For three years the BYU Ballroom Dance Company has been planning, preparing, practicing, and finalizing plans to participate again in the British Formation Dance Championships, in Blackpool, England. This is something the teams participate in every three years, and 2013 was the long expected next competition at this prestigious and world-recognized event. The competition occurred this past week, and was an amazing experience for all involved.

The BYU Museum of Art's annual Family Art Festival is coming soon on Friday, June 14, 10:00 a.m—3:00 p.m. The festival will be held in conjunction with the MOA's current Shaping America exhibition.

The tour for the International Folk Dance Ensemble began as the group traveled to O'Fallon, Illinois, near St. Louis on June 3. They were warmly welcomed by the parents of Amber Shepherd, a dancer in the ensemble. The group arrived just in time for a major storm to hit the area. The airport closed down just a few hours after their arrival. As the group members met their host families at the O'Fallon stake center, the weather turned dark and eerie, and soon the tornado sirens were going off.

The second week of tour for BYU Synthesis in Brazil was packed with concerts, festivals, and outreach. The group even played in front of a crowd of people that reached as far as the eyes could see in the Rio das Ostras Jazz and Blues Festival.

BYU Illustration Student Alyssa Scott was recently awarded grand prize in a Warner Brothers’ art contest held in conjunction with the release of “The Great Gatsby.” The director of the movie, Baz Luhrmann, selected two grand prizewinners to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City and tickets to the film’s premier on May 1. The other grand prizewinner was Anthony Ithurralde, from Salt Lake City.

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Two weeks before its official release, BYU professor Steve Lindeman's new big-band album of original compositions, The Day After Yesterday, has already begun to garner critical praise.

Downbeat Magazine listed BYU Synthesis among the Best Student Musicians of 2013. The large jazz ensemble was named the undergraduate college winner in Downbeat Magazine's 36th Annual Student Music Awards.

The International Folk Dance Ensemble departs this week for two weeks in O'Fallon and Nauvoo, Illinois. Their show The Gathering will give audiences a taste of what has been coined 'the pulse of the world's cultures.'

The Ballroom Dance Company embarked on their European tour May 24th and flew to Manchester, England. The 48-member group includes Mark Philbrick, BYU's photographer, who will record the teams' competitions in the British Formation Dance Championships this week in Blackpool. Also included are three BYU Engineering students on special assignment to help out with special lighting used in the costumes of the dancers, which will be a new and exciting addition to BYU's competition pieces.

After participating in multiple jazz festivals all over Europe over the years, BYU's Synthesis has finally travelled south of the equator for a taste of latin jazz in Brazil. The BYU jazz band spent its first week of tour in Brazil participating in performances and workshops in Betim, Contagem, and in the Santa Teresa Jazz Festival on the coast of Brazil.

The BYU Social Media Committee awarded two awards to the student external relations team for the Dean's office of the College of Fine Arts and Communications (CFAC) on Friday, May 24. The team was awarded with the Best Singular Medium Campaign award and the Best Promotion of An Event award.