Dance company forced to find new location after tornado damaged school

Mark Wilson/News Tribune
Jefferson City Dance Academy dancers rehearse prior to Friday night's performance of Gretchen and Gretel 2019 at  North Elementary School. They originally had a recital scheduled for the Simonsen 9th Grade Center but that location sustained tornado damage and it had to be relocated.
Mark Wilson/News Tribune Jefferson City Dance Academy dancers rehearse prior to Friday night's performance of Gretchen and Gretel 2019 at North Elementary School. They originally had a recital scheduled for the Simonsen 9th Grade Center but that location sustained tornado damage and it had to be relocated.

Jefferson City Dance Company was supposed to hold its spring dance recital Friday night at Simonsen 9th Grade Center. But due to damage caused by the tornado Wednesday, the company was forced to find a new location.

A fourth of Simonsen suffered damages from the storm, but the auditorium holding the sets for the recital were untouched. But due to the damages to the rest of the school, the recital was moved to North Elementary School in Holts Summit.

Jan Dunning, the owner of Jefferson City Dance Company, spent Friday morning moving the sets to North. The only thing they needed was a sound system.

Thanks to a plea on a Facebook page, many dance parents stepped forward to offer their help, and a new sound system was found.

"The community really rallied around us," Dunning said. "The show must go on."