Mill Creek student Jack Willis and his mother Allyson Willis pose for a photo at the Mother/Son – Father/Daughter Dance. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – The entire family joined the fun at the first-ever Mother/Son – Father/Daughter Dance at Mill Creek Elementary School on Feb. 7.

Schools and churches sometimes sponsor father/daughter dances but seldom include mothers and sons. “We thought it was equally important that our young boys had an opportunity to take their mothers out on the dance floor,” Mill Creek Principal Dr. Claudia Styles said.

“Actually, the boys may have enjoyed it more than the girls,” Styles said. The dance attracted 448 people.

“When parents are with their children, away from the computer, video games and TV, chances are children will find it easier for to open up and share ideas or just talk to their parents about what’s going on in their lives,” counselor Cindy Davis said.

Most partygoers dressed in their best clothes, with “some young ladies in floor-length gowns and dads in suit and ties. Everyone looked very festive,” Davis said.

Deejay Anthony James kept the music pumping with the students’ favorite songs, such as “What Does the Fox Say?,” for line dances learned in physical education like the Cha-Cha Slide and Cupid Shuffle.

While couples boogied down in the cafeteria, guests claimed their souvenirs at photo booths in the gym. Along with strobe lights, the dance floor featured a disco ball, up lights and “wonderful life-sized cutouts of students dancing on the walls,” Davis said.

DJ Anthony focused on fast songs but ended with a special “son-and-parent” dance, followed by a “daughter-and-parent” dance, Davis said.

All grades, pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, attended the dance, but younger students dominated the floor.

All proceeds will benefit the Mill Creek Home-School Connect.