Difference between revisions of "Latter-day Saints and Dance"

Latest revision as of 11:35, 18 December 2024

Latter-day Saints love dance.

Sara Webb Bardo during her professional career as principal ballerina at the Houston Ballet

Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shared this revelation with the Saints camped at Winter Quarters, Nebraska, in preparation for their long trip west.

Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou hast, that thou mayest be a wise steward; for it is the free gift of the Lord thy God, and thou art his steward.

If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.

If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be joyful (Doctrine and Covenants 136:27-29).

History of Dance in the Church of Jesus Christ

Dancing was already firmly established in the Latter-day Saint culture. "In 1830 when the Church was organized, many Christian denominations were hostile toward recreation and play, particularly dance. However, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successors advocated dance and participated in recreational dancing. Joseph Smith was a skillful dancer and enjoyed hosting dances in his home (Holbrook, p. 122). Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve "danced before the Lord" to the music of a small orchestra in the Nauvoo Temple after long days of joyous participation in temple ordinances. ^[1]

Said Brigham Young:

Our work, our everyday labor, our whole lives are within the scope of our religion.This is what we believe, and what we try to practice. Recreation and diversion are as necessary to our well-being as the most serious pursuits of life. If you wish to dance, dance, and you are just as prepared for prayer meeting as you were before, if you are Saints. ^[2]

"'Dance is part of our culture,' says Lee Wakefield, former chair of Brigham Young University's dance department. 'Mormons danced when they crossed the plains to Utah, and one of the first buildings they built was a dance hall.'"[1]

A practice that was part of LDS culture for many years had to do with dancing and departing missionaries. Shortly before the young elder left for the mission field, a dance in his honor took place in the cultural hall of the church. In the February 1904 issue of the Improvement Era, Don C. W. Musser explained why the Latter-day Saints would find this appropriate. He said:

They find nothing incompatible with their ideas of true religion, in the innocent pleasure of dancing. In fact, like God’s people of ancient times, they find this one way of rejoicing together, and of giving vent to their feelings of gratitude for blessings daily received. In early times, while pushing their handcarts across the plains, they frequently danced under the light of the moon and stars, and around their camp fires, because their hearts were so full of praise, words could not express it, and they had to dance. And it has always been a custom with them, to give their departing missionaries a farewell . . . , and in no way can this end be better accomplished than in a dance. [Don C. W. Musser, “A Peculiar Custom of a Peculiar People,” Improvement Era 7, no. 4 (February 1904): 297–98]

Dancing has been viewed by the leaders and members of the Church as a wholesome recreational activity. In order to keep it wholesome, one consistently observed rule was that dances were held for members of the Church, but not in public dances or balls. As dance styles changed, suggestive movements, close embraces, and immodest clothing were also prohibited. The key was to always be in situations where the Spirit of the Lord could be present.

Social and precision dance classes have consistently been taught at the Church’s universities. BYU and the University of Utah offer degrees in dance, including ballet, ballroom, contemporary, and cultural.

For many years, beginning in 1922, the Church of Jesus Christ held Gold and Green Balls annually. "Gold and Green Balls were first introduced to the [Mutual Improvement Associations] of the Church through a recommendation of President Oscar A. Kirkham, then a member of the Church’s YMMIA general board. He proposed that each year the Mutuals sponsor a formal dance with the highest and most beautiful standards possible. Clarissa A. Beesley of the Young Women general board suggested using the names of the MIA colors, green and gold—indicating youth, growth, purity, and perfection.”

The balls were best-dress dances and within the confines of limited budgets, the best band available was hired and the meetinghouse cultural hall was decorated as lavishly as possible. The dances typically attracted young and old. In later years, most people had forgotten the significance of the colors gold and green, but the dances continued to be popular until changing tastes in music and dancing made it somewhat difficult to put on a dance that appealed to both adults and youth.[2]

Latter-day Saint youth have participated regularly in informal monthly or quarterly youth or regional dances throughout the Church. Church-sponsored youth conferences and EFY or FSY include informal dances.

