Watch BYU Dance seniors perform their capstone projects — live — on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. on dancelivestream.byu.edu! Senior artists include:
*Daylin Williams from Mansfield, Ohio
*Melanie Hilton from Alpine, Utah
Mattie Davis from Draper, Utah
Megan Fuhriman from West Jordan, Utah
Faculty advisors include:
Asst. Professor Adam Dyer
Asst. Professor Marin Leggat Roper
*Daylin and Melanie also received the prestigious Laycock Grant from the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications for their senior capstone projects which nurture creative relationships on campus across disciplinary boundaries. Congratulations to all!
BYU Dance faculty have a long history of serving on the leadership board of the Utah Dance Education Organization (UDEO). This fall, contemporary adjunct instructor Karen Jensen wraps up her tenure as past president. We honor her and those listed above as current faculty (2020) who have been board volunteers in this important local dance community group. The department is grateful for their service and all those who have represented BYU Dance in the past (& future).
Live Auditions: Tues, Nov. 17, 2020. Pre-register on patrack.byu.edu.
What is Kinnect? Watch the new video. View the official website.
We are an outreach group of artist-educators who love to connect dance to everything and everyone in the world around us.
“Kinnect is a lesser-known group of students at BYU that quietly exemplifies the university’s core mission of going forth to serve.” –Jacob Draper, Documentary Filmmaker
Dana Lambert, a current Dance Education major, shared the experience below. She was the student president of Kinnect in 2020, and she is getting ready to be a student teacher next semester.
Dana Lambert
I LOVE Kinnect! I was privileged to dance with Kinnect right at the start of my BYU Dance experience, and it informed, supported, and motivated me through the ups and downs of the rigorous Dance Education program. It made such an impact on me that I auditioned again and looked forward to performing and teaching this Spring 2020, before the pandemic hit the world.
However, Kinnect is definitely not only for Dance Education majors – it is for anyone and everyone who loves creating, performing, and making an impact on the world around them. I made such good friends with the rest of the Kinnectors each time that I participated in the program.
For me, though, the best part was seeing the kids’ eyes light up when they saw the magic of the Kinnect Dance Company in action on the stage and especially when the kids realized that they, too, could dance as we learned and played together in workshops throughout the rest of the day.
Even with the health restrictions now in place, Kinnect is adapting in a magnificent way to still share the magic of dance with as many children as possible, and I couldn’t be more proud of (or excited for!) what they have planned.
Dancing and teaching with Kinnect was a life-changing experience, and I will ALWAYS recommend it.
CHANGE Due to COVID-19: If you would like to audition for Ballet Showcase as a dancer, please register at patrack.byu.eduon Thursday, Nov. 19th before midnight. More information will be forthcoming. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility.
Email Hilary Wolfley at hilary_wolfley@byu.edu with questions or concerns.
Assistant Professor Rachel Barker won the Alfred Lambourne Prize for movement this year! This is a program connected to the Friends of Great Salt Lake organization and calls for works of art inspired by or utilizing and including the Great Salt Lake. Barker submitted a film entitled “Sand Body Sky”. She is the dancer/choreographer, but the filming and editing was done by students. McCall McClellan was the videographer, and film student Kate McKellar edited the film.
McClellan is currently working on a second rendition that will be exciting to see.
The full catalogue of all the artists’ work is worth browsing through, with lots of various artistic genres represented. The first few pages explain the program and event, and Barker’s work is the very first listed — the fourth page in. The film is just under three minutes. Or the direct YouTube link is here.
The complete winners announcement is shortened list of recipients.
Congratulations to our talented faculty and students on these collaborative endeavors during COVID-19! This film was made this in late April/May 2020, in the thick of the shutdown.
Your new Dance Major Student Reps (DMSRs) will be hosting this year’s first Dance Majors Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. Get to know them here and watch for them on the Zoom meeting next week at 11 a.m.!
Tera Taylor – DMSR President
Tera Taylor is a senior from Sacramento, California. She is majoring in Dance Education with an emphasis on contemporary dance. She is currently performing with Contemporary Dance Theatre (CDT) this year and is loving it. She is so excited to be DMSR President and get to know everyone in the department this year.
Cassidy Baugh – courtesy of the artist
Cassidy Baugh – Dance Education Representative
Cassidy Baugh is a senior studying Dance Education. She lived 11 places growing up, but currently calls Daytona Beach, Florida, home. Cassidy is the Dance Education Representative and is the president of the Student Dance Education Organization (SDEO), so feel free to reach out to her with any Dance Ed questions!
Carlee Coulson is a Dance BA major from Boise, Idaho. She is getting a minor in Spanish and is also working on getting her yoga certification. Currently she is performing on danceEnsemble (dE) and is way excited this semester!
Daylin Williams – Social Media/PR Representative
Daylin Williams is a senior Dance Education major from Mansfield, Ohio. She is the current president of dancEnsemble (dE) and is serving as the social media/PR rep for DMSR. She enjoys chicken nuggets, spontaneous dance parties and long walks on the beach.
Jenica Barker – Dance BA Representative
Jenica is from the Chicago area and has had a fantastic time pursuing a BA in Dance while being able to perform on Theatre Ballet and the Showcase Ballroom Company! She is also really enjoying her contemporary classes as well right now! She is excited to serve as the Dance BA rep this year!
Athena Davis – Community Outreach & Service Committee
Athena is a transfer student from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas! Athena has worked as a freelance dance and portrait photographer for the past 3 years, and she has also worked as a costume seamstress for a theater! In her free time she loves to do nail art and other creative projects. Feel free to reach out to her for anything that you need!
Hali Boss – Community Outreach & Service Committee
Hali Boss is a Dance Education major from Salt Lake City. She is serving on the community outreach and service committee. A fun fact about her is she loves to play pickleball!
Victoria Raimondi – Summer Internships/Workshops Committee
Victoria is in the Dance BA major and is in her senior year. She is a part of the Summer Internships/Workshops Committee for DMSR. A fun fact about Victoria is that she’s been apart of three shows at Disney World, her favorite being Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas Parade.
Aullora Fekete – Summer Internships/Workshops Committee
Aullora Fekete is in DSMR summer internships and workshops committee. She is a sophomore in the Dance Education program. Aullora was on dancEnsemble (dE) last semester and is currently on Contemporary Dance Theater (CDT). From Southern California, Aullora enjoys dancing with her four siblings — with her younger brother being a freshman and also on CDT. She is excited to see where Dance Education takes her and where God needs her.
Sarah Duffin – Dance BFA Representative
Sarah is a senior from DeKalb, Illinois. She will graduate in April, and hopes to pursue an MFA in contemporary choreography. Besides dancing, Sarah loves mangoes, British TV, and serving BYU Dance Majors any way she can!
Shani Robison – DMSR Faculty Advisor
Shani Robison is an Associate Professor of Dance at BYU. She teaches in the Ballet Area and works with all new Dance Majors and incoming freshman, as well as the DMSR leaders among many other teaching and creative assignments. Learn more about her here.
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