The Riverside Brookfield High School Repertory Dance Ensemble (RDE) hosted a Daddy Daughter Dance on Friday, February 7. This dance was open to the public for a fun night out with dad and was held in the cafeteria of RB with a western theme from 6-7:30 p.m. For every couple that attended, there was an entrance fee of $27. This payed for all food, beverages, and activities within the dance.
The Daddy Daughter Dance acted as a fundraiser for the RDE and Orchesis spring show. This will take place on May 1, 2, and 3, starting at 7 p.m. at RB. The money raised will help pay for costumes, hire professional artists, various rentals, and any additional extra costs. Madelyn Dall is the director of RDE, Orchesis, and dance classes at RB.
“They [RDE dancers] help with everything, [like] stuffing goodie bags and blowing up balloons,” Dall said. “They have different stations during the actual dance that they have to man. Whether it’s coat check, check in, the craft stations, at the DJ booth working on the playlists, or serving pizza.”
She and the students in her RDE classes prepared for the event in many ways. Dall and all her RDE students were prepared and excited to welcome all the cowgirls and their dads. Dall and her RDE students have been looking for ways to not only improve their community involvement but also the involvement of the community in their dance programs.
“I just want to give back to the community,” Dall said. “I want to do events that provide something for them and to encourage people to be a part of RBHS and just to support us, whether it’s coming to our shows or coming to our community events and fundraisers.
Sofia Lee, a senior in RDE, is one of the students who worked on organizing and hosting the dance. Through all the hard work, there were some challenges for all involved in the dance.
“Reaching out to the community is hard,” Lee said. “We realized what it takes to get people to come.”
This is a challenge that wasn’t expected for the students. Even with these challenges though, there are still rewarding and exciting parts of it all.
“We’re hoping for the same turnout this year,” Dall said. “It was just so exciting and fulfilling to see all these little kids with their dads dressed up.”
This will be the second year that RDE hosted the Daddy Daughter Dance. Last year, they had a very successful night with almost 200 people showing up. Lee also explained the experience is special to her and those who used to go to events with their parents. For RDE students, it can be a full-circle moment. Getting to go to these events with their parents are core memories for some of them. Now they get to be a part of seeing other girls make the same memories.
“It was princess themed last year,” Dall said. “There were dads that came in with king outfits and crowns and all kinds of stuff. It was families that really got into it that was the most exciting thing for me and the thing that I was most proud of.”