Youth dancers help celebrate 100 years of Mormon presence in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
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LETHBRIDGE, Alberta, Canada
More than 400 youth from three stakes participated in a dance event on Nov. 14 to celebrate 100 years of the Church in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The two performances of the event attracted more than 5,000 people from the community to the Enmax Centre, including the mayor and other civic leaders.
Laurie Erickson, the event's chairwoman, described the program as "very fun." "The kids really came through and put on a great show," she said.
Each performance began with remarks by Elder Richard Melchin, an Area Seventy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, followed by a video presentation of the history of the Mormon Church in Lethbridge. A marching band then accompanied the youth from the Lethbridge Alberta Stake, Lethbridge Alberta West Stake and Lethbridge Alberta East Stake into the arena as they sang "As Zion's Youth in Latter Days."
The majority of the program consisted of generational dances by the stakes' youth ranging from a 1940s foxtrot to a modern hip-hop routine. The program also featured performances by community dancers including Hungarian, Ukrainian and Japanese groups as well as Rocky Mountain cloggers.
An original song, "Great Is the Lord," which was composed especially for the event and was sung by all the youth, served as the finale.
Sister Ericksen said the event was enjoyed by the performers as well as the audience. "I had several people tell me afterwards that they didn't want it to end."
Kinsey Kindt, a member of the Lethbridge 12th Ward and the local seminary class president, said he enjoyed meeting and socializing with other youth in the area.
Coordinators spent almost a year organizing the event. The youth devoted eight or nine weeks of Mutual nights to learning the routines in preparation for their performances.
For Kinsey, although performing was "nerve-wracking," the hard work learning the intricate steps was "well worth it in the end."
"We knew in the beginning that in our performance we were playing the role of missionaries," he said. Kinsey invited friends and coworkers who were impressed by the event and asked questions afterward. "It was a good missionary starting point."
