What better way to start the BYU Young Ambassadors' first full day in Xi'an, China, than to ride bicycles nine kilometers around the ancient city wall?

BYU's jazz band, Synthesis, is currently on tour in Brazil, May 16—June 18. Synthesis started off the tour strong with a workshop and then a sold out performance in front of 800 people in Betim. On Sunday, members of Synthesis tasted the culture of Brazil as they split up to have meals with local members in Belo Horizonte. And the first week ended well with a fireside in Belo Horizonte. Over the next few weeks, the 18-member band will participate in jazz festivals, small performances, and jazz workshops all over the country. Synthesis also plans to hold workshops with local jazz bands and students as they visit major cities including Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo. For more information regarding BYU performing groups, visit pam.byu.edu. To book a performance, contact Performing Arts Management at (801) 422-3576 or perform@byu.edu.

Brigham Young University’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts will present “A Wrinkle in Time,” a new play adapted from the popular children’s novel by Madeleine L’Engle, in the de Jong Concert Hall Wednesday, May 29 through Saturday, June 15, including matinee performances on Saturdays. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the children’s novel, BYU presents this new stage adaptation about love, faith, and the importance of family. On a dark and stormy night, Meg and her family receive an unexpected knock at their door. Behind it lurks an unearthly guest with incredible news. She knows the location of the children’s missing father who has gone missing while experimenting with time travel. As they trek through space to find him, Meg must learn to harness the power of love in order to conquer the forces of evil. Visit byuarts.com for tickets and show times.

Due to its students growing success in the animation world, the BYU Center for Animation has recently received a lot of recognition and attention from the media. Read The New York Times feature on BYU's computer-animation program in 'When Hollywood Wants Good, Clean Fun, It Goes to Mormon Country.'

Student reporter Brenna Donnelly took her responsibility very seriously.

Brigham Young University’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts will present “A Wrinkle in Time,” a new play adapted from the popular children’s novel by Madeleine L’Engle, in the de Jong Concert Hall Wednesday, May 29 through Saturday, June 15, including matinee performances on Saturdays. Tickets are $6 for anyone older than the age of six. The audience will be seated in general admission chairs on the de Jong Concert Hall stage surrounding the playing space on three sides. For tickets, visit the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-4322 or visit byuarts.com/tickets. There are no performances Sundays or Mondays. Please note that there will be strobe lighting used throughout the production. The performance on Thursday, June 6, will offer American Sign Language interpretation. Directed by Rodger Sorensen, the BYU production of “A Wrinkle in Time” celebrates the 50th anniversary of the children’s science fiction novel about love, faith and the importance of family. First published in 1962, the book won a Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was a runner up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. On a dark and stormy night, Meg and her family receive an unexpected knock at their door. Behind it lurks an unearthly guest with incredible news. She knows the location of the children’s father who went missing while experimenting with time travel. As they trek through space to find him, Meg must learn to harness the power of love in order to conquer the forces of evil. “Is it possible for adults to tell simple, truthful stories in imaginative ways, without relying on technology, elaborate sets and amazing special effects – stories that will transport us all into that genuine place where children seriously play?” Sorensen asks in the director’s note. “Let's find out. Unlock the doors. Fling wide the windows. Come play with us. Let's contemplate the beauty of Mrs. Whatsit’s transformation. Let’s listen to the music of the spheres in celebration of goodness, light and love.” The production is also featured in 4th Wall, a dramaturgy project run by the Theatre and Media Arts Department. The project works to break down the supposed wall separating the audience from the actors through insights from the rehearsal room, interesting historical information, interviews with the production team and more. For more information about 4th Wall, visit 4thwalldramaturgy.byu.edu. The cast features Lindsay Clark as Meg Murry, Adam White as Charles Wallace, Logan Hayden as Calvin O’Keefe, Stephanie Richardson as Mrs. Whatsit, Chelsea Hickman as Mrs. Who, Jenna Hawkins as Mrs. Which, James Lyon as Mr. Murry, Jasmine Fullmer as Mrs. Murry, and Amy Castro, Allyson Thaxton, Johnny Spelta and Beth Lloyd in the ensemble. The design and technical crew also includes Brittany Corbett, production stage manager; Eric Fielding and Logan Hayden, set designers; Desiree Moss, costume designer; Marianne Ohran, lighting designer; Patrick Hayes; Anna Deceuster, dramaturg; Lindsay Clark, choreographer and music director; and Lara Cobb, properties designer. For more information, contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu. Source: BYU News

