PAWHUSKA, Okla. — The Pawhuska Community came together at the Dance Maker spring recital to hold a special tribute to two former dancers killed in a crash in December.
The recital was aptly named "Grace and Hope" after the young women.
Grace Marie Adair and Katie Hope Adair died in a car accident just north of Pawhuska. They were well known in the Pawhuska even more in the dance community.
The performances opened with a special announcement from the director of dance at the Dance Maker Academy.
"These performances hold a special place in our hearts as we dedicate their entirety to the memory of Katie Hope Adair and Grace Adair," she said.
It wouldn’t be a dance recital without Grace and Katie cheering the dancers on, according to family. They were there Sunday afternoon. Their photos proudly displayed next to the stage.
"This is not the end for them. It's not the end for us. This was, of course, absolutely devastating, but they were incredible people, and they had such a short time on earth, but their legacy is going to live on," said Jennifer Adair, the girl's mother.
Grace and Katie started as students at Dance Maker Academy but then flourished as teachers.
Adair and Penny Potts chuckled and smiled as they reflected on the lives they led.
"How funny Grace was. Grace was hilarious and oh my gosh. Katie had the biggest heart of anyone. I guess she would, all the time," they said.
Penny, the older sister to Grace and Katie, did a piece originally performed by Grace just one year earlier. She said the stage is where she connects with her sisters.
"It helps. It does help. Me, I’m in the show, and it helps me just go from day to day, and when I dance, I feel, I can feel them with me, and it feels great," said Potts.
Jennifer said she wanted to be backstage. She quickly said no, saying her daughter would have been backstage running the show.
"But I feel my daughters here backstage because that’s where they would be and so I just wanna be where I can feel them and it’s the best connection that I can have," said Adair.
Adair and Potts said it was not just them who needed this event.
"They had such an impact on this community and on everybody they met. They shared the gospel, which was amazing," said Potts.
The theater was packed with people, each one watching the dancers who lived the legacy built by Grace and Katie Adair.
The family said they appreciate the support and are touched by the generosity of the dance community.
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