An eighth year of Utah's Dance for Life Suicide Awareness Gala is set to take over the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City on September 12, bringing together professional dancers, wellness workshops, and a tribute to the late Stephen “tWitch” Boss. Ballet West first soloist Rylee Ann Rogers Anderson will serve as the gala's ballet guest star, performing a piece created for the Celebrate Life shows and teaching a master class as part of the daylong event.
The event, first reported by ABC4 Utah, brings dance professionals together to support mental health awareness through performance, workshops and community outreach. Rogers Anderson will also participate in a wellness workshop alongside Mrs. Utah America titleholder Brittany Wood, part of programming that pairs pageant participation with the gala's mental health messaging. Rogers Anderson has said dance has positively affected her own mental health, and according to the same report, she described feeling touched to be part of the gala because colleagues in the dance world have struggled with their own mental health.
A National Tribute Returns to the Stage
This year's gala will feature a tribute to Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the celebrated dancer, choreographer, and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” co-executive producer who rose to fame on “So You Think You Can Dance” before he died by suicide in December 2022 at age 40 in Encino, California, according to the Los Angeles Times. Boss's uncle, Alan Boss, will attend the Salt Lake City event and take part in a special tribute and workshop. Per ABC4 Utah, the Boss family will speak publicly about Stephen at Dance for Life for the first time since his death, following earlier remarks his mother, Connie Boss Alexander, and Alan Boss made on CBS Mornings in early 2025.
The tribute lands against a backdrop of sobering numbers. Utah recorded 665 suicide deaths in 2024, and the state's age-adjusted rate of 19.5 per 100,000 residents has consistently run above the national average, according to data compiled by USAFacts. Suicide has remained among the leading causes of death for Utahns ages 10 to 44 over the past decade. Among younger residents, the 2023 Utah Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 37% of Utah high school students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness, while 22.9% said they had seriously considered suicide in the prior year, per the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
A Full Day of Dance, Workshops and Master Classes
Beyond the evening tribute, the gala's schedule includes morning wellness workshops and $45 master classes led by “So You Think You Can Dance” alumni Easton Magliarditi and Ali Deucher, ahead of $20 to $25 public Celebrate Life matinee and evening shows, according to Visit Salt Lake. Both Magliarditi and Deucher are also scheduled to perform at the Celebrate Life shows. The performance lineup includes Ballet West, Odyssey Dance Theatre and BYU Ballroom, alongside Rogers Anderson's featured piece.
Choreography for the professional showcase again comes from Evelyn Cisneros-Legate, director of the Frederick Quinney Lawson Ballet West Academy, who creates unique choreography for the gala each year. Cisneros-Legate has also been tied to expanding dance access across Salt Lake County — a joint library-studio rebuild approved by county officials in March will house new Ballet West Academy studios and a black-box theater on the county's west side, with completion expected in 2029. Southern Utah University's dance department has also scheduled August rehearsals so university alumni can prepare a collaborative piece to perform alongside the professional companies at the September 12 gala.
Where the Proceeds Go
Dance for Life Suicide Prevention & Mental Health was founded in July 2018 by former dance studio owner Kristin Barlow following a youth suicide in her community, and it received 501(c)(3) status in August 2019. Barlow, who brought 30 years of dance studio leadership experience from California and Utah to the effort, later relocated the organization's national headquarters to central Florida in 2022 while keeping its flagship gala programming in Utah, according to the nonprofit's own account.
Proceeds from Dance for Life events fund the organization's ABSEPA — Anti-Bullying Self-Esteem Performing Arts — school assemblies and Ambassador Clubs, which bring certified mental health and self-esteem curriculum into elementary, middle and high schools. The program partners with groups including Wolf Pact to focus on suicide prevention and anti-bullying education. Tickets and event information for the September 12 gala at the Capitol Theatre are available at danceforlifenation.org.
Crisis Resources Available Statewide
The Capitol Theatre itself carries its own history in downtown Salt Lake City. Originally opened in 1913 as the Orpheum Theatre and renamed in 1927, the 1,876-seat venue designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh now serves as the resident performance home for Ballet West and Utah Opera, managed by Salt Lake County Arts & Culture.
For readers affected by the issues the gala addresses, Utah's 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline uses state georouting tools to connect local callers directly to certified crisis workers at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute in Salt Lake City without transmitting precise location data, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Callers in Salt Lake County can also be connected with Mobile Crisis Outreach Teams for in-person response.