Includes 'Light in the Piazza,' 'Cymbaline,' 'Pride and Prejudice'

Follow the Young Ambassadors on their China tour at their Facebook page. Week two of the BYU Young Ambassadors tour to China began with the students participating in what local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported to be the largest gathering of church members ever in the city of Jinan.

Brigham Young University’s School of Music welcomes guest artist Rachelle Woolston, soprano, who will perform a vocal recital Tuesday, May 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall.

After many spending many hours in preparation and rehearsal, the BYU Ballroom Dance Company will travel abroad for its 2013 performance tour, May 24—June 17. Every three years the dance company competes in the prestigious Blackpool Dance Festival in England. This year, the group will compete in the competition and will also perform in 10 additional performances across England, Germany, and Switzerland. The Blackpool Dance Festival is an annual competition that draws the best ballroom teams and dancers from around the world. In 2010 the modern formation team from BYU returned home with its 11th win while the Latin formation team earned its 12th win. Although we know the competition will be high, we hope the hard work of the company will once again pay off. For more information regarding BYU performing groups, visit pam.byu.edu. To book a performance, contact Performing Arts Management at (801) 422-3576 or perform@byu.edu.

The 2013-2014 Brigham Young University Performing Arts Series launches a new season with a new name – BRAVO! – featuring a dynamic roster of celebrated guest artists, as well as a new contemporary theatre initiative – OFF THE MAP – showcasing an eclectic mix of work from across the globe. From the theatre scene in Iran to the music of New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall, the 2013-14 season welcomes to campus one of the most exciting groups of dancers, theatre performers and musicians in BYU history. Most performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Individual tickets will be available at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-4322 or at byuarts.com/tickets. Season ticket packages will be available for purchase beginning Tuesday, May 28; new subscribers may also submit order forms at this time. Ticket orders will be filled beginning May 28 in the order they are received. The BRAVO! schedule: Fall 2013 Audra McDonald, renowned singer and actress with unparalleled breadth and versatility, will start off the season Thursday and Friday, Sept. 5-6, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Winner of five Tony Awards and two Grammy Awards, she is one of today’s most highly regarded performers. Blessed with a luminous soprano and an incomparable gift for dramatic truth-telling, she is equally at home on Broadway and opera stages as on film and television. Single ticket sales begin July 25. Hexnut, a modern band of five soloists, comes to BYU to present “Wrench — A Choreography Between Music and Image” Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Hexnut mixes the styles, sounds and playing techniques of contemporary classical, jazz, metal, improvisation and cartoon music. “Wrench” will blend a program of new music and the images of award-winning photographer Edward Burtynsky into a performance of integrated sound and projected image. The compositions by Jan-Bas Bollen, David Dramm, Anthony Fiumara, Ned McGowan, Mayke Nas, Seung-Ah Oh, Felipe Waller and BYU music professor Steve Ricks combine into a single set without pause. Admission is free. Also “Edward Burtynsky: The Industrial Sublime,” an exhibition of the artist’s work, will be on display at the BYU Museum of Art through Nov. 16, 2013. Admission is free. Frank Wildhorn, pop music songwriter and Broadway composer (“The Scarlet Pimpernel,” “Jekyll & Hyde,” “The Civil War,” “Wonderland” and “Bonnie & Clyde”), will take the audience on a concert journey through his celebrated catalog of music Thursday, Oct. 3, in the de Jong Concert Hall. A trio of Broadway and recording artists with Wildhorn at the piano, “Frank Wildhorn and Friends” will celebrate the man’s greatest songs in a personal and thrilling way. This multi-Grammy and Tony Award-nominated composer and producer's work spans popular, theatrical and classical music. Artists who have recorded and performed Wildhorn’s music include Whitney Houston (the international hit'Where Do Broken Hearts Go?'), Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Freddie Jackson and more. Single ticket sales begin Aug. 26. The Zagreb Saxophone