Championship formation dancing, breath-taking lifts and spins-all performed in a seemingly endless stream of shimmering costumes-no one does it better than the Ballroom Dance Company. The first American team ever to win the prestigious British Formation Championships, a feat they have repeated an unprecedented 22 times.Over 160 ballroom dancers take the stage and dazzle the audience with breathtaking costumes and creative choreography. This concert promises to thrill audiences with a fast-paced performance of ballroom and Latin dance in a theatrical setting. TICKETSApril 8 — 9, 7:30 PMApril 9 2:00 PMLocation: Marriott CenterTime: 7:30 PMMinimum Age: 6Cost: $16

Last September, the BYU Men’s Chorus invited YouTube sensation, Alex Boyé, to join them in a new music video of Baba Yetu, a choral, Swahili version of the Lord’s Prayer. That new video has now reached more than 100,000 views in less than a week. BYU Sound Engineer Jeff Carter recorded and mixed a new version of this popular song from the Men’s Chorus repertoire to include the BYU Philharmonic conducted by Kory Katseanes and features Alex Boyé, a former member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir who rose to fame with his 'Africanized' version of well-known pop songs. 'As this is an African version of the Lord’s Prayer, we thought of Alex Boyé and his 'Africianized' songs, so we invited him to be a soloist and he was perfect,' said Benjamin Jacob, president of the BYU Men's Chorus. 'He brought his own style to the piece–just a great combination of Men’s Chorus and Alex Boyé.' Read more and see the video >>>>>>>>>>

Night at the HFAC is a student-run event designed to showcase student performances and projects as well as any type of creative work from all the departments and schools in the College of Fine Arts and Communications (CFAC) to the entire student body at BYU. Students will share through dance, theatre, music, the visual and media arts. This exciting event aims to help BYU students see what fellow classmates are working on behind-the-scenes. Our college has an extraordinary amount of talent and we are excited to experience it, so, we made a list of all the reasons you should attend this glorious mashup of all things CFAC. First off, here are all the details you need to know for a fun-filled night. >>>>>

Acting professor Barta Heiner is retiring this year after spending the past 28 years developing the BFA acting program at BYU and impacting thousands of students’ lives for the better. Heiner was born in Ogden, but grew up in Canada and Arizona due to her father’s career in the LDS Church Education System. Heiner is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA and has performed in more than 100 productions including the recent movie “Once I Was A Beehive,” in which she played the part of Nedra. Read more at the Universe>>>>>

The BYU Department of Theatre and Media Arts will present the epic, anti-war drama, Mother Courage and Her Children in the Pardoe Theater of the Harris Fine Arts Center, at 7:30 p.m., on March 17-19, 22-25, 28 and April 1, with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees on March 19 and 26.

Virginia Dall, or Ginger as she is most commonly known, grew up thinking it was normal to have artwork hanging everywhere in the home. Her mother, a professional artist who influenced Dall’s artistic inclination, encouraged her desire to draw constantly as a child. She spent much of her childhood looking through her mother’s art books, cultivating her own artistic voice. Today, Dall is a senior in the BFA Illustration program at Brigham Young University who has worked on several high profile projects throughout her time as a student. One of Dall’s pieces was chosen as the poster for the BYU 2015 Fall Opera, Manon. Dall’s hard work and dedication are paying off. Recently, she was selected as the winner of the Visual Arts category of the 2016 Phi Kappa Phi Arts Competition, sponsored by the national honor society, Phi Kappa Phi. Nominated by her professor, David Dibble, she is invited to attend a banquet where she will receive her award. “We as area faculty nominated Ginger because of her dedication and personal passion for her work,” Dibble said. “She is unique in how she has crossed the bridge mentally into the professional world and is highly motivated to both improve as well as help others around her to do the same.” Initially, Dall was unaware of the competition, stunned at her nomination and the opportunity to showcase her work. “I have been working closely for the past several months with David Dibble on my BFA show and professional portfolio,” Dall said. “I was especially grateful for his role in being nominated.” Dall has also started working as a studio assistant for LDS artist, J. Kirk Richards, an important stepping-stone in reaching graduation and her future career as an artist.

