The annual Father-Daughter Dance was on Saturday, April 23 at Hilton Portland’s Grand Ballroom. From 8-11pm, fathers and daughters alike dressed up for an event filled with dancing, pictures, and lavish desserts. 

For senior Maria Naval, her favorite part was the dancing and getting the chance to spend quality time with her father.

“It was my first time going with my dad and I had a really great time,” Naval said. “It was a good way to spend some time with my dad. I’ve honestly never seen that side of my dad before. It was really fun seeing him dance and let loose a little bit.”

To keep with tradition, there was an engaging and spirited dance competition which was separated into three categories: swing, decades, and hip hop. Each category champion was decided via a noise level detector, meaning that whichever father-daughter duo received the loudest cheering won first place in that category. This year’s winners were senior Daisy Gold (swing), junior Brynn Ensminger (decades), and junior Lucy Maddocks (hip hop).

Similar to Naval, senior Sarah D’Souza’s favorite part was the dancing, especially during the competition categories.

“I had a fun time dancing, but my favorite part was actually watching people dance during the competition categories,” D’Souza said. “It was really cool watching everyone dance with so much skill and enthusiasm.”

According to D’Souza’s father, Rohit D’Souza, if he had one word to describe the dance he would describe it as “special.”

“From the dinner before the dance with [Sarah’s] friends and their dads to picking the affirmation to watching the girls dance with their dads like there was no tomorrow, it was amazing and ‘special’ to me personally,” Rohit said. “The energy and enthusiasm of the contestants during the dance competition brought out the best in all of us.”

Aside from the dancing, pictures, and lavish desserts, many fathers and daughters relayed that it is a significant and memorable event because it allows the fathers and daughters to have fun in each others’ presence. For Eric Foster, senior Astrid Foster’s father, he attested to this sentiment.

“I loved the father-daughter dance,” Eric said. “It’s a great event, you get to spend a wonderful evening dressed up with your daughter. Everyone has such a great time. It’s something I’ll always remember.”