Worship dance or liturgical dance take on several forms of
sacred dance in
Christianity and
Messianic Judaism, and is usually incorporated into
liturgies or
worship services.
Some liturgical dance was common in ancient times or non-Western settings, with precedents in
Judaism beginning with accounts of dancing in the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
. An example is the episode when
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
danced before the
Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...
(), but this instance is often considered to be outside of
Jewish norms and
Rabbinic rituals prescribed at the time.
Dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
has historically been controversial within Christianity. Many records exist of prohibitions by leaders of most branches of the
Christian Church
In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...
, for such reasons as the association of dance with
paganism
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...
, the use of dance for sexual purposes, and a Greek-influenced belief in the separation of soul and body. Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, and especially following the
Second Vatican Council, there was a significant growth in the use of dance in
Christian worship. This received a boost from the
charismatic movement
The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spirit ...
of the 1970s, which initiated a transition to
contemporary worship in many churches.
A distinctive style of worship dance has developed within
Messianic Judaism. Known as ''messianic dance'' or ''davidic dance'' (for King David), it sometimes incorporates elements of
Israeli Folk Dancing.
See also
*
Dance in mythology and religion
*
Dancing procession of Echternach
References
* Gagne, Robert, Kane, Thomas, VerEecke, Robert (1999). Introducing Dance In Christian Worship. .
*Silberling, Murray (1995). Dancing For Joy - A Biblical Approach To Praise And Worship,
External links
*
*
Liturgical dance resourcesLiturgical dance resourcesEducation in Liturgical Dance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worship dance
Ritual dances
Sacred dance
Christian worship and liturgy