Friday, September 28, 2018

Ballroom Dance at its Best

Sam is at BYU. He's majoring in biology and minoring in - of all things - ballroom dance. 

I had to register him for his first semester of classes at BYU while he was still on his mission. I selected several typical freshman classes and a couple that were required across a selection of majors he'd shown interest in. But then he still needed one more credit. Jeff and I both enjoyed ballroom and folk dance classes in college so I signed him up for entry-level Social Dance. 

When Sam saw his schedule he actually complained a little bit about that. I explained why I chose it then told him he was free to change it if he wanted. I think there may have been some eye-rolling on his part, but in the end he kept it. 

Long story short, he LOVED it. He couldn't get enough of it. And he's really good at it! He proceeded (and continues) to take multiple ballroom-related dance classes each semester. This semester he has 5. (Or is it 6?) 

I stumbled upon this video today while cleaning up a few files. It's the finale from the BYU Ballroom Dance concert this past spring. It's SO good!! Sam's group comes in at 2:42 then again, with everyone, at 4:13 to the end. I can see why he loves it. 

And I'm taking all the credit. :)

Thursday, September 6, 2018

ReMix Revisited


Sterling attended the ReMix Vocal Academy during the summer of 2017 at BYU. It was such an amazing experience that he and Soren were excited to attend together this year.

It didn't disappoint.

Sterling was the first one we saw in the show opener.

A whole week of a cappella instruction and rehearsal, team bonding and workshops makes for a really good time. The teams were super tight and both of my boys loved every minute. They are already saving up for next year. 

Here are the numbers my boys were in:
Show Opener (all teams): Kaleidoscope


Blue Team (Sterling): Home For Me


Green Team (Soren): Pieces


Closing Mashup (all teams)


If you are interested in hearing the other team songs, here's a link to the entire ReMix session B playlist.

Sterling had the opening solo in his team song.

Soren had a solo in his team song, too. 

Sterling's team. Sterling is third in the back row.

Soren's team. Soren is first on the bottom row.

Sterling in the awesome Beatboxing showcase. (Sadly, they didn't post the video on YouTube this year.)

The boys' cousin, Trevor, was at ReMix this year, too. He had a great experience and his team song, Maps, was really cool.

Trevor is second in the back row. 

My boys are sad it's over, but they still listen to the music regularly and are in touch with their team members. It's not something they'll soon forget and was the highlight of their summer! (...especially when you compare it to getting their wisdom teeth out the following week before leaving Utah. They had to drive the 1500-miles home on a liquid/soft food diet and a regular rotation of Tylenol and ibuprofen. lol. But that's another story....)