The Heyday of the MIA Latter-day Saint Youth Programs in the Postwar Era

Authors

Lisa Olsen Tait
Amber C. Taylor

Keywords

Mutual Improvement Association, dance-drama festival, Latter-day Saints

Abstract

On Saturday, June 16, 1956, a crowd of twenty thousand spectators filled the University of Utah football stadium, nestled against the foothills to the east of Salt Lake City, to witness the Mutual Improvement Association (MIA) Dance-Drama Festival of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hopes were high that the weather would hold, since Friday night’s performance had been canceled because of rain. The weather did cooperate, and for over two hours, a massive procession of brightly costumed young women and men, representing almost every stake in the Church, presented a spectacular program of intricately choreographed dances and a dramatic fantasy play—brightly lit by an extra light pole specially erected for the event. Those who had been prevented from performing by rain the night before now joined with Saturday’s group in something of a double feature. The program built to an impressive finale in which over seven thousand young women and men dressed in red, white, and blue, created a diamond formation around the huge center stage. “It was a rare sight to behold,” reported the Deseret News, noting that the audience applauded “generously” throughout the show.1

Recommended Citation

Tait, Lisa Olsen and Taylor, Amber C. (2025) "The Heyday of the MIA Latter-day Saint Youth Programs in the Postwar Era," BYU Studies: Vol. 64: Iss. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol64/iss2/4