Hot Springs Dance Troupe meets tWitch

The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown DREAM REALIZED: The World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade's official starter, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, center, and his wife, Allison, take a selfie with the Hot Springs Dance Troupe Sunday at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown DREAM REALIZED: The World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade's official starter, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, center, and his wife, Allison, take a selfie with the Hot Springs Dance Troupe Sunday at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The Hot Springs Dance Troupe's efforts to meet famed dancer Stephen "tWitch" Boss, the DJ on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," paid off Sunday while he was in Hot Springs to serve as the starter of the First Ever 16th Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Over the past several months, Hot Springs World Class High School dance education director for grades 7-12, Amy Bramlett Turner, and her dancers have made multiple attempts to contact DeGeneres and tWtich, including writing letters and creating a video showcasing the troupe's skills in tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and modern dancing.

Their efforts were not in vain. On Sunday, the troupe enjoyed a private meet-and-greet at the Hot Springs Convention Center with tWitch and his wife, Allison Renae Holker Boss, one of the professional dancers on "Dancing with the Stars."

The young dancers took numerous photographs with tWitch and Holker, both as a group and individually, and also used the opportunity to ask them questions, such as what inspired them to dance professionally, if the pair had visited Arkansas previously, and if they themselves danced while in school.

The troupe also performed its original social justice dance, which is based on Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech," for tWitch and Holker.

"It was a great experience showing famous, well-rounded dancers what we can do, and we're from Hot Springs, Ark.," said 11th-grader Jayelyn Hill.

Twelfth-grader Krisstasha Miles was glad for the opportunity to perform the dance in particular for the celebrities because "it was something different, so it wasn't going to be something they were used to."

Saying he enjoyed the routine, tWitch saw it as a glimpse into the real Hot Springs community.

"This was incredible. 'A,' just to be here for such a momentous occasion, and then 'B' just to be able to connect with the actual community that's making a difference. Man, that was powerful. That was awesome," he said.

To Bramlett Turner, all of the time and efforts to make the meeting happen for her students was well worth it.

"We are so appreciative of Mr. Arrison and Bill Solleder and everyone at Visit Hot Springs and The Sentinel-Record because that's how we had something to share. And that's what ultimately made this happen," she said.

Local on 03/18/2019

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