--- title: Barack Obama Dances on Alaska Trip description: Surrounded by a group of cute students canonical: https://time.com/4021398/barack-obama-alaska-dancers/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-03T14:48:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:00.693Z og:title: Watch Barack Obama Attempt a Native Alaskan Dance og:description: Surrounded by a group of cute students og:url: https://time.com/4021398/barack-obama-alaska-dancers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d340c1b29ea8cef/698862240a4a22ed7d9c5ed5/gettyimages-486244718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-OBAMA-ENVIRONMENT-OBAMA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Barack Obama Attempt a Native Alaskan Dance twitter:description: Surrounded by a group of cute students twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d340c1b29ea8cef/698862240a4a22ed7d9c5ed5/gettyimages-486244718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Barack Obama Attempt a Native Alaskan Dance ## Video: The Top 7 Political Dance Moves [Watch (HLS stream): The Top 7 Political Dance Moves](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3vO7g8xG.m3u8) (1:02)  _Published 2014-01-14. The people that run government aren't that smooth on the dance floor..._  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 3, 2015 2:48 PM UTC  US President Barack Obama dances with children after attending a cultural performance in Dillingham Middle School in Dillingham, Alaska on September 2, 2015\. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) US President Barack Obama dances with children after attending a cultural performance in Dillingham Middle School in Dillingham, Alaska on September 2, 2015\. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)Mandel Ngan/AFP—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 3, 2015 2:48 PM UTC As part of a three-day trip to Alaska to promote climate change initiatives, President Obama visited Dillingham Middle School Wednesday and performed with youngsters who were doing a Yup’ik dance in traditional headdresses decorated with jewels and fur. “I’ve been practicing,” he told the crowd. Also during his time in the fishing village, he gamely sampled salmon jerky — calling it “really good” — and laughed when a salmon spawned on his shoes, prompting him to joke that the fish was “happy to see me.” The other part of his trip that created a buzz on Twitter was the video he filmed with a selfie stick at Kenai Fjords National Park on Tuesday: > [](https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/639133612810485760) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4021398/barack-obama-alaska-dancers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4021398/barack-obama-alaska-dancers/"},"headline":"Watch Barack Obama Attempt a Native Alaskan Dance","datePublished":"2015-09-03T14:48:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:03:00.693Z","description":"Surrounded by a group of cute students","url":"https://time.com/4021398/barack-obama-alaska-dancers/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d340c1b29ea8cef/698862240a4a22ed7d9c5ed5/gettyimages-486244718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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