From contemporary to ballet and tap to ballroom dance, each summer BYU-Idaho’s Dance Alliance team takes its talent on the road. Students with various dance backgrounds inspire audiences all over the country through movement and testimony.
“BYUI gives us so many beautiful opportunities, and [the] tour is one of them,” said dancer Mikala Morris. “Every time that I end tour, I just know that I want to do it again because we have such an impact on people and we have such an impact on each other as well. I know that I grow as an individual every time that I go, so I just never want it to end.”
While on tour, Dance Alliance made stops in Burley and Nampa, Idaho. In Utah, the shows spanned Woods Cross, Highland, and Saratoga Springs.
The theme of this year’s show was Remarkable Ideas that Changed the World, showcasing an array of numbers that displayed culture along with a range of dynamics in costumes, lighting and artistic expression.
“Dance is such a powerful tool to talk about the creations that people throughout history have produced that have blessed and impacted all of our lives,” said dancer Jared Koyle.
Artistic directors Diedre Sakota and Autumn Hawks choreographed many of the show’s pieces. As they have taught the student dancers over the past year, they have witnessed them unify into a team, willing to support one another both on and off stage. As the team grows together, Sakota and Hawkes have seen the team progress as dancers, leaders, and disciples of Jesus Christ.
“There’s been a lot of awesome miracles shared throughout the group growing in their faith and growing as dancers as well, really working with them and pushing them to perform to the best of their ability, it’s been really amazing to see,” Hawkes said.
The directors say another theme behind the scenes has been to “expect miracles,” and they’ve seen them.
“Dance Alliance teaches them so much. It teaches them how to be scrappy, how to work with what they have, how to use their gifts and their talents to bless each other and to find the miracles in their own lives. We constantly invite the Spirit to be with us, and we find it,” Sakota said.
One dancer, Bailey Davis, said one night before a show, she was experiencing a muscle spasm in her back. She said the last time this had happened in her dancing career, she was left immobile. Before the show, the dancers prayed as a team for healing in Davis’ back.
“In the opening number, I am a stair for one of our dancers to step onto, and so as she stepped onto my back and I felt all the pain that I was feeling just — woosh! — completely go away. That was a huge miracle,” Davis said.
Other highlights of the tour included workshopping with professional dance studios like the Ririe Woodbury Dance Company in Salt Lake City and performing at Seacrest Studios at Primary Children’s Hospital for its young patients. There, dancers also met with the hospital’s dance movement therapist to learn how dance acts as a treatment in the medical field.
Dance students had multiple opportunities to teach aspiring dancers their craft as well.
“Teaching the youth ... was super fun. I taught swing along with Jacob, who was my dance partner. It’s so fun working with the youth every time. I’ve been able to do it on every tour that we’ve been on. It’s fun to see the light that they bring, and be able to interact with them,” Morris said.
As the performances continued throughout the week, appreciation of the dancers’ talent and showmanship was evident. Audience members shared how the show touched them using descriptors like “moving,” “professional,” and “raw.”
“Look, this is real talent, this is where it’s at, it’s on the ground, this is where you belly-laugh, you crack up when you didn’t expect it. The pacing is fabulous because it’s real and it’s honest. There’s no cheap filler. I love how they perform. Every moment, there’s a leap or a lift that catches your breath,” spectator Alison Jensen said.
Dance Alliance tours annually, along with other performance groups from BYU-Idaho. To learn more about BYU-Idaho's Performance Tour groups, visit https://www.byui.edu/performance-tours/.