By Jennifer Theurer

Downtown Dance, Tumbling and Aerial Arts of Chapman recently received a $300,000 community development block grant from Flint Hills Regional Council to facilitate renovations to the Buhrer Opera House.

Vicky Woods has owned and operated Downtown Dance since 2018 in a building across the street from the opera house. By 2022 the business she had originally planned to spend a couple days a week working at had outgrown the initial building and the American Legion graciously offered to share their space with her.

Two more years of growth had Woods scrambling for an even bigger location.

“I really love the downtown location here in Chapman,” Woods said. “All of the students in town can get out of school and actually walk to their classes.”

She also loved the idea of revitalizing an older building and in March 2024 Woods and her husband had the opportunity to buy the opera house.

“We remodeled one side of the main level and immediately opened our dance and tumbling in that one half of the space in August of 2024,” Woods said. “We still have classes across the street for our aerial folks.”

Woods had applied for a different grant but didn’t end up getting it when a friend suggested she contact Flint Hills Regional Council, a non-profit, voluntary service association of local Kansas governments that provide mutually beneficial services with the goal of enhancing economic vitality. Once Woods had submitted her application the process went smoothly from there and in October she learned Downtown Dance had been selected.

The grant gives Woods the funds she needs to renovate the more than 3,000 square feet of wide-open space in the upstairs of the opera house. The ceiling height in the new space is around 20 feet so Woods can host her aerial, dance and tumbling classes all in the same building.

“The new pulley system will allow us to change out apparatus and eventually offer other aerial arts classes like the Lyra hoop and trapeze and maybe even bungee classes,” she said.

Woods hopes this is the first step in bringing new economic activity to Chapman, creating jobs and encouraging others to reinvest in existing properties that can help grow the local tax base.

“All of our equipment is able to easily put away in a storage closet,” she said. “The goal is to make this a multifaceted space so we can host other events.”