Dance Student Mac Moore Discusses Her Recent Choreographic Works for BYU and How Dance Bridges the Gap Between Heaven and Earth
Mac Moore, a Dance BFA student graduating in 2028, recently experienced major recognition for her choreography at BYU and beyond.
Moore grew up in northern Virginia and enjoys going to the lake, growing her rock collection, attempting to bake ridiculously complicated recipes and, of course, dancing.
Her love of dance and choreography followed her from childhood to Brigham Young University, which gave her the chance to develop her choreographic skills.
“The mission of the BYU Department of Dance is to integrate body, mind and spirit through performance, choreography, teaching and scholarship,” Moore said. “My professors have created a safe environment for me to experiment and collaborate, fail and succeed and live and learn. We really are spoiled here in the dance program, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here.”
One of those collaboration experiences for Moore was choreographing a full-length piece for DancEnsemble.
“I always had an eagerness to choreograph both at my dance studio growing up and for my high school choir concerts,” Moore said. “However, I never had the opportunity to create a full-length piece until my first semester on DancEnsemble, where I choreographed ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,’ which was inspired by a poem written by T.S. Eliot.”
Moore connected with his work because, at the time T.S. Eliot wrote the poem, he was an undergraduate at Harvard pursuing a Bachelor of Arts. She related to his pursuit of creative expression as a student, which made his work a meaningful source material for her full-length piece.
Along with choreographing for DancEnsemble, Moore was encouraged to submit her original work to the Red Rocks Dance Festival in St. George, Utah.
“The DancEnsemble director during the Fall 2025 concert, Marin Roper, encouraged all the choreographers to submit their works to the Red Rocks Dance Festival in St. George, so I did,” Moore said. “Miraculously, ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ was accepted to be adjudicated among other pieces from all over the country.”
Moore worked with student dancers at BYU to bring the project to life.
“I am forever grateful to my dancers who were as committed as I was, giving so much time and energy to the project,” Moore said.
Shortly after the debut of her second piece, “Ask Me How I Know,” at the DancEnsemble concert in April, she received an email about the Minerva Teichert Creative Works Contest and decided to submit. The work Moore submitted was deeply personal to her.
“I created my piece as a tribute to my aunt, who passed away from breast cancer in August of 2025,” Moore said. “The work navigates how relationship dynamics change when we lose someone, as well as the strength and resiliency of the women in my family, who have made me who I am today.”
Moore turned to dance to understand her grief — exactly what her aunt asked of her.
“Dancing through the heartbreak and loss is what kept me going,” Moore said. “‘Keep on dancing!’ were the last words she said to me, and every time I keep on dancing, I receive insurmountable blessings.”
Through dancing and choreographing, Moore connected with her aunt and drew closer to God.
“Throughout the rehearsal process for 'Ask Me How I Know,' I could feel her presence in the room with me,” Moore said. “Every time I came into the studio, I felt God creating this piece alongside me. Receiving the Minerva Teichert Prize feels like confirmation that I am on the right path.”
Next on Moore’s path is more choreographic work at BYU.
“I hope to graduate having choreographed even more pieces while at BYU,” Moore said. “I will be serving as president and a choreographer for DancEnsemble in the fall, and I am so excited for where that takes me.”
After graduating, Moore hopes to move to Salt Lake, dance professionally, attend graduate school for choreography and maybe one day become a professor of dance.
Wherever life takes Moore next, it will certainly involve dance — a passion she feels is deeply intertwined with her faith.
“Because we were created in God’s image, we have an innate desire to create beautiful things from nothing. This is what choreographing is to me,” Moore said. “The veil between Heaven and Earth becomes just a little bit thinner in those rehearsal spaces, and feeling His love for my dancers and me has strengthened my testimony in a way that cannot be undone.”
