BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. — What started as a challenge to keep dancers on their toes and involve their families turned into a way to honor those on the front lines of the pandemic.
When a Bonner Spring studio closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Premiere Dance and Performing Arts began issuing dancers and their families weekly challenges, including TikTok dances.
“It’s easy to lock into our house and be focused on finishing your classes every week and getting your stuff done from home, but you don’t realize how many parents of our kids are still out their working every single day,” Keiana Moyer said.
Parents like Kyle Kuttler. When he’s not dancing with his wife and daughters, he’s a firefighter for Johnson County Consolidated Fire District 2.
“We just knew it was time to thank our first responders and all of our health care workers because we know how hard it is for us, but we can’t imagine it is for them what they are doing every day,” said Tiffany Miller, who is also a co-owner of Premiere Dance and Performing Arts.
“Hearing the girls’ voices and hearing them talk about their parents and what they mean to them it really made me emotional,” Moyer said.
“Thanks to our favorite firefighter, you’re our hero,” Kuttler’s daughters Kinsey and Kaylee said in the video.
“We just wanted to let him know how thankful we were and let him know that we do appreciate it and see what he’s doing,” Kaylee said of the video.
“I had no idea. It was a very nice tribute. There’s a lot of front line workers at the studio where they are at, and I thought it was a very nice tribute to all those folks,” Kuttler said.
“Taking a step back and realizing what’s actually important at the end of the day has been a huge eye opener. Of course, we love to dance and that’s important in their lives, but so is family and just being together when we can be,” Moyer said.
