Living Legends, BYU’s Native American dance group, had the opportunity to share traditional Native American dances in China, where audiences included people who had no idea that Native Americans still existed. “Having this opportunity to share my culture with the people of China is something special just because in a lot of countries they don’t know that natives still exist,” said Adam Conte, one of the Living Legends performers. Besides being able to share his own culture, Conte also became immersed in the Chinese culture while on tour. Conte said blending the two cultures helped melt differences. “Being able to share that with people around the world, I think that unifies us more because I think you can always draw similarities between cultures,” said Conte. Read the full story at universe.byu.edu.

Professional ballroom dancer Allie Spinder recently traveled to China to perform in the BYU Spectacular, a performing group tour. Spinder, a BYU graduate, said she felt honored to represent the university again. Spinder feels that the BYU Spectacular was an important step for BYU in finding common ground with China. “What’s amazing about this show is it’s showing how alike we are,” Spinder said. “I think right now the Chinese people sense a difference and maybe even a divide between our two countries, but yet this show is bringing this great merge.” Despite the cultural differences between the U.S. and China, BYU Spectacular performers said they found common ground through dance and music while on the tour. Read the full story at universe.byu.edu.

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. If you could visibly see signs of skin cancer on your body, would you be more likely to visit the doctor? A group of professors from BYU and the University of Utah asked that exact question as they looked for the most effective ways to influence people to screen themselves for cancer.

Opera Student Mary Hoskins Joins Ranks of Met Performers

Photography student Alyssa Lyman shares lessons learned at Topaz

Students from BYU and the University of Utah came together to create art that tackles complicated issues currently facing society. The students’ drawings took the sentiments that surround the problems and represented the concerns and fears visually.

School of Communications professor Dale Cressman was elected as the vice president of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) on April 26. Cressman has worked with the organization since 2011 and appreciates the ethics it emphasizes in the specific fields of study. “ACEJMC is a great champion for free speech and diversity,” said Cressman. “It practices what it preaches, operating under the same values it expects of academic units.” ACEJMC accreditation is regarded as the premier standard of program quality in the discipline. Currently, 115 journalism and mass communications programs at universities throughout the United States, Mexico, Chile, New Zealand, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have full accreditation status. The BYU School of Communications has been ACEJMC accredited since 1984. “Accreditation is a rigorous process,” said Cressman, who started in ACEJMC as a site team member. “It is time consuming, but well worth being accredited, as it tells students, parents, administrators and peers that we meet common standards in our discipline.” Read the full story at comms.byu.edu.

BYU art students received recognition and scholarships during the department’s annual awards night on Wednesday, April 17. A total of 91 awards were granted to current students and incoming freshmen, including many half or full scholarships. Julian Harper (BFA), Annelise Duque (BFA) and Chloe Welch (Art Education) were recognized as this year’s outstanding seniors. Three juror’s choice awards for the student show were selected by Laurie Sloan, associate professor of art at the University of Connecticut. The recipients were Annelise Duque, Laurel Galli-Graves and Annie Wing. Six additional students received honorable mentions from Sloan for their work, including Gwen Davis-Barrios, Samuel Everett, Rachel Henriksen, Bette Benson, Steven Stallings and Ricey Wright. At the end of the night, the following five students were granted open studio cash awards by the faculty: Annie Wing, Rachel Henriksen, Carrie Jube Everett, Gwen Davis-Barrios and Fiona Barney. Read the full story at art.byu.edu

Bergman will represent 5,000 trumpet players across 64 countries

Every fall and winter art education students in their final semester of the program complete student teaching in local schools. Paired with innovative mentors who offer authentic full-time teaching experiences, students have the opportunity to practice the theory they have learned in their coursework over the years. Chloe Welch, one of six student teachers this semester, gradually assumed responsibility for Bart Francis’ high school art classes until she became the primary teacher. Outside the classroom, however, they continue to meet regularly for coaching, assessing and brainstorming lesson plans. Early in the semester, Welch shared an idea about visualizing data as art, inspired by the project Dear Data, and Francis made the connection to a lesson he had previously taught on routines. Together they researched other artists who incorporate data collection and routines into their work and designed a lesson plan. For the assignment, students collected data for seven days on one aspect of their life, then documented that data in an artwork that included a legend to help viewers decipher their image. In February, Welch and Francis presented their experience at the Utah Art Education Association conference. One outcome that resulted from the data collection project was that students were able to make meaningful connections between their art and their life. Read the full story at art.byu.edu.

Brandon Gunn graduated from BYU empowered to continue exploring and combining multiple personal interests in a powerful way. Rather than pursue a one-dimensional career, he learned he could be an artist, a master printer and a teacher simultaneously. With the strong technical and conceptual foundation provided by his undergraduate education at BYU, Gunn went on to receive an MFA in printmaking at Illinois State University, followed by an intense two-year study of lithography at Tamarind Institute in New Mexico to become a master printer. Gunn described the institute as “really competitive, and the only school like it in the world for printmaking,” so he was excited to receive a letter of acceptance to the eight-person program. “I was over the moon,” Gunn recalled. “The thing I thought I had no chance at was the one I’d gotten.” After teaching printmaking and collaboration for eight years at Concordia University in Quebec and then at Indiana University Bloomington, Gunn was asked to return to Tamarind, where he has served as the education director for three years. In this current capacity, Gunn is responsible for preparing first-year students to become the best printers in the world. Read the full story at art.byu.edu.

With a focus on pushing the frontiers of contemporary dance, Portland-based dance company NW Dance Project is one of the premier groups pioneering new choreography and methods in the American contemporary dance scene. BYU dance students and faculty were excited to learn from the company's innovative approach to current dance trends in a masterclass with members of the ensemble during their recent campus visit. “The professors in the contemporary area have a philosophy that we want to model for our students,” said contemporary dance professor Kate Monson. “Taking opportunities to learn from different sources is really important. That includes a physical embodiment and not just watching.”