Once upon a time, five-year-old Cinderella danced the night away at a ball in the North Division High School gym.
It isn’t a fairy tale though. It’s a real-life Milwaukee tradition. And Cinderella was, of course, accompanied by her prince.
“I always buy her flowers every day,” Bertrell King-Ortiz, Cinderella’s dad, said. “Black fathers need to come out and take care of our kids.”
Cinderella and Bertrell were one of the hundreds of father-daughter duos at Milwaukee Rec’s 19th annual Daddy Daughter Dance Saturday night,
“It’s just a great experience in the city and we’re showing we appreciate everyone in Milwaukee County with fathers around, treating their daughters like princesses,” Jason Blocker, a Milwaukee Recreation Supervisor, explained.
For years, people across the city have dressed up and danced the night away. It’s a tradition that Isabelle and Pierre Smith started ten years ago.
“My favorite part is the respect that my dad shows me. He doesn’t let me down. I feel like a princess and he makes me his first priority always,” Isabelle smiled.