Simplified: A 12-year-old Sioux Falls girl wasn't able to sing with the rest of her friends in the Sioux Falls Children's Choir as back-up singers for rock band Foreigner earlier this week. It's all because they couldn't accommodate her wheelchair.

Tell me more

Christa Bauman was getting ready to drive her daughter Halle to rehearsal for what was supposed to be her last-ever performance with the Sioux Falls Children's Choir Wednesday afternoon when she noticed she had a few missed calls.

• She hopped in the car, started driving and called back on speakerphone. That's when she was told Halle wouldn't be allowed to join her choir and Foreigner on stage because the facility couldn't accommodate her wheelchair.
• She looked back at her daughter in the back seat. She'd heard everything.

"Her face just crumpled, and she started bawling," Christa said.

How did this happen?

The choir made an audition video to send into a local radio station when they heard about the opportunity to sign back-up for Foreigner. In May, they were notified they'd been selected, said Kaela Schuiteman, the children's choir's executive and artistic director.

• Right away, Schuiteman reached out to the band's representatives to let them know a member of the choir uses a wheelchair.
• Both Schuiteman and Christa Bauman were also in contact throughout the summer with Premier Center staff to ensure that Halle would be able to participate alongside her choir-mates.

It wasn't until about 2 p.m. – about five hours before the concert – when they learned Halle wouldn't be allowed to perform.

"I could not fathom how they couldn’t find a way to make it work," Schuiteman said.

Bauman took to social media to urge people to pressure the event venue and the band to make accommodations. Both she and Schuiteman were working until after the concert had started to see if there was a way to get Halle on stage.

Ultimately, their efforts failed.

"This was a moment (for Halle) to shine, a moment to be a part of something really cool," Bauman said. "And it was taken away from her because a professional production manager was too lazy to figure out an accommodation, in my opinion."

Bauman noted she doesn't blame the Premier Center – noting that their staff did try to help when they realized what had happened. But in the end it was the band's production team's decision.

"The tour had expressed some safety concerns and some logistic concerns and cited some communication problems of them not being aware until that day," Premier Center Assistant General Manager Jim Johnson said. "Obviously, when we were made aware there was an issue, we tried to do what we could."

Did the band say anything?

Yes, after. On Thursday evening at around 7 p.m., bassist Jeff Pilson shared a Facebook post apologizing to Halle with the following message:

"We're deeply disappointed in the mistake made by our team and understand the impact it had on this talented young fan. We believe music should be inclusive for all and are taking steps to ensure our shows are accessible to everyone. We hope to make it up to her and her family, and we're committed to doing better in the future."

How's Halle doing now?

Her mom said she was, understandably, devastated, when she first heard the news. Christa recalled turning the car around, coming home and crying with her daughter.

Then, it was time to take action, Christa said.

"I was like, well, I’m gonna use my power of social media and see if i can influence the situation," she said. "I was a little surprised by how quickly it caught on."

Halle saw the immediate support, and her mom even shared a video of her counting how many responses she was getting.

The next day, a post from the Sioux Falls Children's Choir was shared hundreds of times and garnered even more support with the hashtag #hearHalle.

What should we learn from this?

Sioux Falls Simplified reached out to some disability advocates for their input.

"What I'm hoping people realize is the importance of being an ally," said Kendra Gottsleben, who works with the Center for Disabilities as well as nonprofit Rare by Design. "These are the type of things people with disabilities, with mobility devices – this is where we belong, we belong on that stage. We belong where everybody else is, but sometimes it takes some adaptions."

Vicki Stewart, director of Employment Disability Resources, said it's shocking that things like this are still happening 34 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It's good to see the positive community support for Halle, she added.

"But we all need to speak up, and we can’t just let this go," Stewart said. "We need to make sure it doesn’t happen again."

And, at the end of the day, what matters to Bauman is that her daughter felt supported.

"That means everything," she said. "We are surrounded by a community that’s willing to go to bat and speak up for things that are not right."