Quartet from Croatia will perform Wednesday, Oct. 30 in the Madsen Recital Hall. With a repertoire ranging from Bach to Gershwin and Mozart to Bernstein, Croatia’s esteemed classical woodwind ensemble has become a premier interpreter of new and established works for saxophone. The Zagreb Saxophone Quartet is renowned for their exceptional musicality, interpretative focus and technical supremacy and has performed in more than 20 countries since the quartet’s formation in 1989. After a five-year absence, the group returns to BYU with special guest and master saxophonist Eugene Rousseau. Single ticket sales begin Sept. 30. Austria’s Salzburg Marionette Theatre will present “The Sound of Music” Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2 and “Hansel and Gretel” Saturday, Nov. 2, in the de Jong Concert Hall. To experience the Salzburg Marionettes is to witness the beauty and magic of a group rarely seen outside of Europe. For 100 years the company has performed dramatic presentations utilizing the remarkable life-like movements of its elaborate costumed, two-foot tall, string-manipulated puppets on lavish backdrops set to beautiful recorded music. Featuring a skilled ensemble of behind-the-scenes professional puppeteers, the performance presents the charm and wonder of a long-standing European tradition in a fresh, exciting way. Single ticket sales begin Sept. 30. Joshua Bell, whom the Boston Herald praised as “the greatest American violinist active today,” will perform Thursday, Nov. 14, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Often referred to as the “poet of the violin,” Bell is one of the world’s most celebrated violinists. His restless curiosity, passion, universal appeal and multi-faceted musical interests have earned him the rare title of “classical music superstar.” Bell has played recitals in the most esteemed venues across the globe, including his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 17. He can be heard on numerous recordings, including his latest release “French Impressions” and film scores, including the 2009 film “Angels and Demons”. In 2007, Bell performed incognito in a Washington, D.C. subway station for a Washington Post story by Gene Weingarten examining art and context. The story earned Weingarten a Pulitzer Prize and sparked an international discussion about perception and priorities. Single ticket sales begin Oct. 14. Winter 2014 The Utah Symphony returns to BYU with a program of classical masterworks featuring guest conductor Matthias Pintscher and pianist Inon Barnatan Thursday, Jan. 9, in the de Jong Concert Hall. The symphony will play Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, and Matthias Pintscher’s “Towards Osiris.” Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. China’s Golden Dragon Acrobats visits BYU with “Cirque ZÁva,” a technically innovative show featuring a large athletic cast and spectacular scenic and lighting elements, Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 6-8, in the de Jong Concert Hall. With superb artistic merit, high production values and a solid commitment to cultural exchange, “Cirque ZÁva” demonstrates why the Golden Dragon Acrobats have been recognized as the preeminent Chinese acrobatic company touring the United States. Filled with contemporary music, impressive acrobatics, theatrical enhancements and Chinese traditional dance, “Cirque ZÁva” promises to thrill the young and the young at heart. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. John Lithgow, world-renowned actor, presents “Stories by Heart,” featuring works by P.G. Wodehouse and Ring Lardner Friday, Feb. 28, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Following his triumphant appearances at New York’s Lincoln Center and London’s National Theatre, the Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor offers a touching and humorous reflection on storytelling as the tie that binds humanity. Invoking memories of his grandmother and father before him, Lithgow traces his roots as an actor and storyteller, interspersing his own story with two tales that were read aloud to him and his siblings when they were children — 'Uncle Fred Flits By' by P.G. Wodehouse and 'Haircut' by Ring Lardner. In the first, a fretful young Englishman is taken on a wild afternoon escapade in suburban London by his irrepressible uncle. In a hilarious tour de force, Lithgow performs with zany abandon, portraying ten distinct, outrageous characters (including a parrot). By contrast, 'Haircut' is a darkly comic look at Midwestern American implacability. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. The Diavolo Dance Theater will perform Wednesday, March 19, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Internationally renowned for the unique way in which it reinvents dance, reimagines theatre and redefines thrills, Diavolo Dance Theater takes movement, athletics and daring to the extreme, creating abstract narratives about the human experience through surreal tableaux. The company has an extensive performance history in its home city of Los Angeles, as well as throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. In more than 14 seasons of touring, Diavolo has performed for hundreds of thousands of concertgoers worldwide, as well as millions more on television. For its BYU debut, the company will present two of its most celebrated and exciting pieces, “Transit Space” and “Trajectoire.” Single ticket sales begin Feb. 18. The OFF THE MAP BYU International Theatre Festival schedule: Winter 2014 Iran’s Leev Theater Group will present “Hamlet, Prince of Grief” Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 23-25, in the Margetts Theatre. Household objects and children’s toys are used to play out a domestic and political history of betrayal and death as Shakespeare’s tragic hero comes to terms with his violent fate through an obsessive retelling of the moments preceding the tragedy. “Hamlet, Prince of Grief” was first presented in Iran by Leev Theater Group, featuring acclaimed Iranian actor Afshin Hashemi. It was chosen as Iran’s Best Theater Group by the Critics and Writers Association of Iran’s Theater House and was named Tehran’s Best Theater Group by the Dramatic Arts Center. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. The Theatre Ad Infinitum will perform “Translunar Paradise” Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 23-25, in the Pardoe Theatre. “Translunar Paradise” takes audiences on a journey of life, death and enduring love. After his wife, Rose, passes away, William escapes to a paradise of fantasy and memories, a place far from the reality of his grief. Returning from beyond the grave, Rose revisits her widowed companion to perform one last act of love: to help him let go. With live accordion accompaniment, this exquisite piece of mask and movement theatre was a multi-award winning, critically acclaimed sellout at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011. Theatre Ad Infinitum is an award-winning international ensemble based in London, developing new and original theatre for a multi-cultural audience. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. Australia’s Perth Theatre Company will present “Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer” Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 23-25, in the Nelke Theatre. This multi-award-winning one-man micro-epic puppet show melds technology and multimedia into a touching story of enduring love and the end of the world. Creator and performer, Tim Watts employs a unique blend of mime, puppetry, live and recorded music, and live animation to present an exploration of the oldest and next frontier: the deep blue sea. The seas have risen, billions of people have died and those who are left live on farms on mountaintop skyscrapers. The scientists have tried everything. Floating islands sank, space probes found nothing, and the giant sponges, visible from the moon, are now rotting icons of failure. Now science and humanity are turning to the oceans. A last ditch effort to save the human race requires journeying down through the mysterious depths of the deep blue sea to find a new place to live. These are the dire circumstances that surround the tale’s central hero, Alvin Sputnik. Having just lost his wife, Alvin accepts this perilous mission to follow her soul down to the underworld to be with her once more. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. For more information, contact Jeff Martin, (801) 422-6340 or visit byuarts.com. Source: BYU News

For many of the students in the group, the Central America Tour seemed so far away. After many hours of practice and regional shows, the moment everyone had been waiting for had now come. As usual, Living Legends started their tour off by meeting at the Richards Building. After weighing everyone's bags to make sure they met the 22-pound requirement they loaded the bus headed for the SLC Airport. Once at the airport the group began to check-in all the costumes, props and tech equipment at Delta Airlines. Thanks to John Shurtleff's years of experience and his tech crew, check-in was quick and well organized. After two flights, a stop at LAX, and a red-eye flight to Guatemala, the group had finally arrived.