STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Dr. Tony Buoncristiani is known for his adept wielding of surgical tools as he repairs knees and shoulders.

But on Saturday night he juggled a marvel of a different sort—spinning two daughters around at the same time at the Wood River YMCA’s annual Father-Daughter Dance.

Buoncristiani showed the other dads how it’s done as he hit the floor early with 8-year-old Aviella and 5-year-old Rienza in tow. Aviella was a veteran, having accompanied her dad to the dance last year. And, as such, she could offer tips to her younger sister.

“It’s lots of fun,” she said, “But sometimes the chocolate fountain breaks down.”

The chocolate fountain was flowing as steadily as Shoshone Falls Saturday night as fathers showed tiny tots how to stick spears of pineapple, strawberries and bananas underneath the creamy chocolate.

Little girls dressed up as tiny princesses, characters from “Frozen” and in glittery outfits meant to resemble the singer JoJo--the youngest solo artist in history to top the chart at age 13.

And they looked wide-eyed as their fathers gently affixed orchids provided by the Y to their wrists and invited their daddy’s little girls to crawl up in their laps for a professional father-daughter portrait.

“We get more and more dancers every year, and it’s fun to see how much the girls enjoy dressing up like princesses, being celebrated and getting to have some time with their dads,” said the Y’s executive director Jason Shearer, whose daughter Scout organized the first dance three years ago for her senior project.

“My first father-daughter dance was about 15 years ago and I remember how happy my daughter was to dance in plastic shoes and a sparkly dress,” he added.

The Y had originally planned for 80 dads and daughters. But 184 made reservations. And a few more dads and daughters showed up at the last minute, along with a few moms and brothers.

Organizers Cindy Mascheroni and Mary Williams took it in stride, beaming as they watched fathers in tuxedos and dark suits stream through the door, their big paws holding their daughters’ tiny hands.

“It’s so sweet to see the dads taking care of their daughters, and the daughters are so proud to have their dads to themselves,” said Williams.

Sean Logullo was among the first to arrive, his small daughter Emilie in tow.

“My wife told me to come,” he said. “My daughter wanted to know if her friends would be here, and I told her we were going to have fun.”

“Shout and Twist,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “Stand By Me” blared in the darkened gym as dads swept their daughters up in their arms and some of the youngsters formed a conga line.

Others took a breather munching on Valentine’s cookies, pretzels and punch infused with sherbet and fruit dipped under the ever-so-popular chocolate fountain.

One mother smiled as her daughter Lourdes Bias brushed her hair to take part in a group photo followed by a stuffed toy giveaway.

“She always has to look perfect!” she said.

Judd McMahon grinned wryly as his 9-year-old daughter took off her high heels to save her sore feet.

“High heels. It’s terrifying,” he said reminiscing about how quickly his daughter has grown from a toddler helping him collect lettuce on a Bellevue farm to now. “But this is nice. It’s fun to see kids of all ages.”