Living Legends’ “Seasons”
From Brigham Young University students
7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1
PA High School Auditorium
304 E. Park Ave., Port Angeles
$12 general admission, group discount available
Tickets at pam.byu.edu under “buy tickets.”
Dances and songs from Ecuador, Hawaii, Mexico, Samoa and more combine for a one-of-a-kind cultural experience in Port Angeles High School’s Performing Arts Center on Feb. 1.
Brigham Young University students from Latin American, Native American and Polynesian cultures join together for the college’s Living Legends’ new show “Seasons.”
Started in 1971, the troupe has performed worldwide including at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and most recently in Samoa, New Zealand and Tonga during the 2016 season.
Artistic director Janielle Christensen has been with the group for 26 years and says “Seasons” is a “magnificent 90-minute show.”
“It’s a spectacle of dancing, scenic elements and visuals and it carries with it a little bit more narrative,” she said.
“It’s so unique that there’s no other cultural group around doing something of this scope.”
“Seasons” follows a young man “caught up in the world,” Christensen said, as he’s visited by three ancestors from these ancient cultures who take him on a journey.
BYU students take a journey of their own every winter semester, too. They tour for 10 days in nearby regions to Utah like this winter’s tour to Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
“Our students and all of our university love tours to the Pacific Northwest,” Christensen said. “It always feels like there are people here that really care we’re coming and do their homework and help fill each show.”
Port Angeles’ show is sponsored by the Olympic Peninsula’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, the show is not religious, Christensen said.
On campus, the troupe is well-regarded with hundreds of students auditioning for the troupe with 36 performers selected and 12 chosen from each culture. An eight-person technical crew and technical director join the group as well for the tour via buses and trucks. They’ll stay with local families at each stop, too.
For the show, there will be more than 300 authentic costumes with many of them being made in their country of origin, Christensen said.
When Living Legends began, Christensen said it started more as a variety show with dances from the different cultures but in the past 15 years it’s changed.
“(Organizers) realized there is common heritage that brings them together and tells a beautiful story,” she said.
After 46 years, the troupe continues because college leaders value how much the students are learning about their cultures and sharing that with audiences while keeping their cultures alive, Christensen said.
Part of the show’s message, she said, is encouraging people to look at their own family histories and “take pride in their individual heritage and to continuously better themselves.”
Justin Smith, artist manager for the show, said there will be some representation from local Native American tribes and that they reach out to communities like that because they want to share and celebrate those cultures as best as possible.
Living Legends originates in the Department of Dance, College of Fine Arts and Communications, at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Tickets for Living Legends’ show are $12 each with group discounts available at pam.byu.edu under “buy tickets.”
Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@
Living Legends Artistic Director Janielle Christensen says “Seasons,” coming to Port Angeles High School on Feb. 1, is a “a spectacle of dancing, scenic elements and visuals and it carries with it a little bit more narrative.” Photo by Jaren Wilkey/BYU
