Father Hesitant When Daughter Wants To Dance But Busts Out His Moves And Steals The Spotlight

Jan 13, 2021 by apost team

Some people are naturally shy. Having to stand in front of a crowd makes them nervous, anxious, or flustered. For others, the shyness may just be a charade. This was the case for father Mike Hanley, who works as a comedian.

Mike Hanley was up to a few tricks at his daughter's Bat Mitzvah celebration in 2012. After sharing a father-daughter dance, Mike put on his shy cap, only to stun the audience when he proved he actually had some moves during this father-daughter dance.

Father-daughter dances are a common event. They take place at schools, clubs, weddings, and Bat Mitzvah parties. At this Bat Mitzvah party, Mike Hanley and his daughter started with a traditional slow dance. His daughter then asked him to join her for a faster dance. They planned this little trick well in advance in order to give the crowd a good laugh. However, the planning is to no surprise, because father Mike Hanley is a comedian. According to his website, Hanely is a stand-up comedian who is known for not only his viral Youtube videos but also his appearances on CBS Boston's Best Comedians Special and the Today Show. His website also explains his approach to comedy:

"Mike's unique style of high energy, full tilt comedy has left audiences all over erupting in laughter."

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Hanley's style of comedy definitely helped out to make the dance fun and entertaining for the guests present, and also those who enjoy the video even years after the dance. Mike Hanley put his head down, then looked around for a minute. He had to feign being shy. However, people who know him are aware that Mike Hanley is not that shy. As a comedian, he routinely performs in front of a crowd of strangers, and before long, Mike Hanley was busting a move and making the crowd laugh.

At the start of the dance, his daughter plays it off as though she is maybe not quite enjoying the traditional slow-dance, so then she tries to change it up. However, Hanley acts as though he is not as willing to do the more modern dance that his daughter wants. Then, he gives in and decides to dance with her. They do a variety of dances together to an entire medley of songs — old and new. The cross-generational aspect of the dance is what really makes the audience — both young and old — roar with laughter.

A huge reason why this dance brings so much joy to those who watch it is that it's so non-traditional. It's even non-traditional for the occasion, the Bat Mitzvah. A Bat Mitzvah is a coming-of-age celebration for young women around the age of 12 or 13, depending on the type of Jewish practice the family follows. There is a male equivalent, the Bar Mitzvah, which is for young men aged 13. This is because 'bar' means son in Hebrew, and 'bat' means daughter. The word 'mitzvah' is a concept in Judaism that roughly translates to a good deed, but doesn't quite cover all of the nuances of the word in a religious context, as it literally translates to 'commandment.' 

This is why the coming-of-age parties are named 'Bar' or 'Bat' 'Mitzvah.' A Jewish person growing from a child to an adult is considered a good deed for the world and in Judaism. While many Bat Mitzvah celebrations can have a lot of religious parts — such as reading a section from the Torah — they always leave time to party!

Many Bat Mitzvah celebrations include traditional Jewish music and dancing that might sound antiquated to a lot of people's ears. While this celebration may have very well had a mixture of both, this performance shines because it's a wonderful mash-up of multiple different songs across many decades. With hits such as "Grease Lightnin'," "My Girl," and "Macarena," there were songs that appealed clearly to father Hanley's generation. However, there were other more modern hits such as "Low," "Hey Ya," and "Dynamite" that appealed to Hanley's daughter and her friends. This led to the performance being truly a father-daughter creation, with hints of both of them in the choreography and dance mix.

Hanley's family-man approach to comedy apparently came after a long period of time of not doing comedy at all. To promote one of Stanley's stand-up events back in 2015, the Daily Hampshire Gazette wrote:

"Mike Hanley took an 11-year hiatus from his career as a stand-up comedian to raise a family — and accumulated a load of new material during that time. He began performing again in 2011 and since has taken home top honors at numerous comedy competitions across New England."

The hiatus definitely paid off, as it shows that Hanley now has blended his comedy with his family life and created great combinations of the two as seen with the dance video. Mike Hanley and his daughter have incredible chemistry as they do their choreography — it's cheeky and heartfelt at the same time.

When talking about his own comedy, Hanley told the Daily Hampshire Gazette:

"I tell people if you are married, you will laugh at my stories, if you are single, you will want to stay that way the rest of your life."

This surely holds true, as Hanley derives a lot of humor from his personal life. Since the dance video, Hanely has done many local gigs in the Massachusetts area and has even branched out further along the east coast. He's on the list to perform at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut for the Comix Roadhouse series where he'll be doing stand-up comedy once again among other comics. Hanley's circle of where he performs is certainly expanding, and the local comedian certainly has a big career ahead of him, and all over the east coast, it seems!

If you want to keep up with Mike Hanley's gigs and life, he has his own website, Instagram, and Facebook.

Have you ever pulled a trick on a crowd? Do you like to dance or perform in front of other people? Do you think it was right for a dad to take center stage at a party that was meant for his daughter? Let us know down below, then be sure to pass this funny video on to those you know!