Daddies dance with their little girls

Not many gals can resist going on a date with a handsome Marine.

When Kember Oliver opened the door to the man in uniform holding a handful of flowers and calling her beautiful, she knew this one was special.

It was her first date with her daddy.

The 5-year-old daughter of Rock Hill native Cpl. James Oliver, 30, asked her father, a Marine, to wear his uniform when he took her to the City of Rock Hill’s Daddy-Daughter Dance.

“I told her I was proud to take her as my date,” said James Oliver, who knew his little girl’s favorite color was teal when he picked out her dress.

The Olivers joined nearly 400 girls and their fathers, stepfathers, uncles and grandfathers for the 14th annual dance Friday at the Baxter Hood Center, said Tracy Parham of the city’s parks, recreation and tourism department.

Bouncy girls wearing taffeta and tulle dresses perfect for spinning, sequined shoes and tiaras twirled around the dark dance floor.

Some dads watched with giant grins while others attempted the latest dance moves.

Fathers, like James Oliver, did basic dance moves moving side-to-side.

“He does not know how to dance natural,” Kember said.

By the end of the night — about an hour past bedtime — dads were holding the sequined shoes and their exhausted little girls.

Some wrapped their arms around their dads and slow danced to the last song — about daddy’s little girl.

This story was originally published February 18, 2017 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Daddies dance with their little girls."