Nunus Fonoimoana-Lessary performs at the the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation in January 2020.
BYU Living Legends completed a week-long performance tour in Arizona in January, visiting Page, Sedona, Topawa, Yuma, and Queen Creek. Throughout the tour, Living Legends packed in a lot of activities, from outreaches and school assemblies to nightly performances.
While in Page, the group held two special performances for young students at Page High School. Similarly, in Topawa, Living Legends performed for high school students at the Baboquivari High School. After these assemblies, Living Legends members met with the students. “For us, getting to represent not just our heritage but the heritage of many of these students was special,” says Native American dancer JoAnni Begay.
Living Legends also paid a special visit to the home of philanthropist Ira A. Fulton. Brother Fulton, an Arizona native, has been a longtime donor to BYU, helping to fund the completion of multiple buildings on campus; the university’s College of Engineering is named in his honor. The group performed a few dances for him while they visited.
“It can be hard to connect a real person to the names on the buildings,” says Living Legends director Jamie Wood. “Getting to see Brother Fulton laugh and talk, as kind as anyone else, drew out something in the students. I’m glad we were able to visit.”
