A Divine Gift of Dance: The BYU Ballroom Dance Company Performs for the King and Queen of Thailand

On April 30, 2025, 600 dignitaries, including leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, filled the Aksra Theater King Power in Bangkok in anticipation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida’s arrival. The occasion of the Royal Couple’s rare appearance was the East Meets West: Celebrating His Majesty the King’s Jubilee performance held in honor of his auspicious 72^nd year. The world-renowned Brigham Young University (BYU) Ballroom Dance Company traveled from America for it.

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Elder Kelly Johnson from the Church’s Asia Area presidency, Vice President Steve Hafen from Church-affiliated BYU and their spouses joined the greeting party comprising His Excellency Pridiyathorn Devakul, event Advisory Committee chairman, Dr. Bhichit Rattakul, Organizing Committee and BYU alumni representative, and event chairperson Her Excellency Benchapa Krairiksh.

The event was an amalgamation of efforts, organized by the Princess Bichitrchirabha Devakul Foundation in collaboration with BYU and the Church. Event proceeds were donated to the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation under Royal Patronage, providing educational assistance for underprivileged children. Church public affairs director Sathit Kaivalvatana said, “The opportunity for BYU to perform before the King is not only a cultural honor but also a meaningful moment for the Church. This significant milestone reflects the Church’s ongoing efforts to build bridges through culture and service, opening doors for deeper community engagement and understanding.”

A Performance of a Lifetime

Before the show, Their Majesties granted the Company a once-in-a-lifetime photograph together. The King also gifted event sponsors mementos, including Elder Johnson, key BYU staff and student representatives of the dance and technical teams. As the program commenced with Thai classical dances from the esteemed Rajini and Rajinibon schools, the Company’s 32 elite dancers prepared to give the performance of a lifetime.

“Developing my dancing for years, I didn’t ever realize that would give me an opportunity to dance for the king of Thailand,” said 21-year-old dancer Darby Jo Hart. “But sometimes God works in mysterious ways. We work to develop things then we’re given opportunities that we never could have anticipated.”

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The morning of the King’s performance, the Company visited the Church’s sacred Bangkok Thailand Temple for spiritual contemplation. Having landed under 72 hours, the experience grounded them in their overarching purpose: to go forth to serve, king and commoner alike.

While Aksra Theater reverberated with applause for the shared journey through the rhythms of life, 24-year-old Wyatt Jennings felt their team had fulfilled their mission that night to “through our dancing, try to be representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ, the University, and to let our dancing be a conduit through which the [Holy] Spirit can work to touch people’s hearts”.

Royal news reported the following day of an elusive sight. Kennidy McOmber, 21, who joined the King’s sendoff said, “He had a smile on his face the whole time he walked out. I think that really set in for me that our group can make such a huge impact on so many different kinds of people – just random people who come to our show but also the king of Thailand.”

Rebuilding on Connections Forged

The Company staged three more performances, the first on April 29 in benefit of the Thai Red Cross Society. St. Joseph Foundation President Sunantha Sombuntham, who organized the fundraiser with the Church, believed in the Company’s drawing power after supporting other visiting BYU performing groups. The Society’s Secretary-General, former Thai minister Dr. Tej Bunnag graced the successful show with almost 1000 turnout.

This was the Company’s fifth tour to Thailand. Coming full circle, Artistic Director Curt Holman and several dancers’ parents had participated in the 1985 tour as students. The last visit in 2011 drew record-breaking crowds, with a performance for Princess Soamsawali and visit to the Father Ray Foundation in Pattaya.

This tour began at their Children’s Village, a residential care home for children aged three to 18 needing assistance. 65 children and youth gathered, performing songs and dances for the Company. They were in turn thrilled by the showcase of ballroom dance styles, later pairing up with dancers to learn the chacha. In a Thai Public Broadcasting Service interview the next day, Holman recounted, “We bring them up onto the floor and teach them basic rhythms of how we dance and what we do. We get to know them one on one and then they all join together and share. So it’s a very rich experience…it can be quite life-changing to learn about other cultures and people.”

Oat, 22, who entered the home 15 years ago said, “I’m deeply touched – it feels like a dream of mine since I was a kid. I never really had the chance to see this kind of thing, that’s why I feel so happy.” Dancer Justin Goodrich, also 22, articulated, “I first realized the joy that dance brings me when I started to do it for other people. God has given us these talents and these gifts for a reason and when we use those to bless other people, it’s so satisfying to be able to serve and bring them joy.”

Touching Hearts and Lives

The Company also met youths from around the world. Through workshops with International School Bangkok (ISB) and a visiting Singapore Church group, 430 people were impacted. Putting the diverse youths through the chacha’s infallible paces presented the opportunity to build the divine worth of each individual through the universal language of dance. Dancer Kelly Miles, 21, expressed her wish to “give a piece of our dancing and our spirit that comes with that, and ultimately hope that we make them feel loved and that we care about them”. 

ISB student Naika, 16, felt the Company’s community spirit and was “definitely inspired”. “From just watching them, it’s given me this sort of feeling of going back to dance again because they have so much passion when they dance and so much emotion and feeling,” she said. Her dance teacher Stephanie Fletcher shared, “One of them walked away and she said… she felt really special and loved by all of your dancers.”

Two public shows on May 1 drew Church friends, missionaries and members such as Woraphat Anaworayan, a Company alumni four decades earlier and dear friend of Holman. He took a seven-hour trip to reunite with the group of his youth. “Coming here to support them to see the best show ever, it was worth the time that I came all the way,” he expressed. “This is one of the best things that happened in Thailand and I hope that people get to know the Church.”

The King’s smile, reflected in the face of Anaworayan, circumscribed a people who had formed an indelible connection with the 2025 Company through the divine gift of dance. The Company will travel next to Cambodia and Vietnam, then conclude their tour in Phitsanulok, Thailand.