Once upon a time, around 2006, in a Mesa singles ward...

My friend and I went to a Sunday Devotional at the stake center. It was a great chance to scope out hotties and also get some nice spiritual enlightenment meant just for our chosen generation. It began like any other; songs, prayers, the typical opening exercises.

Then our main speaker was introduced. She was an older woman, and she regaled us with tales of something she called "danceapaloozas" that existed in her heyday. They were grand pageants of youth dancing and singing that would knock your socks right off with spirituality! She had a plan to bring back this incredible tradition to our generation with fervor and vim. By now we were all scratching our heads. This was a bit unusual for a devotional. Where was the boring, run of the mill, straight-outta-the-Ensign droning? This was turning out to be just this woman, spouting off about her passion to relive her glory days. It was then that things got even more unusual. She had brought her accomplice and music composer with her. He was a mousy middle aged man.

He took the stand. His voice was timid. He told us how he comes up with his music:

"I take my little personal recorder with me to bed. I lie down in the dark and start humming different melodies. When I find something I like, I record it." He then sang for us, a capella, a verse out of his song about courageous Nephi.

This was the breaking point for the audience. There were audible giggles and chitters all over the pews. People were getting up and leaving in no small number. My friend and I could bear it no longer ourselves and walked outside, bursting into loud laughter! Who on earth approved this for a devotional? We were being recruited, and the presentation itself wasn't convincing at all.

And you know what? We never heard even a whisper of that Danceapalooza ever again. Gone with the wind!

Has anyone participated in such an event? Did we miss out on one of the finest pageants of all time??



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2021 01:31PM by dinosaurprincess.

As a Beehive I was in a dance festival in SoCal in 1970. I loved it, but I’ve always loved to dance.

It was fun, and I still remember them measuring our dress length, lol. Can’t be showing too much leg out there on the high school field where the dancing took place.

TG

TG, I've heard about a church Rose Bowl dance-off thing back around that time... Got any info?

Anyone else?

I was in the Oakland Temple Pageant several years.

I was in a huge dance festival at the Rose Bowl in 1985.

This must be what I heard about ...

Thanks.

Can you tell us more?

It was the Southern. California Area Dance Festival, with youth from all over.
They did one in 1980 as well.
Just one of those things the church used to do for fun. Like roadshows and speech competitions, etc. All canceled due to correlation...

This sounds like the one she was talking about. Sounds like a lot of fun, but also a lot of work to put together. The youth of our day just weren't "worthy" enough to participate I guess!