Dance Lexie Dance

Dance Lexie Dance is a 1996 short film made in Northern Ireland.^[1] The two principal characters are a widower, Lexie, and his daughter, Laura, who live in Derry. Laura becomes keen on Irish stepdance and on joining Riverdance when she grows up. Traditional Irish dancing is practiced by Irish Catholic families. Lexie and his daughter are Protestant, but Lexie relents and encourages his daughter. Self-taught, Laura enters a dance contest across the River Foyle in a Catholic district.^[2] The film ends as Laura teaches her father the first steps of the dance.

Dance Lexie Dance
Directed by	Tim Loane
Written by	Dave Duggan
Produced by	Pearse Moore
Starring	B. J. Hogg Kimberley McConkey
Cinematography	Eugene McVeigh
Edited by	Declan Byrne
Music by	Jules Maxwell
Production company	Raw Nerve Productions
Distributed by	Northern Lights
Release date	1996 (1996)
Running time	14 minutes
Country	United Kingdom

Ruth Barton writes of the film's structure, "Symbolically, the film illustrates its theme of bridging divides – between father and daughter, Protestant and Catholic traditions, life and death – by the device of the boat Lexie (B. J. Hogg) pilots across the Foyle to and from his job, itself a mixed workplace. Finally, Laura performs in a Féis (dancing competition) in honour of which the boat is decked out in red, white, and blue bunting."^[3]

Accolades

Dance Lexie Dance was nominated in the Best Live Action Short Film category at the 70th Academy Awards.^[4]

The film was included on the ALA Notable Children's Videos list in 1999.^[5]