When stages went dark during COVID, TorchHouse Studio teamed up with Kansas City Ballet dancer/leader Tempe Ostergren to create The Ballet Street Project; a series of outdoor performances filmed at iconic KC landmarks like the Nelson-Atkins, Union Station, 18th & Vine, the West Bottoms, and Crown Center. With Tempe and Ron leading the charge, we turned everyday public spaces into temporary stages and captured how the arts kept moving even when everything else stood still.
We kept things simple and distanced on purpose: small crew, simple setups, and a focus on letting Tempe’s movement and the locations carry the story. Each spot had its own energy, and we wanted to capture that without getting in the way. The whole project became this reminder that art doesn’t stop just because the world hits pause. It was raw, hopeful, and a little surreal, but that’s what made it worth doing.
The project ended up getting a lot of love it won the Ad Club’s Cowan Award for Best Local Campaign, got covered by KCUR/NPR, and showed up on KCPT/PBS’s KC Performs. But honestly, the best part was seeing how many people connected with it at a time when everyone needed a little lift. It brought the ballet to folks who might’ve never seen it otherwise and reminded KC that the arts were still alive and kicking, even if the stages were closed.