When Evelyn Keltgen (CHS 2025) was a sophomore, her dad Kris Keltgen called an important family meeting.
The founder of Kris and the Riverbend Dutchmen, an old time (think polka) music and dance band, Keltgen was expanding his on-stage career by producing and directing a documentary feature film. The film would celebrate the rich history of Southern Minnesota’s old-time music scene and the enduring spirit of the people in it.
But, while the picture—which, after three years in the making, opens to the general public in local theaters this week— weaved together over 60 interviews from musicians, historians and fans with rare footage from historic ballrooms, it originally lacked a cohesive narrative.
“My dad and his crew decided it needed a moving story, so that it wasn’t just a bunch of information thrown at people without any direction,” Evelyn said. “He asked me, my mom and my brother (freshman August Keltgen) what we thought of the idea of using my story.”
Within minutes after Evelyn was born, doctors discovered she had problems with her breathing. She was whisked off to the hospital rooftop for a helicopter trip to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis…even before her mother Melissa Keltgen could take her in her arms.
“You’re scared. You’re angry. You don’t know what to do,” Kris Keltgen said.
Six weeks later, she was diagnosed with pediatric pulmonary hypertension, a rare (about one in a million) condition where a child has high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, making it more difficult for the right side of the heart to pump blood through the lungs.
Doctors told the Keltgens that without treatment, she would not make it to her first birthday. With treatment, she might survive until then.
In the face of such a devastating illness, the family turned to music, not just as comfort but as a route towards healing. Kris Keltgen switched gears from performing rock to old time, learned how to play the concertina (an instrument with expanding bellows akin to the accordion) and, in 2009, formed the Riverbend Dutchmen.
At the end of the meeting, the rest of the family gave Kris Keltgen the green light, and “Song & Dance” took a new path with interviews and vignettes of Evelyn and the rest of the Keltgen family as well.
“It is a very personal story for all of us, so he made sure we were all ok with being vulnerable and sharing our story with the world,” Evelyn said. “We all agreed to use my story, and I thought that it would add a lot to the film.”
Evelyn Keltgen’s condition continues to affect her life. She has to take medicines every day. With a lung capacity that’s 60 to 70 percent that of a normal person, she can’t do all the physical activities that other young people her age do, but she did letter in varsity volleyball.
And, of course, she was a member of Cleveland’s award winning concert and jazz bands, first playing alto saxophone and later switching to tenor sax. She also occasionally performed with the Riverbend Dutchmen and the Mankato Area Community Band.
Beyond that, she was a member of the FFA, gave the honors address at her graduation ceremony last spring, took home the prestigious Athena Award presented there and was awarded numerous scholarships. She was an honor graduate and a member of the National Honor Society. On Tuesday, she headed off to Iowa State University, where she will begin a pre-veterinary track.
She said having a large role in “Song & Dance” was exciting, and she will look back at the experience fondly.
“I think my story added a lot of emotion to the movie. Although my life has been exposed, I think a lot of people can connect with the movie on a deeper level. I liked sharing my story, and maybe someone out there can relate to it.”
“Song & Dance” premiered to a private audience in Mankato’s Spotlight 4 Theatre last Saturday. Starting today (August 22) to August 28, it will continue its run there and also play at the Northwoods 10 Cinema in Owatonna (August 22-27) and the Lyric 3 Theatre in New Ulm (August 22-28). On September 12, it will run at the Forest Theatre in Forest City, IA with a filmmaker Q and A event following the screening.
The film will also be available on DVD.
Watching “Song & Dance” isn’t yet a requirement in Cleveland High School social studies classes, but with its heartwarming, sometimes tearjerking and other times humorous, in-depth look at a central facet of Southern Minnesota history and culture, its lessons of the power of healing music and dance and its local ties, perhaps it should be.
For more information about “Song & Dance,” please visit the “Song & Dance” website or Facebook page.
For more information on Kris and the Riverbend Dutchmen, please visit the Kris and the Riverbend Dutchmen website
Above: Evelyn Keltgen (third from right) along with classmate Ariel Murphy, friend junior Maile Meissner and classmate Jackson Bowen at the Gala Premier showing of “Song & Dance,” which was held at the Mankato’s Spotlight 4 Theatre last Saturday