The BYU Arts Creative team has done it again! Last summer, they won several awards from the 45th Annual Design Competition of the UCDA. On February 26, 2016 they were awarded a Grand Gold Award and a Bronze Award of Excellence from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VII. BYU Arts Creative received the Grand Gold Award in Design and Photography for the Contemporary Dance Theatre Poster created by Nick Mendoza and student designer, Sam Reed. Reed is a senior in the BFA Graphic Design program and had the opportunity to oversee the project from start to finish. “It was great to collaborate with the dance department, Nathan Balser, and photographer, Christopher Peddecord. They are great clients to work with,” Reed said. The Grand Gold Award is only presented to exemplary Awards of Excellence submissions where the gold awards from each category are judged a second time. Mendoza and Reed received one of only six Grand Gold Awards given. “We are grateful to win and be recognized with other prestigious universities such as Berkeley and USC. Sam and I have a great working relationship that has produced some great designs over the years,” Mendoza said. “I have been able to see him grow as a designer and I’m excited for his future.” The team also won a Bronze Award of Excellence in poster design for the Jazz Showcase Poster, designed by a recent graduate, Nicolina Brown. Out of more than 500 entries this year, only 195 gold, silver and bronze winners were selected. BYU Arts Creative consists of a team of students that supports all of BYU Arts productions by preparing the marketing materials, including graphics, posters and programs. Nick Mendoza, creative services manager for BYU Arts, oversees the students and regularly submits their work for awards. Several works from BYU were chosen in various categories. See a complete list of the Awards of Excellence here. http://www.casevii.org/Documents/Districts/DistrictVII/DVII_Awards_Excellence_2016.pdf

In a span of just a few months, three films from the Media Arts department have found success on a national stage including a big win at the South By Southwest Film Festival.

My job at BYU is... Administrative Assistant in the Theatre and Media Arts Department and Advisor to Divine Comedy. I work to help the TMA administration run smoothly to serve both faculty and students. Several evenings each week, I work with Divine Comedy, a student-run sketch comedy group, as they prepare sketches for their shows. When I have 30 minutes of free time, you can find me... talking to one of my sons or grandchildren, reading, or playing Words with Friends. The best-kept BYU secret is... Divine Comedy. They really are a fun, hard-working, extremely bright and talented group! My favorite part of my job is... the view of Y Mountain from my office window and the choral groups I can hear practice in the Madsen Recital Hall every day. My go-to comfort foods are... herbal tea and sugarless gum. I’ve hiked Y Mountain... maybe three times. My favorite Cougar athletes are... the Haddock twins, Lacy and Lyndie, who were in my ward and are on the BYU Women’s Volleyball team. I’m currently reading... The Boys in the Boat, The Book of Mormon and the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book. I am in a 12-step program for compulsive eaters. I am constantly reading this book because I am a big proponent of the 12 steps, or the 12 steps of remedial repentance, as I often refer to them. I think the stories there are nothing short of miraculous, and I see changed lives every day because of the steps. Even the LDS Church has adopted these steps in their recovery programs, and I work them every day in my own life. On Saturday mornings you’ll find me... walking with my dad at the University Mall. My most cherished memory at BYU was when... I sang the BYU Fight Song with a children’s choir at Homecoming when I was about 8 years old in the Brigham Young Academy Building. My go-to BYU Creamery ice cream flavor (if I still ate ice cream) is... Roasted Almond Fudge. (I’ve been off sugar for six months! Yay!) My favorite spot on campus is... the trail above the Botany Pond. A close second is my father’s old office in the Clyde Building (he was a professor of mechanical engineering for 40 years!). And I love the openness of the BF Larsen gallery in the Harris Fine Arts Center. I’m most looking forward to... traveling someday and going on a mission! See Elizabeth at Cougar Queries.