For many years, Southern California youth participated in a regional dance festival. Each ward in multiple stakes taught dances to youth who performed in front of thousands of attendees. Some of the festivals were held in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.[3]

Cultural Celebrations

Under President Thomas S. Monson, cultural celebrations were held at the time of the dedication of temples. When a temple was dedicated, youth from the temple district had an opportunity to perform in a cultural celebration the night before.These cultural celebrations featured costumed youth who danced and sang to a theme selected for the celebration. A member of the First Presidency often presided at the celebration.[4][5]

"Luz de las Naciones" is an annual celebration of Latin American culture hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held in Salt Lake City. Dancing is an integral part of the festivities.

Latter-day Saints and the World of Dance

Latter-day Saint professional dancers Derek and Julianne Hough

Though the Latter-day Saint population is small, Latter-day Saint dancers make their mark on the world stage. For instance, Julianne Hough and Derek Hough have been featured dancers on the reality TV show, Dancing with the Stars. Latter-day Saint dancers are also successful competitors on Fox TV's So You Think You Can Dance. In season 2, four of the twelve finalists were Latter-day Saints. Two of the four finalists were Latter-day Saints. The winner of the competition, Benji Schwimmer, had just returned from serving as a Latter-day Saint missionary. His cousin and usual partner, Heidi Groskreutz, was also a finalist. The following year on season 3, Benji's sister Lacey was a top 4 finalist. The year after, Chelsie Hightower, who trains in Orem, Utah, was a top ten finalist, and Provo's Thayne Jasperson was also a top contestant. Other finalists have included Jaymz Tuaileva of Orem, Utah, and Allison Holker, also trained in Orem. So You Think You Can Dance began to hold tryouts in Salt Lake City as a result.

In later seasons, Chelsie Hightower moved on to perform on Dancing with the Stars (2008), Donny Osmond took first place on Dancing with the Stars (2009), and 3 of the eight finalists on SYTYCD (winter, 2009) were Latter-day Saints from Orem, Utah (married couple Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello, and Mollee Gray). In early 2009, one of the touring group of Ten Finalists was a Latter-day Saint from Utah, Randi Evans of Springville. Mollee Gray was a principal dancer in all three of Walt Disney's High School Musical movies, which were filmed in Utah to take advantage of the talent there. Jared Murillo also performed in High School Musical.

Marie Osmond appeared in Dancing with the Stars (2007) and made it to the finals, but placed third after a week of personal challenges, including fainting from breathing problems, the death of her father, and one of her children entering rehab. In the 25th season, all three female contestants remaining on the show, two professionals, Witney Carson and Lindsay Arnold, and hip hop violinist Lindsey Stirling were all Latter-day Saints. Arnold and her partner, Jordan Fisher, took first place.

A headline in the October 9, 2017, issue of online World Religion News read "Did You Know Mormons Dominate Competitive Dancing?"[6] Dance studios in Utah continue to churn out stars. Mollee Gray and Randi Evans studied at Orem's The Dance Club. Many of the SYTYCD finalists studied at Center Stage dance studio in Orem, including Ashleigh Ingersoll DiLello.

On America's Got Talent, a clogging group of Latter-day Saint moms from Morgan, Utah, wowed audiences with their dance ability and novel choreography. The Fab Five reached the finals, rehearsing ten hours a day and depending on husbands, family, and friends to keep their homes organized. [7]

Latter-day Saint dancers are also hitting the stages and winning competitions in other countries. Groove Phenomenon is made up of members of three Latter-day Saint families with ages ranging from eight to 35. The group showed off their skills to a nationwide audience when the auditions screen for Britain's Got Talent. The group previously performed at a Prince's Trust concert at the Playhouse Theatre in Nottingham. Groove Phenomenon was among the groups competing for the £100,000 winners' prize and a chance to perform in front of Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Variety Performance. [8]

Latter-day Saint dancers to make their mark in the world of ballet include William Christensen, Harold Christensen, Jennie Creer-King, Janalyn Memmott, Barbara Barrington Jones, Sara Webb Bardo, Gisele Bethea, and Jake Mangakahia.

