Daddy daughter dance date

The skies crackled with thunderbolts and a summer rainstorm splashed a modicum of relief upon those of us suffering from a stifling heat wave.

But here at the Orange County Fair, we can’t let a little lightning stop things.

The show must go on.

And that would be the reason why this Sunday morning I was escorting my two daughters, Danielle and Kristen, through the craft booth aisles toward the Heritage Stage and the 11 a.m. performance of the Cathleen Forcucci Dance Academy.

“They must be dancers,” I heard one young woman whisper as we scooted by.

“What do you two do?” asked one craft booth merchant.

“Tell him you sing and dance,” I said.

But the girls barely heard me. They concentrated on the show as they walked proudly through the booths, their heads high, their makeup and sock hop 50s outfits making them look well beyond their years (they are 5 and 7, after all).

This was a first for me. In the 15-plus years I have covered the Orange County Fair as a journalist, I’ve written about pig races and pig births, carnie mishaps and carnival attractions, bees and bunnies, prize-winning cucumbers and Australian battered fried potatoes. I even did a story once, coincidentally, about a lightning storm shutting down the fair.

But I never attended a fair where someone related to me was in an exhibit or a show, until now.

Once we got to Heritage Stage, the background sky was a deep, dark purple, a stark reminder of the severe weather that had just passed. And a remnant of that storm was a basting humidity, intense enough, I learned, to melt a frozen lemonade into mush in a matter of minutes.

But the show must go on. And so it did.

The numbers, themed an adventure through time, included pieces celebrating the Egyptian and Shakespearean era, the 1950s, 1970s and present-day rap music.

The dancers ranged from the very accomplished ballerinas and hip-hoppers to rank amateur tap dancers like my girls.

This is the 12th year the Cathleen Forcucci Dance Academy has performed at the fair, said Jennifer Forcucci-Marzluf, who along with her sister, Leanna Forcucci-Herron, runs the show.

Their mother, Cathleen Forcucci-Heideman, started the academy 22 years ago in Anaheim. The late Miss Cathy had 25 students back then. Now they have 550 students and seven teachers in programs that span the county from Fullerton, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach and Ladera Ranch.

“We are very strong in our ballet and hip-hop programs,” said Forcucci-Marzluf, also known as Miss Jennifer to my girls.

“We are a performance-based academy,” she said. “We don’t do competitions. We try to create a family atmosphere for our dancers. We take pride in that.”

From my vantage point, there was plenty of pride to go around for the 100 or so gathered to watch the show, which included at least two dedicated grandmas and two dedicated cousins and one extremely proud dad, who was happy indeed that the show must go on.Credit: DON LEACH / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)Tony Dodero’s daughter, Danielle, middle, dances at the Orange County Fair. Dodero is Times Community News’ online general manager. dpt-24-fair1-dl-CPhotoInfoHO1T7RRV20060724j2vovencCredit: DON LEACH / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA) Cathleen Forducci Dance Academy students, including Aiyanna Emigh, middle, and Julie Munchel, right, who dances lead, perform at the O.C. Fair. dpt-24-fair3-dl-BPhotoInfoHO1T7S4920060724j2vr1nncCredit: DON LEACH / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA) Cathleen Forducci Dance Academy students, including Aiyanna Emigh, middle, and Julie Munchel, right, who dances lead, perform at the O.C. Fair.