From the archives: This story was last updated in December 2019.
Comedian Mike Hanley is no stranger to putting himself out there in front of big crowds. After all, performing stand up all over New England has given him plenty of practice in the art of performance.So when his daughter Jessica’s 13th birthday came around, and it was time for her bat mitzvah, a coming-of-age ritual for Jewish girls, her mom came up with a very special father-daughter dance routine.
About halfway into “My Girl,” the music abruptly changes, and daughter Jessica jumps away to start dancing to her own to Whitney Houston’s unforgettable classic, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Jessica seems to be challenging her father to a full-fledged dance-off.
At first, her dad looks perplexed at his daughter throwing down the gauntlet. But once the familiar sounds of Lou Bega’s 90s classic “Mambo Number 5” sounds, Dad catches up, and the two are stepping and swinging in time.
From a Latin classic, the mix fades seamlessly through: LMFAO’s “Everyday I’m Shuffling,” featuring the trademark move, then onto Soulja Boy’s “Crank That,” with its viral “Superman move,” and into Jackson 5’s classic “ABC,” and then Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” then “Greased Lightning,” and many, many more that you'll have to watch for yourself to believe.
To Dad’s credit, though, this loving father keeps up with his daughter through several more music changes, making it through Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and the “Macarena” to return full circle to their leisurely slow dance at the finish. However, Dad is noticeably out of breath by the end.
The video didn’t garner quite as many hits, but Hanley spared nothing in his efforts to give everybody a good laugh, with singing that was just as well-intentioned, if a little bit off, as his dancing had been for Jessica’s bat mitzvah.
