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.

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]

References

1. ^ Film credits available at "Dance Lexie Dance (1996)". Northern Ireland Screen. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
2. ^ "Dave Duggan/ Dramatist and novelist". Derry/Londonderry City of Culture 2013. July 8, 2010. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
3. ^ Barton, Ruth (2004). Irish National Cinema. Psychology Press. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-415-27894-2.
4. ^ AMPAS^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "1999 Notable Children's Videos". alair.ala.org. Retrieved 17 Oct 2025.

Further reading

• Dance Lexie Dance at IMDb
• Dance Lexie Dance at Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive