Well, it's a marvellous day for a sun dance

Any port in a storm. As weather watchers debate the number of consecutive days it has rained - estimates are by now well over 50 - desperate times call for unusual tactics.

An advertising agency has flown in Native American Larry Yazzie to do a sun dance. From the Meskwaki nation in Iowa, Larry is a champion "fancy" dancer.

"In the early 1900s it used to be called a war dance and was performed in wild west shows," says the 40-year-old. Now it's fancy dancing, an energetic aerobic-style dance, normally performed at powwows - Native American get-togethers - but coming to Sandymount Strand in Dublin tomorrow at 11am.

But Met Éireann forecaster David Rogers is not optimistic. "I wouldn't hold out much hope," he says. "There's not going to be a huge amount of sunshine over the next few days."

The forecast is mixed and the Met Éireann man points out that the temperature "won't break any records either. In other words temperatures will be lower than normal."

Ocean Advertising Agency managing director Doug Baxter predicts August sunshine through Larry's sun dance, but the man himself is more cautious.

In his striking and colourful outfit, the Meskwaki man says: "I don't have that kind of power to bring sunshine but to bring good medicine. I do the dancing for good will. Dancing is the way to express one's spirit."

Good medicine is a form of "spiritual uplift" and as he performed some fancy dance moves on Dublin's Moore Street yesterday, he brought some uplift.

"Well, the sun is shining," said one onlooker as a small, smiling crowd gathered, many with camera phones wanting their picture taken.

Earlier Larry had been to Temple Street hospital where he had performed for the children and today he will perform at the Barretstown Camp in Co Kildare. And if Native American fancy dancing isn't enough, Larry's Sandymount Strand performance will be followed by some Irish dancing, which may not be such a good idea.

Much like Irish dancing, fancy dancing is a very competitive event among North America's 500 tribes, and is run like a rodeo circuit.

Sandymount's sun dancer is a world champion and performs usually with a troupe, the Native Pride dancers. While his outfit and the advertising agency's opportunism bring a smile, the fancy dancer is very serious about his performance.

Exuding a zen-like calm, he says his use of animal feathers represents "the animals coming back to life" and the need "to respect Mother Earth and honour it".

As he passed down Moore Street, the fruit and veg sellers were intrigued. "He's a sun dancer," shouts one stallholder to another. "It better f****n' sun dance," was the succinct reply.

The pressure's on.