Brigham Young University Music and Dance Groups Perform at the October 2025 Shanghai Arts Festival
Brigham Young University’s performing groups — including the Young Ambassadors, the Ballroom Dance Company, Vocal Point and Noteworthy — were invited to perform at the Shanghai Arts Festival this October. When applying to perform, BYU Performing Arts Management chose these groups to represent BYU and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Festival. The purpose of the BYU trip was to foster a relationship with the Chinese government, as BYU is one of the few connections the Church has with China.
Young Ambassadors and the Ballroom Dance Company had two performances sponsored by the Shanghai Arts Festival. On October 23, the groups performed at the Shanghai Center Theatre with Church officials and VIPs in attendance. Then, on October 24, the groups performed at LingAng Performing Arts Center, which is just outside of Shanghai.
Aubrie Dyer, a journalism student at BYU, has been a member of Noteworthy for two years. She grew up singing and fell in love with performing. Going on the performing groups’ trip to China was her first international experience. “I loved traveling abroad, and it really opened my eyes to the fact that I am not the only person walking on this earth,” said Dyer. “Everyone is here for the first time, and we are all just trying to do our best. The people in China taught me a lot about respecting and caring for one another.”
Miori Kennedy, a third-year communications student at BYU, was another one of the students who participated in this performance trip. This year is Kennedy’s second year as a member of the Young Ambassadors, a group of students who combine music and dance to showcase America’s culture.
Kennedy spoke about the unique opportunity to spread Christ’s light in China in unexpected ways. In mainland China, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ has a limited presence because it is not one of the five religions officially recognized by the government. “We had to be creative in finding ways to share Christ's light, and for us, the solution was through music and dance,” said Kennedy. “I have learned that music, dance and other forms of art are universal languages that speak to every culture and to every part of the world.”
Dyer expected this trip to be an opportunity to speak about the gospel to those who do not have as much access to the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, at the beginning of the trip she learned that the group was not allowed to discuss religion. “My heart just broke, because that was my understanding of the whole point of going: to spread the gospel,” said Dyer. “Then, I remembered that you don't have to flat-out talk about religion to share the light of Christ. We can share it through our singing and our actions. We can be like Him, and that does the same thing.”
Kennedy also highlighted the unity among all the performing groups at BYU, despite their different focuses on music and dance. “Our inability to go out into the community and talk to people meant that we got to focus on the relationships that we could form within our own team,” said Kennedy. “We are able to support each other by going to each other's shows and becoming united in the purpose of sharing Christ's light. All of the performing groups at BYU have that same mission, so even though we are separated into different groups, we had the opportunity to be together and get to know each other.”
Learning from fellow remarkable performers inspires greatness. Kennedy recalled that the Ballroom Dance Company's dedication to repetition during rehearsal was impressive, and that observing this practice helped her team improve and feel more comfortable on stage.
“It is nice to reach that point where I am comfortable with the movement, counts and notes because then I can focus on sharing the light of Christ without worrying about looking good,” said Kennedy. “Sure, it is nice to impress the audience with cool things, and that is why we work on it. But I think that catching their eye is only the first part — the most important part is showing them that we're disciples of Christ and that there is a purpose for what we do.”
