Living Legends, 2019, China
BYU’s Living Legends honors the native cultural heritage of North America, South America, and Polynesia through a vibrant spectacle of energy, music, costume, and dance. The ensemble has performed in a variety of locations, including Russia, Central America, the South Pacific, Brazil, and China, and they danced in the opening ceremony of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. During their 2016 tour to Tonga, the group had the opportunity to meet the royal family and perform in front of the queen, the crown prince, local government leaders, and other dignitaries.
Living Legends has also played an important role in building relationships for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Eastern Europe. In 1991 the group traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, where they performed for approximately 5,000 people, including influential officials. Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander recalled, “At the end of the group’s traditional numbers, in a spontaneous expression of love for the performers, the children rushed the stage. As the children approached the performers, [Living Legends] began to sing ‘I Am a Child of God.’ The Bulgarians had never heard the song, but it had such an effect that everyone stopped and reverently sat down, filling the stage. [This] convinced me that the Spirit knows no borders.”
