The Brigham Young University Department of Dance will present “Games Children Play” with the BYU Young DanceMakers Friday and Saturday, May 12-13, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
Tickets are available through the Fine Arts Ticket Office at (801) 422-7664 or at performances.byu.edu for $8.
The Young DanceMakers, part of BYU Children and Teens' Creative Dance Program, consists of about 120 children and teens from all parts of Utah Valley. Performers range in age from 6 to 18, and most have been in the program for at least two years.
Inspired by games such as dominoes, checkers, “Twister” and “Chutes and Ladders,” the choreography for the concert will express concepts from each game while using several large game pieces as props.
“Creative dance is like playing board games,” said Kathleen Sheffield, company director. “There is a start and a finish, but you make different choices in between. Some of those ideas happen as part of the game-inspired movement for each piece.”
The concert will also feature guest performers from the BYU dance group, Kinnect, performing “Nostalgic Games,” as well as choreography with the children in the piece “Pick-Up-Sticks.”
Members of the Young DanceMakers have gone on to receive Sterling Scholar honors in dance, acceptance into BYU’s dance program and Dancers’ Company. One current senior member received admission to the Juilliard School with a Juilliard Alumni Scholarship.
For more information about BYU Children and Teens' Creative Dance program or to find out about summer classes and workshops, contact Elaine Bridges at (801) 422-6757.
Writer: Mary Bell and Brian Rust
