performing arts in the November issue of US Harper's Bazaar, but it's the first lady herself who takes centre stage in the accompanying portfolio.
Photographed at the White House by Jason Schmidt, Mrs Obama looks ravishing in a raspberry L'Wren Scott sheath paired with bright blue kitten heels. "Well," Mrs O tells the magazine, "you got to get a colour pop."
Speaking of pop, Justin Bieber is just one of the musicians who has made his way onto the Obama family playlist, along with artists from the worlds of opera, classical, and Motown, she reveals.
"In terms of my children... I don't want them to develop just one taste. I want them to feel the power in country as much as they feel it in Justin Bieber." Mrs Obama explains of daughters Sasha and Malia. "There is some power in the Bieber!" she says, but insists, "We don't have Fever."
But Beatlemania? That's another story. "When Paul McCartney was here singing 'Michelle,' I was like, I'm done; I can go home now."
For her Bazaar profile, which focuses on performing-arts appreciation, the glamorous Mrs Obama posed with members of the Howard University Choir and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts as well as dancers from Alvin Ailey, Joy of Motion Dance Center, and Bhangra Empire. She also fessed up to having dabbled in acting herself in a school production of a children's classic.
"I remember very early on being the good fairy in 'Hansel and Gretel' and having to sing a solo, which was humiliating," she recalls, adding that her stage attire offered some relief. "It was a little tutu fairy costume," she says, "and I liked [the role] because of the costume."
Photo courtesy of Harper's Bazaar