'For One Night, They Were Just Dads': Angola Prison Hosts First Ever Father-Daughter Dance

November 28, 2025

In a moment unlike anything Louisiana’s Angola Prison has ever seen, incarcerated fathers and their daughters stepped into a transformed Seminary Lecture Room — complete with flowers, décor, and even tuxedos — to share their first-ever father-daughter dance.

Credit: God Behind Bars

Hosted in partnership with the nonprofit God Behind Bars, the historic event reunited families who, in many cases, had not seen each other in years. A total of 29 fathers and 37 daughters, ages 5 to 20, arrived for an evening filled with music, emotion, and long-awaited connection.

For one night, as God Behind Bars founder Jake Bodine put it, the men “stood with pride and dignity, shedding every label the world had ever put on them. For one night, they were not inmates. They were Dad.”

Credit: God Behind Bars

Princess Dresses, Tuxedos, and Tears

The girls were pampered by professional makeup artist Jessica Haynes and a team of volunteers who curled hair, painted nails, and helped them get ready for their big moment.

The fathers, screened by the Department of Corrections for conduct and eligibility, had been fitted months earlier in custom tuxedos donated by Amor Suits.

Credit: God Behind Bars

When fathers turned around to see their daughters enter the room, many broke down in tears—including Leslie, an incarcerated father who hadn’t danced with his daughter until that very moment.

“When I turned around and saw my baby in that dress and she busted out crying... I sobbed, man, and I ain’t no crier,” he shared with Newsweek. “She said, ‘Dad, I finally get a chance to dance with you for the first time.’”

Credit: God Behind Bars

Some fathers had not hugged their daughters in more than a decade. Others had only ever seen their children in visitation rooms—never like this.

One dad, incarcerated for 15 years, finally reunited with his teenage daughter.

“She motivates me so much,” he said. “At this dance, I’ll tell her how much I love her… I hope she forgives me, and I’ll make it up to her with this dance.”

Credit: God Behind Bars

A Night of Restoration and New Beginnings

Angola Assistant Warden Anne-Marie Easley praised the event and the organization behind it, saying it gave fathers the chance to rebuild relationships despite their circumstances.

“It is so important for fathers to be involved in their daughters’ lives, no matter where they are, in order to break the cycle of incarceration,” she said.

Credit: God Behind Bars

The evening included a shared Thanksgiving meal, a choreographed dance prepared by the fathers, and special surprises.

Each daughter left with a gift bag filled with beauty products donated by T3 Micro and a Bible from Hosanna Revival.

Each father presented his daughter with a Bible and a handwritten letter.

Credit: God Behind Bars

God Behind Bars noted that the impact of a night like this goes far beyond the decorations or the dancing.

“Children with incarcerated parents are among the most vulnerable in America… Events like this matter deeply.”

And judging by the tears, hugs, and joyful reunions, it’s clear the night mattered deeply to every family who stepped onto the dance floor.

Credit: God Behind Bars

You can watch the full documentary below: