Get to know our two visiting professors with a series of rapid-fire questions and don’t miss the upcoming Honored Alumni Lecture with Cheryll Treu.
Jaclyn Brown
Brown grew up in Roosevelt, Utah but got much of her early dance training in Heber, Utah. She holds an MFA in Contemporary Performance Choreography from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where her thesis “Dancing Through Matriarchy: Mothering Bodies and Their Threat to American Modern Dance” explored intersections of motherhood, embodiment, and performance. Brown danced with Repertory Dance Theatre from 2014–2021, touring nationally and performing works by Doris Humphrey, José Limón, Molissa Fenley, Zvi Gotheiner, and Bebe Miller, among others. She continues to work as a freelance artist with companies including Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company, FEM Dance Company, and Creator’s Dance Project. She currently teaches in the BYU Contemporary Area. To read her full bio, click here.
- What is your favorite aspect of teaching at BYU? “BYU students are of a very high caliber intelligently and professionally. I feel like the students here are prepared mentally to work really hard. It is so nice to have more commonality with the students in terms of spirituality.”
- Within the contemporary area, what is your favorite style to teach and to dance yourself? “I have a special place in my heart for historical modern dance but I do also really like searching for cutting edge contemporary. I like teaching things that feel good to me now; a major inlet to my class is improvisation. I value agency in my technique classes because that is what served me in my performing career. Not everybody is able to access what I’m hoping to achieve without that element of agency.”
- What is something from your education that has shaped how you teach now? “The technique classes I took at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee really challenged what I thought movement was. They taught me that is important to be able to say why something is working and why it matters, and defend you position as an instructor.”
- What is your favorite spot on campus? “I love the little spot by the stairs behind the RB. I’ve taken my improvisation classes out there to do site specific work. I feel like it’s a quick escape to nature.”
Jocelyn Smith
Originally from Spanish Fork, UT, Smith holds degrees in Dance Performance and Dance Education from Utah Valley University and earned her MFA in Dance from Montclair State University. She has danced in parades at Walt Disney World and performed a duet at the ACDA National Conference at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Smith choreographed for Luz de las Naciones, the annual celebration of Latin American culture presented by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before coming to BYU, she directed and taught in the Provo High School dance program. She now teaches in the BYU Contemporary Area and serves at the Artistic Director of Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company. To read her full bio, click here.
- What is your favorite aspect of teaching at BYU? “I’ve always been genuine in my teaching career, but I feel a level of authenticity here that I can share my insights about gospel related things and my testimony on where dance meets the gospel. I love hearing from students and where they are on their spiritual journey and discovering how we can grow together.”
- Within the contemporary area, what is your favorite style to teach and to dance yourself? “I love teaching choreography because I believe creativity is a divine attribute that everybody has. I love contemporary dance forms because they allow such a breadth of new ways of thinking. I enjoy seeing the creativity of the dancers; it fuels me as an artist because they inevitably come up with new ways of approaching movement. Performing wise, I love release technique. There is something about allowing momentum to flow through your limbs, coming from your core. Its athletic and animalistic.”
- What is something from your education that has shaped how you teach now? “Throughout my career, I have asked myself how dance can serve. I believe that teaching dance can help provide life skills for youth today. Teaching in public school has reshaped my views on what dance is, how I can give back to a community, and how dance as an artform impacts a community.”
- What is a snack that gets you through a busy day of dance? “Well, a piece of chocolate can go a long way. I’m a big fan of cottage cheese with fruit on top.”
Utah Dance Education Organization Teacher Conference
Marilyn Berrett—former Department of Dance chair, retired BYU faculty, and founder of BYU Kinnect—will be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award on Nov. 8 at the UDEO Teacher Conference. Berrett was a seminal figure in shaping the Department of Dance into the program it is today and has touched the lives of many through dance education. Register for the conference here.
Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Events
- BA Capstone Proposals Due [Winter 2026] | Oct. 15 | Submit here | Email keely_glenn@byu.edu with any questions
- BYU Spectacular: A Sesquicentennial Celebration | Oct. 15-16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Marriott Center | Featuring Ballroom Dance Company and Young Ambassadors | Buy tickets here
- Honored Alumni Lecture: Cheryll Treu | “Rhythm of Service: Steps of a Lifetime” | Oct. 16 at 11:00 a.m. in the RB Dance Theatre
- BFA Ballet and Contemporary Audition and Assessment | Oct. 17 in 283 RB | Ballet is at 8:00-9:20 a.m. and contemporary is at 1:30-2:50 p.m. | Both classes are required. The assessment is required for new and continuing students. | Register here
- Dance Education K-12 Audition & Proficiencies | Oct. 22 at 12:00-3:00 p.m. in 177 RB | Be prepared to perform a taught contemporary technique sequence, street dance movement, show a self-choreographed solo, and participate in a short interview. | Contact koriography@byu.edu for questions | Register here
- Contemporary Dance Study Abroad | Application Deadline | Oct. 31 | Apply here
- BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts Series Presents BODYTRAFFIC | Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. | RB Dance Performance Theatre | Tickets here
- Utah Dance Education Org. Teacher Conference | Marilyn Berrett will be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award | Nov. 8 | Register here.
Dance in the News
Now Hiring | CFAC Job Openings as of 10/15/25 | To Apply, Visit https://hrs.byu.edu/job-seekers
- [Student Position] Writing Consultant | BYU Research and Writing Center | 10 hrs/week, $15/hr | Apply at rwc.byu.edu
- RWC writing consultants support students from across the university with their various writing projects. Students who are interested in joining a dynamic community, strengthening their writing and communication skills, improving their résumés, and helping their peers improve as writers should apply. Hiring for Winter 2026. Two-semester commitment.
- [Non-Student Position] Senior Writer/Editor | BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications External Relations | Part-Time | JR-5999
- The Senior Writer/Editor will work on releases and features for BYU OnStage and the six academic units within the college (Art, Communications, Dance, Design, Music, Theatre & Media Arts). These articles are posted on the college and BYU OnStage websites. This position is ideal for journalism, PR, English or editing majors.
Uplifting Thought of the Week by Amy Jex, Associate Chair
I was inspired while listening to a forum given by Rabbi Ari Berman of Yeshiva University given at BYU called, “Covenant vs. Consumer Education.” In this portion of his speech, Berman tells part of the story told in the movie, “Chariots of Fire”:
“Eric Liddell was a Scottish runner who won several gold medals in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Liddell came from a family of missionaries, and there is one scene in the movie in which his sister confronts him and asks him why, as a believer, he spends so much of his life in running competitions rather than joining alongside his family to spread the word of God. Eric responds to his sister by explaining, ‘I believe that God made me for a purpose. . .But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.’”
Berman continues, “We all have a different way of feeling God’s pleasure. We were each created for a purpose. And we each experience God’s presence in our own unique ways. Our educational goal is to help students discover and develop the capacity to experience God’s pleasure by finding the godliness within themselves, to help them identify and develop what makes them distinct, and to help them on their journey of becoming the person they were always meant to become. In a covenantal society…education is not just a window into the world; it is a light into the soul. What you study helps develop your whole personality. Whether you, too, are a runner or an artist, an educator or a healer, a values-driven education creates opportunities for you to develop the different aspects of the self—to discover purpose and to experience divine pleasure in self-expression.”
I would guess that most of you feel that you find God’s pleasure and light in your soul through the expression of your body (or you wouldn’t be dance majors!). Dance is a wonderful gift that not only allows us to express our emotions but also gives us the opportunity to connect with our Heavenly Father. I truly believe that He gives us this unique way to experience mortality in our physical bodies to help us discover who we really are—sons and daughters of God. I hope as you dance, you will feel joy and that the spirit whisper to you that you are His child, loved and supported, with great eternal potential.
atimetodance.news.blog 