The BYU Young DanceMakers’ performance in the DeJong Concert Hall Friday and Saturday featured more than 140 children ages six through 18 performing their own choreography.
The YoungDancemakers created choreography based on dreams — dreams for the future or what might be.
This weekend audiences visited the moon and went underwater with eight-year-olds as they performed “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon,” choreographed by Katelyn Sheffield. Audiences remembered childlike fears as the boys in the program shared an energetic exploration of nightmares titled “Bad Dreams.”
Sheffield created a mesmerizing suite of dances that transported the audience to places only visited in their dreams. “Come Dream” featured members of the BYU Young DanceMakers performing to a medley of the best of Irish singer, Enya.
“I was amazed at the artistic and athletic abilities of these children,” audience member Jaren Murphy said. “They obviously work very hard.”
Nineteen dancers ages 13 to 16 performed a piece titled “Dream Catcher.” In it, the dancers explored the colorful legend behind the Native American dream catcher ornament.
“Uniquely Strong” reflected the hope for a world where diversity makes us stronger, while the fun of learning to drive was expressed in “Driving Dreams,” choreographed by Malisalee Gardner.
“This year’s evening of dance was filled with a wide range of emotions and energies that appealed to audiences of all ages,” Sheffield said.
The Young DanceMakers is the performing company of the BYU Children’s and Teen’s Creative Dance program, which follows a tradition Virginia Tanner created to utilize the natural creative impulses of children. More than 350 dancers are trained in technique, composition, improvisation, choreography and performance.
Creative dance focuses on the development of the whole child. Through movement exploration, dancers reach progressive levels of physical skill development and are taught the vocabulary of dance.
