Young, L. DeWayne

L. DeWayne Young (b. 1938) is not only an avid folk dancer, but a well established teacher and promoter of the folk arts.

Young danced with, and helped organize, the original Brigham Young University International Folk Dancers in 1956 under the direction of Janie Thompson and Mary Bee Jensen. After graduating from Brigham Young University, Young danced and taught intermittently at BYU, BYU-Hawaii, BYU-Idaho and Idaho State University, also teaching at Lloyd Shaw Foundation workshops and conducting many other folk dance workshops throughout the United States on the way.

In 1986 Young, along with Mary Bee Jensen, George Frandsen, and Vytautas F. Beliajus established the National Folk Organization. This organization was established for the preservation and promotion of the folk art traditions, and as a tribute to the staying power of international folk dance.

Young served as co-editor for fifteen years on "Viltis," the folk magazine created by Vytautas F. Beliajus; Later publishing the "Index to Fifty Years of 'Viltis': 1944-1994" and the biography "Mr. Folk Dance USA, Vytautas F. Beliajus: Memoirs of a Lithuanian Immigrant."

L. DeWayne Young still travels extensively, participating in international folk dance festivals in Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Puerto Rico.

From the guide to the L. DeWayne Young papers, 1958-2008, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)