A chance for dads to make a move

Whether he favours the Funky Chicken, the “Elvis” or freestyle, no one dances quite like a dad. For offspring, the usual response is to cringe, but a new project invites us to celebrate the moves that blight so many family gatherings.

Professional dancers Rosie Heafford, Helena Webb and Alexandrina Hemsley are hosting Arts Council-sponsored workshops where participants of all ages will bond with their fathers through dance and discussion. The sessions will inform a performance in which the three women will take to the stage with their own fathers.

The trio met at the Trinity Laban dance school where their dads would dutifully attend the end-of-year shows. “Their general response was polite bafflement,” says Hemsley. Dad Dancing is an attempt to bridge the gaps in their lifestyles, as well as addressing wider disconnects between father and child.

Some things, though, never change: “Dad's still doing this strange pointy-fingers dance at parties,” sighs Hemsley.

'Dad Dancing', Nightingale Theatre, Brighton, Sunday. More events at www.dad-dancing.org/ wordpress