Brigham Young University has a stellar dance department

Brigham Young University has a stellar dance department. The Brigham Young University Department of Dance focuses on the following forms of dance: ballet, ballroom, folk, and modern. BYU also provides training in jazz, tap, aerobic, clog, square dance, country western, musical theatre, precision, and ethnic forms. This breadth is unique among university dance departments. The Department of Dance is administered through four divisions: Ballet, Ballroom, Modern and World Dance. Each division provides curriculum and faculty who specialize in the genre, and sponsor performance groups. Curt Holman is the former chairman of the BYU Department of Dance. He and his wife, Sharon, are former professional ballroom dance competitors. Shayla Bott, the current chair of the BYU Department of Dance, is a former professional dancer with Utah Metropolitan Ballet. She continued to teach and choreograph for many professional, regional and collegiate venues, winning multiple awards for her choreography.

BYU hosts two competitions a year--the National Amateur DanceSport in March and the BYU DanceSport Championships in November. Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello were part of the ballroom dance department at BYU.

The Performing Groups of the BYU Department of Dance have traveled throughout the world teaching, entertaining and blessing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Each group has received national and international recognition including television appearances, national championships and international awards.

"Maybe Mitt Romney should have taken up tango. While some voters (were) uneasy about a Mormon presidential candidate, Americans seem plenty comfortable voting for Mormons in another type of election: primetime dance shows. Mormons have already won 'So You Think You Can Dance' and 'Dancing With the Stars,' and two of the front runners on ABC's … hit 'Dance War,' are, yes, Mormon. 'Some of the greatest dancing on TV is coming out of (the Mormon) community,' says Kenny Ortega, director of the 'High School Musical' movies … which were filmed in Utah to capitalize on the dance talent Ortega noticed while choreographing the opening ceremony for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City."

- from Newsweek's Periscope Almanac: 2009

Living the Gospel On Stage

Latter-day Saint contestants stand out in a group of competitors because of their clean-cut living and rules of health. For example, Ryan DiLello served a mission in Argentina and still considers himself a representative for the Church. "The blatant sexuality of one of his routines bothered Ryan so much that he thought about refusing to do it all together, before ultimately convincing his choreographers to drop a few of its more suggestive motions" (Daily Herald, Dec. 13, 2009). He talked about his faith with all the other competitors and led them in prayer before they performed. The only time Ryan and Ashleigh DiLello had the opportunity to dance together on the SYTYCD stage was during the finale (top 6), and their sensitive, affectionate dance was an apt portrayal of the Latter-day Saint idea of marriage—an eternal and sacred covenant. Both dancers were in tears when the dance ended.

Footloose

The feature film Footloose was about a small Midwest community that had made dancing and rock music illegal. The film was partially filmed in locations in Utah, including Payson High School. Coincidentally, the film marked its 40th anniversary in 2024, the same year the Payson High School graduating class was marking its last year in the building where the film was made—it was scheduled to be demolished to make way for a new school.

The students made “Footloose” the theme of their last prom in the building and lobbied for Kevin Bacon, who starred in the film, to come to their school, which he did. His effort made national news.[9] Although he didn’t attend the prom, he recorded a message for the students to play that evening.

“The thing is, tonight, it’s not about me, it’s about you,” he said in a special video message that played at the prom. “I want you all to have a great time, and most importantly, be good to each other. And don’t forget to cut loose.”

The video then cut to the final scene from “Footloose,” where Bacon’s Ren McCormack and his friends dance the night away after standing up to their town’s ban on dancing and rock ‘n’ roll. As the footage unfolded, Payson High School students cheered and broke out in a line dance to Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose.”[10]

References

External Links

• New Era, "Mormons Do Dance"
• LDS Living, "How Latter-day Saints Are Absolutely Dominating the Dance World"
• BYU Speeches, "Feel and Follow the Holy Spirit," by Lee Wakefield
• Center Stage dance studio in Orem, Utah, creates stars
• Church Newsroom, "BYU Ballroom Dancers to Participate in the Olympic Cultural Festival in China"
• BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY PRESENTS: RHYTHM – BYU BALLROOM DANCE COMPANY
• Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello join the cast of Burn the Floor
• BYU Scholars Archive, "Dance in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints