Girl in wheelchair denied access to Foreigner stage

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – When rock group Foreigner took the stage at the Denny Sanford Premier Center Wednesday night, a group of local students sang back-up for one of their songs.

That opportunity was supposed to be a 12-year-old girl’s final performance with the Sioux Falls Children’s choir. But, the girl in a wheelchair never got on stage.  

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12-year-old Halle Bauman is no stranger to the stage. 

“Halle loves to sing and she loves to act,” Christa Bauman said. 

But as her mother was driving her to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Wednesday afternoon she got shocking news. 

Her daughter in a wheelchair wouldn’t be able to join the Sioux Falls Children’s Choir on stage that night to perform with Foreigner. 

“So I had it on speakerphone, and so it was pretty horrible looking and seeing her face crumble,” Christa Bauman said. 

Kaela Schuiteman is the executive and artistic director of the choir. 

She says she communicated with Foreigner’s team several times, telling them she had a performer in a wheelchair. 

She also provided KELOLAND News with two emails where she mentions Halle’s wheelchair. 

“To my understanding, some people didn’t know that she was going to be onstage, that there was someone in a wheelchair coming on stage, and so they were not prepared was one of the excuses, so they wouldn’t be able to, in time, get a ramp ready for the stage because they’d have to reorganize everything,” Schuiteman said. “They told us they have pyrotechnics on stage and because of that usually they wouldn’t use them if someone was on stage in a wheelchair.” 

While the show went on, Schuiteman hopes Halle knows she was missed on stage.

“I just kept thinking of her sitting at home and the other kids wondering why Halle wasn’t there singing with us,” Schuiteman said. 

Halle’s mother describes her daughter as brave and resilient, but hopes her spirit isn’t crushed by the incident. 

“The ADA does call for reasonable accommodations to be made for people, and I think in this situation, had people been empathetic and compassionate and used their creativity, they certainly could’ve come up with a solution,” Bauman said. 

We reached out to the PREMIER Center and the assistant GM explained to us that logistics and performance planning are arranged by the tour. 

We’ve also attempted to reach the band’s team, but haven’t heard back yet.