After teaching and performing in Utah, Bronwen Merrill is pursuing her dance career in France Bronwen Merrill knew she wanted to dance for Disney Entertainment from the time she was 14 years old. “I had the next 10 years of my life planned out before I could even drive a car,” she said. But the BYU alum’s journey to her dream job turned out a lot different than she expected. Merrill grew up in Provo, raised by parents who taught her to appreciate the arts. She briefly took dance lessons at a young age, but it wasn’t until her mother took adult ballet classes and brought a 10-year-old Merrill along that she really fell in love with the art form. “I was totally hooked,” said Merrill. “I knew I wanted to study dance. I said to myself, after graduation I'm going to move to either Anaheim or Orlando, and I'm going to audition and get into Disney Entertainment.” When she met and married her husband at BYU, however, Merrill knew she had to reevaluate her post-grad plans. After graduating in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in dance, she moved to China with her husband, Jordan, to teach English for four months. Three days after their return, she joined BYU’s Department of Dance, teaching beginning ballet classes as adjunct faculty. “Teaching was something I never thought I would do, but it was a great way to build up my resume, stay close to the dance community and support my little family of two while Jordan finished school,” she said. Merrill also used this time to gain more experience onstage. She performed in Hale Center Theatre’s production of “An American in Paris,” as well as “Beauty and the Beast” at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre. While her time at BYU helped her strengthen her technical base as a dancer, Merrill’s post-grad experiences onstage helped her grow as a performer. “I feel that I’ve developed a better sense of being able to get into a character and tell that character’s story,” said Merrill. “There can be a disconnect — especially with ballet dancers — because there’s such a focus on perfecting the choreography and the technique, it can be hard to focus on the story you’re trying to tell with the movement. It becomes more enjoyable for both the performer and the audience when those worlds can find a way to balance and combine.” Merrill and her husband moved to Florida, expecting to settle down, when a contract offer came from Disneyland Paris — literally a dream come true. “I was so excited, and then it suddenly became so stressful,” she said. “There were so many big changes we had to make: Jordan had to reevaluate his career path, we had to let go of our goal of homeownership, and we realized we had to sell everything we owned to move to France.” Merrill was hired on at Disneyland Paris as a character performer and parade dancer, where she finished her training right before COVID-19 closed the parks for four months. Now, she is able to perform at the parks — albeit at a distance from guests. “Being here and performing in any capacity is still very fulfilling, especially at a time when so many artists have lost their jobs or are waiting for things to open back up again,” Merrill said. “I’m really looking forward to when I get to dance down Main Street, USA for the first time.” While her experiences between graduation and Disney were never part of the plan, they expanded Merrill’s abilities as a dancer and were crucial to fulfilling her life-long dream. “Learning those skills was so important for me, and helped immensely at my audition for Disneyland Paris,” she said. “I don't think that I would have gotten as far as I did in the audition without those lessons about character work that I had post-graduation.” Throughout her journey, there were times when Merrill thought about giving up, but the experience has helped her realize the importance of following your dreams. “I just wish that more people believed in themselves enough to chase the dreams that they have,” she said. “It’s not going to be easy — a lot of the time it’s going to be really, really hard — but it’s so worth it. I just want to shout that message from the rooftops.”

Alumni explain challenges and blessings of being an artist during the pandemic

BYU alum Dianna Douglas uses podcasts to tell stories and educate listeners

BYU alumna Emily Applegarth adapted her music business to the impacts of COVID-19, providing online and in-home music lessons

After their original study abroad was canceled,

The college welcomes new faculty and staff for the 2020-2021 Academic Year

Singing and performing have always appealed to Alison Taylor. "I chose to pursue acting because it was fun and decided that if a different path presented itself then I would change. Instead, I fell even more in love with performance and discovered pathways within theatre that I hadn’t really considered. It’s something I love, and one of the few things that I truly am confident in," said the acting major.