There was one important characteristic Director Julia Ashworth was looking for in the student actor playing the lead role in BYU Arts' newest production, The Taste of Sunrise. He needed to be deaf. This month at BYU, the Department of Theatre and Media Arts is putting on a bilingual contemporary drama — opening on March 10 for a 13-show run in the Harris Fine Arts Center's Margetts Theatre — where every line spoken will also be signed. Every character has a shadow signer: an actor who moves and acts with him or her on stage and signs all the lines in American Sign Language. The lead role of Tuc — a man struggling to navigate the path of loss, love and language in his silent world — is played by Ben Featherstone. Feathersone is deaf, but wears a cochlear implant so that he can read lips and hear vibrations. Two other cast members are also hard of hearing: David Hampton (who plays Dr. Grindly Mann and other characters) and Jason Keeler (who plays Roscoe). Many of the cast members are fluent in ASL or have taken ASL classes at BYU. Set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties in Illinois, this award-winning drama explores the cultural complexities of deafness with great humor and compassion. Ashworth hopes this significant story will provide equal access to hearing, deaf and hard of hearing audiences in the community. 'I feel privileged to bring together deaf, hard of hearing and hearing actors to find the best way to tell this significant story,' said Ashworth. 'Producing The Taste of Sunriseaddresses issues of equality that are important to me as a theatre artist.' Acting is a new experience for Featherstone. He took on this role to prove to himself that being deaf isn't a limitation. He hopes that when the audience sees him on stage they will feel empowered as well. 'It doesn’t matter if you’re deaf, or if you’re hearing,' said Featherstone. 'What matters is that you are important in God’s eyes. There is no difference, we’re all equal. That’s the message I would share with the world.' The Taste of Sunrise is the second play in Suzan Zeder’s critically acclaimed Ware Trilogy, which will be presented throughout the year in its entirety in partnership with Utah Valley University. Tickets are $8-14, with discounts available for alumni, students, employees, senior citizens and groups. Tickets can be purchased in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone at 801-422-2981 or online at byuarts.com. PHOTO: The Taste of Sunrise: Katie Hyatt, Emma Flynn; Jake Earnest, Jonas Tucker; Katie Jarvis, Nell Hicks; Ben Featherstone, Tuc; Brittni Henretty, Dr. Alexis Graham; Abbie Craig, Maizie. Photography by Mark A. Philbrick/BYU Photo. Copyright BYU Photo 2016. All Rights Reserved. Performance Dates: March 10—12, 16—19 and 22—25 Times: 7:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday March 19 and 26 Location: Margetts Theatre, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU Price: $8-14 (discounts for senior citizens, BYU students, groups and alumni) Tickets: Available in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone at 801-422-2981 or online at byuarts.com

Brigham Young University’s School of Music will present “Jazz for Kids II,” with the Jazz Legacy Dixieland Band as part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Family Concert Series on Saturday, Mar. 5, at 11 a.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall of the Harris Fine Arts Center. Admission is free, thanks to a generous donation from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, but all attendees age two years and older need a ticket. Children of all ages are admitted to this performance (including babes in arms). Tickets can be reserved at familyconcerts.byu.edu. Directed by Steve Call, the BYU Jazz Legacy Dixieland Band will play the music of New Orleans, a city where elements of spiritual songs, blues, ragtime and military bands merged to give birth to Jazz, America’s unique and contribution to the world of music. The audience will learn about and hear the music of Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, who were the first great jazz musicians. The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Family Concert Series was created to introduce the joy of music to children and youth. All family members are encouraged to attend regardless of age.

The stars of BYU’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast maintained their luster during the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) hosted in Hawaii bringing home multiple awards.“We really, really showed well,” said George Nelson, director of the tale as old as time.