Dancing for diplomats
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GENEVA, Switzerland — Spirited precision and dancing routines by the BYU Folk Dancers in this international diplomatic center impressed several audiences Aug. 2-3, and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the U.N.-designated "Year of the Family."
For the first time in its over 30-year history, the ensemble put its talents on display for the diplomats, their families and other invited guests from the numerous international and non-governmental organizations that reside in this city.
Highlighting the three-performance weekend was an evening in the Noga Hilton's theater for an audience of 1,100 members and friends. The evening ended on a spiritual note with the dancers singing in French "God Be with You Till We Meet Again."
An outreach program the previous day, organized by the Church's Geneva Public Affairs Committee, included a special invitation to the United States Embassy, which gave the students an experience of performing in a siege-garrison environment. The U.S. Embassy is surrounded by concertina wire, security fences, perimeter Swiss guards and tank traps. The atmosphere inside was friendly, however, and the crowd warmed to their performance, clapping and whistling after each performance.
Another performance that evening was arranged for the BYU Folk Dancers at the Switzerland Geneva Mission home on the outskirts of the city near beautiful Lake Geneva. At 7 p.m., mission President Stephen D. Nadauld, a former member of the Seventy, and his wife, Sister Margaret D. Nadauld, a former Young Women general president, welcomed the dignitaries and visitors and reminded the gathering that this was the 10th anniversary of the "Year of the Family," designated by the United Nations in 1994.
Several of the diplomatic corps indicated that the young performers had a special quality about them that set them apart from other such performers. Perhaps it was "their radiant smiles," explained one ambassador.
