I Am Whole through Christ
Youth Dance Festival: Unforgettable!
Picture this:
Packed stands.
Hundreds of performers.
Bright costumes.
Music that slaps.
Epic dance moves.
That’s what is coming for the youth this March: The El Dorado Stake Dance Festival. A.K.A. an unforgettable experience.
What is a Dance Festival? It’s a huge production of youth ages 11-18 performing a variety of impressive, choreographed dances to tell an exciting and inspirational story for the audience. Dance Festivals help teens to make friends, learn new dance skills, and come closer to Jesus Christ.
The youth of El Dorado County, no matter their level of dance experience, will learn the choreography over the coming two months to prepare for the March 16th performance at Ponderosa High School, for the whole El Dorado County community to enjoy.
Dance Festivals are a rare occasion these days, but they used to be very common. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a tradition of Dance Festivals for nearly a century. Starting in 1936, there was a giant bi-annual event at the University of Utah where youth from all over the country (and beyond!) would come to perform group dances for everyone to enjoy.
In fact, apostle Neil L. Anderson described an amusing story about his 1967 Dance Festival experience, and reflected that “I was not a dancer and was reluctant in our initial practices, but I soon came to enjoy being together with good young men and women preparing for the Dance Festival.” And while he did have a funny, pants-related mishap during the performance (you have to read it), he reflected that, “I have never forgotten the feeling that we were all part of something extraordinary—not simply a Dance Festival—but the restored Church and gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Dance festivals were such an extraordinary experience for the youth that in 1972, Dance Festivals became regional events so that more youth would get the chance to participate.
Since then, El Dorado Stake has maintained a long tradition of Dance Festivals. Most members who grew up in the local youth program have participated in one, and have fond memories of the epic experience. Sarah Guymon, formerly of the Placerville, Camino, and Young Single Adult congregations, has participated in three different Dance Festivals in our area. Guymon said, “The Dance Festival was such a fun way to get to know others. I became friends with people of different ages that I would not have been around normally. I also thought it was awesome to learn of other cultures through different styles of dance.”
To any youth who are uncertain about whether they want to participate in the Dance Festival, Guymon said that it’s “a hundred percent worth doing it.”
The theme for our 2024 Dance Festival is “I am whole through Christ.” Nina Cope of the Bass Lake congregation, who is co-director of the Dance Festival this year with her husband Dave, explained that the inspiration for the theme came from an original song that Dave wrote called, “I Am Whole.” The song is “all about coming unto Christ and also being a light for others as they find their way to Him,” said Cope. “For the Stake Dance Festival, we want the youth to feel Christ's love for them too. So the song, ‘I Am Whole,’ will lead into our big upbeat finale.”
Previous Dance Festival performances in our stake have included lifts, spins, acrobatics, fireworks, massive balloon releases, and gigantic stake-wide numbers with every single youth on the dance floor.
There are currently 286 young men and women in our El Dorado youth program, and teens are encouraged to invite their friends to participate in the Dance Festival as well. That adds up to one epic performance!
“We'll be showcasing the talents and personalities of our youth with such awesome, upbeat music and dance styles," said Cope.
For both the youth and audience, this year's Dance Festival promises to be an unforgettable experience.