Marc Daniels joins in on his daughter's dance
June 19, 2018 7:54 PM   Subscribe

So, you're at your daughter's dance recital and she's having a total breakdown on stage. What do you do? This dad got up on stage and did basically the entire dance encouraging his daughter. [2m55s]
posted by hippybear (41 comments total) 64 users marked this as a favorite
 
With a baby in his arms. Don’t bury the lede!
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 8:11 PM on June 19, 2018 [34 favorites]


Good dadding. 11/10.
posted by Artw at 8:13 PM on June 19, 2018 [12 favorites]


His pink kicks! This guy was a good ballet dad even before he got up there.
posted by minervous at 8:21 PM on June 19, 2018 [5 favorites]


Special Agent Dale Cooper: SPOILERS!!! Jeebus!
posted by hippybear at 8:26 PM on June 19, 2018


Some dancing schools are too competitive for their own damn good. My girl was exposed to professional dance school at age four, and was in Ballet and Tap. The routines were taught, I was there every Saturday, I observed closely but still dance much like Brian Blessed in Baron von Munchhausen.

The penalty for the preschoolers not learning the dance? Strong encouragement, and permission to dance how you wanna.

This is good. The recital my girl was a part of, both acts, ballet and """jazz""" tap from a Fossey standpoint, was nuclear war mixed with biblical Armageddon. Teacher didn't care, the four-year olds were dancing their heart out for their grandparents remembering the steps sometimes. I was not moved to go onstage and hop up and down. I was moved to foot the bill at the local ice cream stand.

Be critical, be centered. If it's too good to be true, it most likely is.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:34 PM on June 19, 2018 [5 favorites]


Good dadding. 11/10.

11? That's all? Dude deserves AT LEAST 25/10. At a bare minimum. And that's before you add difficulty points for the baby.
posted by scalefree at 8:39 PM on June 19, 2018 [10 favorites]


And extra flair points for the pink shoes, I mean!
posted by darkstar at 8:46 PM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


Well that was fucking adorable.
posted by johannsebastianbachpuppet at 8:59 PM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


difficulty points for the baby

To be fair, that baby basically does nothing during the entire event. It's just a burden, not an obstacle or a hindrance. It's maybe 3-4 difficultly points at most.
posted by hippybear at 9:04 PM on June 19, 2018 [11 favorites]


oh my goodness. So cute.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:31 PM on June 19, 2018


Okay, so I make that an aggregate dad score of 15.33333333333333/10
posted by Artw at 9:32 PM on June 19, 2018 [3 favorites]


This is beautiful, thanks! I am happy to see that, with Dad and Sibling’s help, she actually didn’t want to leave the stage when the dance concluded. They made that big of a difference in her view of her situation.
posted by Silverstone at 9:39 PM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]


I'm a man, but I think I've just grown ovaries in case I need to have his babies. 12/10, with the bonus 2 for artistic impression.
posted by jaduncan at 9:43 PM on June 19, 2018 [12 favorites]


Is it just me or did he look like he basically knew the thing by heart, as if he’d been helping her practice at home? What a great way to break stereotypes about who does ballet, on top of everything else.
posted by mantecol at 10:19 PM on June 19, 2018 [34 favorites]


So cute!

I feel like the baby is a bonus, it would've been far more awkward dancing alone. Babies are good to hide behind.

(source: was socially awkward teen with baby sister I dragged everywhere because (a) I had to and (b) she was damn good as an ice breaker)
posted by kitten magic at 12:00 AM on June 20, 2018 [3 favorites]


Actually they are all good people, I didn't see before that the stage hand went and fetched Dad. Awww.
posted by kitten magic at 12:02 AM on June 20, 2018 [10 favorites]


::bawls::

This is beautiful.
posted by Faintdreams at 12:13 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


This is so damn cute.
posted by supercrayon at 12:43 AM on June 20, 2018


I love this. Especially the part where someone tries to take the dad's baby and gets side-eyed back into the wings. If I wind up a Dad, I hope I carry it off that well.

Re: ballet stereotypes-- men and ballet, instructors, recitals etc

I had to hang out at my sisters ballet classes after school, before I started driving, as my Mom wasn't going to be in two separate carpools. Eventually I became a sort of ballet tackling dummy: not an actual dancer but close enough to move around in a drill. It was fun, and I can still do a very clumsy 1st/2nd/3rd, pirouette and leap (which is totally the best especially on the bouncy hollow floors.) I would come to know the routines from watching them so many times, often "standing right there, with your arms like this" and not moving.

Even at the same studio the instructors can vary between the 'fun, free' vibe and frosty queen of inspiring preteen body dysmorphia. The girls whole face and carriage would change depending on whose class they were in. And some parents clearly preferred the dragon lady (maybe that's what they got as kids.)

My sister quit after they made her a mouse in the Nutcracker for the something like the fifth year running or some such. I didn't miss going home around 5, and I certainly didn't miss the recitals. But I missed the leaping and feeling a little less like a bookish graceless 14 year old sclhumpf.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:44 AM on June 20, 2018 [10 favorites]


fyi Marc Daniels seems to be an ordinary citizen, not a famous person from pop culture that I have missed.
posted by batter_my_heart at 12:46 AM on June 20, 2018 [6 favorites]


Well yesterday I cried because of that letter the woman with cancer wrote about her husband and now today this has also triggered my eyes to well up both in a good way. Metafilter, keep up the good work.
posted by like_neon at 2:14 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


This is great, but why do we even put little kids through these extremely stressful situations. I remember as a kid how anxious I would be before such performances. I did ballet, because my sister did, and I wouldn't be left out. I'm not saying don't teach these things, but why the big, high-stakes performances?
posted by AnhydrousLove at 3:43 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


As someone without kids, I always find child development kind of fascinating. The difference between an adult who's winging it (though maybe he's watched the class or helped her practice at home, but still) and the kids who practiced is huge. I used to do karate with small children and five was basically the minimum age for them to make it through a class attention-/interest-wise, but it it was really only sometime between five and seven that an individual kid would reach the stage of actually being able to do karate.

Also, holy crap gender stereotypes. They couldn't find the kid on the end the bottom half of a costume?
posted by hoyland at 3:55 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


He knew the entire dance!

Thank you for posting this.
posted by sockermom at 3:57 AM on June 20, 2018


We write . for deaths. Is there an antonym? )?

)
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 5:00 AM on June 20, 2018


That was quite a...

(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)

"Pa" de deux.

Don't thank me. The puns are just as much a part of the job as doing ballet in Crocs.
posted by middleclasstool at 5:42 AM on June 20, 2018 [28 favorites]


Just when I had almost decided to give up and go embrace my my life on Crone Island ...
posted by minsies at 6:07 AM on June 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


I started crying at my desk. Fuck you, feelings!
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:28 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


Where are all THESE men and why have I never met one of them?

(why yes I am grumpy this morning)
posted by MiraK at 7:38 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


Is it just me or did he look like he basically knew the thing by heart, as if he’d been helping her practice at home? What a great way to break stereotypes about who does ballet, on top of everything else.

Yes! This was my favorite part, too, was that this isn't a one-time thing, he's clearly extremely supportive and invested in her interests.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:47 AM on June 20, 2018 [12 favorites]


This is so so sweet. Thank you for sharing this lovely moment.
posted by hapaxes.legomenon at 8:43 AM on June 20, 2018


This is great, but why do we even put little kids through these extremely stressful situations.

A lot of the time, you don't know it's going to be stressful for the kid until the thing starts. Even some super introverted kids (hi, is me!) really, really enjoy group recitals/performances (hi, is me again!). My parents couldn't get me to say hi to Aunt Mary but put me on a stage with five or so other little kids and I loved it.
posted by cooker girl at 8:55 AM on June 20, 2018 [11 favorites]


An explanation of why he did this. She was fine in the final recitals. Sounds like they are both awesome parents!
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 10:56 AM on June 20, 2018 [13 favorites]


He said he believes that fathers should learn to braid their girls’ hair, learn the characters and names of their favorite dolls and television shows, read and cook with them, and involve them in ordinary tasks such as fixing a toy or making a kite.

I respect the family’s privacy and everything, but I really really wish for another video of them making a kite while discussing doll interpersonal conflict. What a lovely family.
posted by Aravis76 at 11:02 AM on June 20, 2018 [9 favorites]


It's a real-life BBC One Christmas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PstSiTCk74
posted by memento maury at 11:33 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


To be fair, that baby basically does nothing during the entire event. It's just a burden, not an obstacle or a hindrance. It's maybe 3-4 difficultly points at most.

Babies are rubbish at dancing in general, can't expect too much from them to begin with.
posted by scalefree at 1:09 PM on June 20, 2018 [3 favorites]


Yes! This was my favorite part, too, was that this isn't a one-time thing, he's clearly extremely supportive and invested in her interests.

And he didn't half-ass the dance. He pointed his toes; he did the best he could to do the routine correctly. After reading the interview that One Smart Monkey posted above, he's an awesome supportive dad.
posted by gladly at 1:30 PM on June 20, 2018


This is cool, I hope I am as good a dad (due in November).

I was though the house tech for the more (much more) competitive end of this scene many years ago. It was just horrendous, the only person that seemed to actually have any fun was the 7 year old guy with downs that didn't pick up on all the interpersonal warfare and just danced his heart out. I really liked him.

My favourite/worst memory was the on-stage, after rehearsal, cast meeting with the teachers and the 17 ish year old senior dancers. It started with a call to "get it all out in the open, what's bothering everyone?", got more and more energetic, went via "I hate the way you do that. I hate the way you do everything. I hate everything you are!", progressed to a multi-way screaming, clawing, punching and wrestling match and only ended when the head of the school collapsed and stopped breathing for a bit. I called an ambulance, got her attended to and threw them out for the night. I then called my partner and asked her to make sure beer was in the fridge.

It changed nothing, they were all at each other's throats the next day. I was, and still am, mystified that anyone would be in that environment voluntarily.
posted by deadwax at 3:02 PM on June 20, 2018


Ahhh memento maury, the video you linked to did make me cry! (This posted video mostly made me think that he had better ankle flexibility than most men I have seen.)
posted by batter_my_heart at 10:09 PM on June 20, 2018


Thank you, this was lovely. I'm going to send it to my brother, whose beautiful baby daughter is eight days old. We both did dance lessons as kids; I would have been the one freaking out on the stage if I'd started that early, and he's definitely going to be the kind of dad who helps his kids practice their steps and comes out to help them if needed.
posted by daisyk at 10:01 AM on June 21, 2018


why do we even put little kids through these extremely stressful situations
So that they're not as stressful when they have to go through similar situations when they're older.
posted by Hal Mumkin at 10:28 AM on June 23, 2018 [1 favorite]


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