A Cultural Weekend

BYU Ballroom Dancers
This weekend Megan and I went to see the BYU Ballroom Dancers perform in Auburn. The fun thing was that 3 of the members on the touring team are from Federal Way or Bainbridge. A couple are former members of Megan's dance team, the Pacific Ballroom Dancers.
The next morning Megan had breakfast with the team and they gave them some pointers on the Lindy Hop. It was really a fun event. Megan's team had a block of tickets for the balcony (really the best place to watch a formation team). They were certainly a lively and appreciative audience. Below is a picture of the end of their Pirates of the Carribbean dance. After this, they pull a red cloth across the stage and all the dancers disappear. Pretty cool.

Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices
Saturday afternoon, Alex and I were able to go to the Seattle Stake Center and see Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices perform. It was absolutely spellbounding. I have never heard hymns sung like that. We were able to take John with us. He's a new convert who is also black. He said he wanted to marry Gladys when he was 10. He had such a good time, he is going back tonight and taking his family with him.

Gladys was so humble and funny. She bore her testimony and sang a few songs, but mostly she showcased her choir. According to the website, they don't use sheet music. She has taught them all the songs and how to sing them in the southern gospel style. There are some pretty incredible singers in the choir. I went right home to check out the album One Voice on iTunes. It had some of the songs, but they sang some other songs in the fireside that weren't on the album. Hopefully they'll put them on a future album. It was an awesome experience. I'm really glad I got to see them.