OMAHA, Neb. -- A metro couple has officially started dance classes as part of the newly created Kabul Dance Studio in Afghanistan.

Ken and Erin Jensen moved from Omaha to Kabul in the summer of 2007. For the last year, Ken has been teaching at a school in Afghanistan and Erin has been working as a nurse.

The couple worked to bring donated soccer supplies to children in Afghanistan. In the summer of 2008, they began plans to open a dance studio in Kabul.

“Little girls love dance,” said Erin Jensen while in Omaha in August. “It’s a big part of so many little girls' lives. We just wanted to bring something positive they could focus on.”

The Jensens collected donated dance shoes and supplies from Omaha and Lincoln, and received a donated dance floor for a new studio.

In an e-mail sent out in September of 2008, Erin Jensen reported that the Kabul Dance Studio was under construction. The dance floor had not yet reached Afghanistan due to shipping costs, but Jensen was hopeful the studio would raise enough money to bring it to Kabul.

Although the initial completion date of Aug. 1 was not reached, Jensen said that dance classes would begin with or without a studio on Sept. 20.

“There is very little that could ruin the enthusiasm of the will-be-ballerinas here in Kabul!” Jensen wrote. “Their only request is that we start.” Thirty students had signed up for classes by Tuesday, according to Jensen's Web site.

Jensen also noted holding an informational session for parents and to distribute dance accessories to students. “I’ve never seen so many excited girls,” he wrote. “It must have been the happiest place in Afghanistan that day!”

For more information about the Kabul Dance Studio or about Ken and Erin Jensen, visit their Web site at ErinandKen.com