MILWAUKEE — The Dancing Grannies are back in action ready to perform in their first parade since the tragedy in Waukesha.

Less than six months ago, tragedy struck during the Waukesha Christmas Parade.

Of the many victims, three were from the iconic Dancing Grannies group. Now, the group is preparing to get back out there this upcoming weekend at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Milwaukee.

The Dancing Grannies are working on perfecting their routine at practice. This next performance will mean a lot to them because they are dedicating it to the ones they lost. The ladies that are a part of the group are resilient.

They have found a way to come back to the dance floor after tragedy. Kathi Schmeling was there that night and said it’s hard to shake the scene from her head.

“I turned around, and I saw the red car speeding up the street,” Schmeling said. “And I saw blue bodies all across the street and white pom-poms all over. So I knew they had been run over.”

This routine means a lot. It’s the first one back since the Waukesha Christmas Parade and they are doing it to remember Virginia Sorenson, Leanna Owen, Tamara Durand and Wilhelm ‘Bill’ Hospel, a husband to one of the Grannies’.

“When I think back, I use the phrase, ‘You can’t be afraid of what ifs, you can’t worry about what ifs.’ So we are going to our parades again and you know, be happy and be proud,” Betty Streng said.

Streng suffered a traumatic brain injury at the parade and this marks her first full practice back.

“There is just energy. There is no time to think about how I might feel in terms of sad or hurt or whatever,” she said. “The energy is there. We just want to dance.”

The team is back dancing and has expanded, with 22 new grannies in training by their side.

“If Leanna and Virginia, and Tamara were all here, they would be ecstatic at the size of this group and we have 20-25 in the wings waiting to join us,” Schmeling said.

They continue to dance knowing it’s what their teammates would want, including their choreographer, Virginia.

“She would not want us to throw in the towel and quit. She had a motto: Keep on dancing,” Schmeling said. “That’s all I kept thinking about was we have to pick up the pieces here and keep on dancing. We have to hang onto her legacy and motto and forge ahead.”

So each wave of their pom-poms, marches, and twirls will hold a lot more than an eight count, but the spirit and joy their fellow members had for this team. They are making it their mission to keep on dancing and spreading joy to each community.