Angola prison hosts its first-ever ‘daddy-daughter’ dance, giving nearly 30 incarcerated men a chance to reconnect, heal family bonds, and swap orange jumpsuits for tuxedos—even if just for a night.
By Staff
December 1, 2025/
Nearly 30 daughters of incarcerated fathers recently had the reunion of a lifetime at Angola Prison in Louisiana.
A father-daughter dance was held in an effort to reestablish familial bonds and restore families for inmates with a record of “good behavior.”
The event gave men serving long sentences a rare chance to hug their children, many for the first time in years, and to simply be “dad” for one night.
The first-of-its-kind dance for the prison was organized by the Christian nonprofit God Behind Bars, which works nationwide to restore families impacted by incarceration.
The fathers dressed in tuxedos with pink boutonnieres and welcomed daughters who arrived in shimmering dresses, some bursting into tears and running across a petal-strewn carpet to reunite.
The celebration, held in the prison’s Bible college, featured special moments like slow dances to songs such as Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Butterfly Kisses,” and included a surprise line dance performed by the fathers after weeks of practice.
“She’s 17, and I’ve been gone 15 years; she means everything. I’d put my life on the line for my daughter, man,” said one father in a video documenting the occasion. Many of these fathers have missed their child’s first steps, first words, and many other important milestones that some parents take for granted.
For Leslie Harris, one of the participants, holding his 17-year-old daughter and sharing a Bible filled with highlighted passages became a powerful reminder of family and accountability.
“That’s really the heart of it at the end of the day,” said Jake Bodine, founder of God Behind Bars, according to CBS News. ”Show these individuals who is counting on them, and once they realize the weight of that, they will hold themselves accountable for change.”
Event organizers created the dance in an effort to keep inmates hopeful and encourage them to strive for change… not just for themselves, but for loved ones waiting on the outside.
The event follows similar dances at other U.S. prisons, including one in Washington D.C. highlighted in the Netflix documentary “Daughters.”
Louisiana’s Angola prison has more than 6,300 inmates, and is historically known for its annual prison rodeo; now prison leaders are considering making the dance a yearly tradition.