Submitted Photo Fathers and daughters of all ages dance together at a past Father-Daughter Dance. The dance has now been renamed the Knights and Princesses Dance to include more family and friends. Photo from Mandy Kuhnhenn.

The fourth annual Knights and Princesses Dance, sponsored by the Daryl Kuhnhenn Memorial Ride, is set to dazzle tonight from 6-9 p.m at the Rugby High School.

“It started out as a father-daughter dance,” said Mandy Kuhnhenn, one of the organizers of the Knights and Princesses Dance. “This year we changed it to a Knights and Princesses Dance so that boys and girls, moms and dads, grandpas and grandmas, so everybody can attend. It’s not just for fathers and daughters.”

The idea behind the name change was to be more inclusive towards diverse family structures and family dynamics.

A son could be the knight and bring his mom to the dance as his princess. A little sister could take her big brother to the dance as her knight or take her older sister and they could both be princesses. Grandsons could be the knights to their grandparents and so on.

And, of course, fathers can still dance with their daughters and be the knights to their princesses in classic father-daughter dance fashion.

Not only is this the first year for the dance’s name change, this is also the first year the dance is being held at Rugby High School.

“We usually host it at the fairgrounds, but we feel like we have outgrown that facility, and so we are renting the high school,” Kuhnhenn said. “They rented it to us so that we can use the auditorium for our grand march, kind of like a prom. So we’ll use the auditorium for that and then have the dance in the Commons area.”

Dance attire is as simple or as formal as each knight and princess would like it to be.

“It can be as casual as you want. If they want to come in jeans and a T-shirt, they can. We want everybody to feel comfortable,” Kuhnhenn said. “There’s no mandatory dress up.”

Some princesses come in ball gowns and some come in cute dresses they already had at home. Some people come in jeans and some people come in tuxedos.

“It shouldn’t break the bank. It should just be a fun event for them. Whatever they have, however big they want to make it,” Kuhnhenn said.

Knights and princesses will have access to photo props for all their selfie-taking needs. These props include things such as blow up guitars, feather boas and other fun accessories. There will be a designated spot with a formal background for photos.

Friends and family are welcome to take pictures of the knights and princesses they know.

“There won’t be a photographer, but it is open to people to come and watch,” Kuhnhenn said. “So if you have friends and family that want to come and watch, they can come to the auditorium at seven and watch the grand march part of it.”

Friends, family and community members can attend the grand march portion of the dance for free. Knights and princesses at the dance must purchase tickets either beforehand or at the door.

The grand march begins at 7 p.m., followed by the first dance.