By Talitha Hanks
Children from BYU''s Young DanceMakers prepare to entertain audiences May 10-11 with their creative interpretation of 'Rain Makes Applesauce,' the Caldecott Award-winning book by Julian Scheer and Marvin Bilek.
There are roughly 350 children ages 5-18 in the Creative Dance program at BYU. The Young DanceMakers are 150 of the most advanced students from each age group.
This year''s concert, 'An Evening of Dance,' features the 2002 adaptation of the original choreography by Pat Debenham and Dee Winterton performed first in 1981.
Christine Ollerton, the director of Creative Dance, organized Young DanceMakers in 1973.
'Most studios teach routines, and we do not,' Ollerton said. 'It''s their movement.'
The children are encouraged to express themselves, showing problem solving skills, Ollerton said.
Students in Dance 367 teach the Young DanceMakers as their lab, under the direction of Ollerton.
BreeAnne Madsen is a 13-year-old dancer who has been with the company for over eight years. She said that she notices quite a difference between her dance classes and others that she visits. She enjoys being able to put her own interpretation into the production.
BreeAnne''s mother, Stacy Madsen, said she feels that the Creative Dance Program at BYU is probably the only organization in which she would let her three daughters participate.
'They use their childlike abilities to express themselves, as opposed to contemporary dancing that''s inappropriate,' Stacy Madsen said.
An instructor and alumna of the children''s program, Malisalee Gardner, said she loves working with the kids.
'I get to know them through their dancing,' Gardner said. 'Each piece has its own character,' she said.
Performances are Friday May 10 and Saturday May 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall at the Harris Fine Arts Center.
Tickets for 'An Evening of Dance' are available at the Harris Fine Arts Center Ticket Office (378-4322) or online at www.byu.edu/hfac. Prices are $7 for the general public and $6 for children, students, and faculty/staff.