Living Legends

Making Waves in São Paulo

With 50 students and more than 135 pieces of luggage, Living Legends arrived in Brazil ready to make a splash. The group’s first two performances took place in São Paulo on Brazilian Labor Day. Both the afternoon matinee and the evening show sold out. The crowds were captivated by the choreography, stunning costumes, and unique cultural appeal. Audience members visited with the students afterward and thanked them for presenting the show completely in Portuguese. (Both prerecorded narrations and live vocals were used in the show.) The group also performed to a grateful audience in Paulínia.

On Friday, the group visited the Associação Fernanda Bianchini, a one-of-a-kind ballet school whose student body comprises more than 300 blind dancers. Following a dance number, the blind students led the members of Living Legends in a group activity where each student was blindfolded and taught the process for learning how to dance while being visually impaired.

BYU student Marypaz Cuessy exits the stage during the group's performance in São Paulo.

After visiting the school, Living Legends traveled to Centro Historico de Embu das Artes to enjoy the cultural shops and later performed a free street performance in the popular town square.

The group then traveled to Curitiba, where they spent the weekend giving another performance and a devotional in the city for local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The highlight of their Sunday was visiting with more than 25 local families, who opened their doors to the BYU group and fed them an authentic Brazilian meal.

Elena Garcia leads a group of Living Legends students during an activity at the Associação Fernanda Bianchini, a ballet school for the blind.

BYU Living Legends student Jacob Contreras visits with an audience member after the group performance in Paulínia.