Photographer Kendal Bryan seeks moments of quiet movement in her images

Kofi Aidoo started college as a food science major with big plans of becoming a dentist and high expectations about BYU. Now he’s a senior and an advertising major — and his plans and expectations have changed. Aidoo was born in Modesto, California, where his parents, who were originally from Ghana, converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when Aidoo was 2 years old. Aidoo said the Latter-day Saint community where he lived had him convinced that BYU was the perfect school. “It’s what we all aspire to. You’re bound to be successful if you go to BYU, you know?” Aidoo said. He said his time at school has actually been very different than what he originally imagined. He said he appreciates BYU and loves his program but has noticed a huge difference between his experience as a student of color and the experiences of many of his peers. This difference has led Aidoo to become an active advocate for anti-racism in Provo. Though he isn’t associated with the official Black Lives Matter organization, he said that he tries to be a part of the movement. Aidoo helped organize a march against racism that took place on June 13 in Provo, and he’s been vocal on social media about recent events and protests related to racial injustice. Read the rest of the article written by Emily Andersen at universe.byu.edu.

Due to the global pandemic, this year’s annual student art show is being displayed online Every winter semester, students from the BYU Department of Art have the opportunity to display artwork in a special gallery exhibition in the Harris Fine Arts Center. This year, faculty and staff adapted to the social distancing requirements due to the pandemic and displayed the artwork online. “The day the university decided to vacate the campus and move to remote learning was the day before the gallery was set to accept submissions for what would have been this year's physical student show,” said gallery director Eric Edvalson. “Unfortunately, we had to cancel the physical show, but we still wanted to give the students an opportunity to show their work.The online exhibition displays over 50 pieces of art from the students. Although seniors have opportunities throughout the year to display their work at their final BFA exhibitions, the annual student show is a valuable opportunity for the wider student body of the Department of Art to display their work and to possibly win awards. This year, guest juror Madeline Rupard selected the award-winning artwork for the online exhibition. Rupard is a recent graduate of Pratt Institute with an MFA in painting, and she is an alumni of the BYU Department of Art.Tess Cowley won first place for her piece “Untitled - Ceramic” while Carrie Jube Everett took second with “Figment” and Elisabeth Baird took third with her piece “Bread.” Honorable Mentions included: Stephen Clawson, “The Regular Price;” Jeffrey Hampshire, “Google Earth Series;” Carolyn Koo, “A Picnic Feeling;” Hannah Landeen, “Travis’ Hoodie;” and Ricey Wright, “See You At the Top.”“Without a doubt, we would love to be viewing this art in person if we could,” Edvalson said. “Still, the diversity of work really shines in a digital environment, both individually and collectively.”To view the exhibition visit 2020 Annual Student Exhibition.

After Randy Boothe dedicated decades to the Young Ambassadors, he is now passing on the leadership to Nathan Balser

Ostraff views his art as a catalyst for personal change and a celebration of relationships On July 1, Joe Ostraff replaced Gary Barton as chair of the Department of Art. Ostraff received an MFA from the University of Washington and taught high school art for seven years before joining the art faculty at BYU in 1993. At the time, he was one of the more contemporary-minded professors working in the department, making experimental art. Now, contemporary ways of working have become a critical component of a BYU art education. Projects and Awards During his time at BYU, Ostraff has primarily taught painting, drawing and advanced studio courses. He has directed or co-directed numerous collaborative projects involving his students and peer institutions, including the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), Wirral Met College in England, Limerick School of Art and Design in Ireland and Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi in New Zealand. These partnerships have involved hundreds of artists and resulted in more than 30 international, national and regional exhibitions. Ostraff is also the only one of nearly 70 fellows to be awarded the prestigious Visual Arts Fellowship by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums three times (in 1993, 1998 and 2010). Together with his wife, Melinda — an ethnobotanist, faculty member in the College of Life Sciences and repeat collaborator with her husband — Ostraff has received roughly half a million dollars in grants over the years. He estimates that 60 to 70 percent of that grant money has helped fund dynamic art opportunities with other artists, including fellow faculty members and students. These grant funds often go toward covering travel costs for his students to collaborate with artists in other locations, or to bring students from other universities to BYU. Read the full article written by Abby Weidmer at art.byu.edu.