Every fall semester, students at BYU-Idaho work together under the guidance of student directors to produce a dance showcase called Extravadance.

Dance majors with all of the necessary experience under their belts plan, choreograph, cast, direct and perform in the week-long show. This year, Ava Sybrowsky is one of the Extravadance student directors.

As one of five student directors this semester, Sybrowsky has the opportunity to step into a bigger role. She personally oversees and directs four of the 20+ numbers for the show. Additionally, Sybrowsky choreographs one of those four dances.

"I'm in charge of the two tap pieces and then two world pieces as well," said Sybrowsky. Her favorite dance style is tap, and she currently student teaches the intermediate tap technique class.

Sybrowsky has been dancing since she was two.

"My mom just put me in tap and ballet classes," Sybrowsky said, "and as I got older, I just fell in love with it more and more and more every day."

Eventually, she decided that dance is what she wants to dedicate her life to. This is her last semester before she graduates with a bachelor's degree in dance. Having participated in Extravadance every year at BYUI, it has become a fixture for Sybrowsky, one where she has learned to push herself and step up.

Sybrowsky says dancing has carried her through many hard moments in life.

Sybrowsky describes hitting a difficult moment where she had to grow up. Her involvement in Extravadance motivated her to keep going. "Dance was something that was there for me every single day," Sybrowsky said.

Sybrowsky says she finds joy in trying different styles of dance, where she gets to meet new people and form new relationships. Her fellow student directors for Extravadance are some of those friends.

One of the other student directors, Cole Thompson, is overseeing the production of the contemporary numbers.

Thompson began teaching dance classes at his local studio during high school, but he enjoys this new role.

"I've participated in Extravadance in past years as a dancer, and so it's been super fun to be on the behind-the-scenes side of things this time," said Thompson.

Thompson, Sybrowsky, and the other student directors applied for the position earlier this year and spent most of the spring semester planning the show.

"So much happens behind the scenes that I usually don't see," Sybrowsky said. She had not anticipated injured dancers or people dropping out.

After some students dropped out of the show, the other dancers offered to step up and fill in.

This fall, the show's theme is "United As We Are," and the 76 dancers in the cast are working to prove it. When faced with adversity, they work together to keep going.

"It's a really great team of hard workers, and they're just all awesome people," Sybrowsky said.

Sybrosky said she wasn't sold on the theme, "United As We Are," at first, but it has grown on her.

Seeing the dances and costumes come together helps Sybrowsky see the vision behind the show's theme.

In the dance department costume shop, Brielle Anderson is one of the many people working behind the scenes to make the show happen.

After the dancers learn the choreography, they go to the costume shop where Anderson and the other seamstresses begin assigning costumes.

"It's so fun to get close relationships with the dancers as well and to just have them coming in and out for fittings and everything," said Anderson.

Kate Hodges, another student director, oversees the jazz and hip-hop numbers for Extravadance.

"I'm just excited to see all of the students step into their greatness and show the rest of the student body what the dance department has to offer," said Hodges.

"Step into your greatness" is a phrase that the dance faculty members are known to tell the dancers, and it resonates among the student directors. Sybrowsky sees the dancers "step into their greatness" as they work together to make the dances the best they can be.

"I'm really excited for show week," Sybrowsky said, "because that's when we get to finally show others what we've been working on."

Ava Sybrowsky encourages BYUI students to watch the show.

"I think dance is a special type of art that we can feel the spirit and feel connected to each other really strongly through," Sybrowsky said.

Sybrowsky says movement and music are spiritual to her and give her a more eternal perspective.

The Extravadance shows will be Nov. 11-15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Snow Drama Theater. Tickets are on sale now.