Give praise with blasts upon the horn, praise him with harp and lyre. Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise him with strings and pipes. Give praise with crashing cymbals, praise him with sounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath give praise to the LORD! Hallelujah!
Psalm 150:3-6
Liturgical dance is the art of dance that takes place in the context of a liturgy or worship service. Much like liturgical music, the purpose of liturgical dance is the deepening and enriching of the community’s prayer.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols. As a social being, man needs signs and symbols to communicate with others, through language, gestures, and actions. The same holds true for his relationship with God,” (CCC §1146).
Gestures and actions are an integral part of the Catholic liturgy, from kneeling and bowing to the sign of the cross and the sign of peace. Liturgical dance is simply an expansion of the use of gesture and movement within worship. However, this expansion is not new. Throughout scripture and the Christian tradition, liturgical dance has been used to worship and give glory to God.
Dance in Scripture
Featured throughout the Old Testament, there is a storied tradition of dance as an expression of worship. This precursor to liturgical dance most often appears in moments of celebration and spiritual victory.
In the book of Exodus, God delivers the Israelites from Egypt. After they cross the Red Sea, Miriam leads the women in song and dance to praise God for his mighty works and thank him for delivering them out of Egypt.
Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, while all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing; and she responded to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.”
Exodus 15:20-21
In the second book of Samuel, King David also dances to praise the Lord. When he finally brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, there is great celebration. Before David offers sacrifices to the Lord, he jumps and dances before God.
Then David came dancing before the LORD with abandon, girt with a linen ephod.
2 Samuel 6:14
Even when King David is criticized by his wife for his exuberant dancing, he refuses to waver in his expression of joy. David asserts, “I was dancing before the LORD. As the LORD lives, who chose me over your father and all his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people, Israel, not only will I make merry before the LORD, but I will demean myself even more,” (2 Samuel 6:21-22).
Dancing as a form of worship also appears multiple times in Psalms, where musicians and dancers are called to lead all beings on earth and in heaven in praise of God. These models of prayerful dance inspired a history and tradition of liturgical dance in the Christian church.
A Brief History of Liturgical Dance
Formed by the Hebrew tradition of dance as an expression of worship, early Christians embraced liturgical dance. As the Church became more and more institutionalized, dance was gradually removed from sacred spaces.
Over the course of the medieval period, religious authorities became suspicious of dancing. Conflating liturgical dance with pagan rituals and practices, they believed that any style of dance could lead to inappropriate behavior.
Despite this, some forms of sacred movement continued to remain a part of the Christian tradition. Sacred movement could still be found in religious processions, mystery plays and labyrinth walks as a form of moving meditation. In some European monasteries, monks performed solemn, choreographed movements during Easter celebrations, known as the “tripudium” or “three-step dance,” (Keyway).
The Catholic Church has a long history of encouraging sacred art and its purpose of “evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God,” (CCC §2502). Liturgical dance began to see a resurgence in the 1900s as the Church reopened itself to more active forms of artistic expression and worship. This renaissance also further expanded the presence of African, Asian and Latin American cultural traditions, including dance, within worship.
Reflections on Liturgical Dance
“The fine arts, but above all sacred art, ‘of their nature are directed toward expressing in some way the infinite beauty of God in works made by human hands.'”
(CCC §2513)
Sister Carol Louise Smith, CSJ
Some of us get nervous when we hear about liturgical dance. Perhaps it is the use of our body in a church setting that creates the feeling of unease. Yet it is such a natural expression of beauty, joy and story played out among us with ease.
Dance has always been a part of the human story from centuries old traditions, cultures and expression to our cave men and women days—the ancient pictographs showing dancers painted on the walls of our early cave dwelling homes.
The body is a thing of beauty created in the heart of a loving God. St. Irenaeus said it well: “the glory of God is a woman or a man fully ALIVE!” What does it mean to be fully ALIVE? Isn’t it to be fully present in the here and now with God? Isn’t it to experience God’s love, joy and peace? In God, we are alive—so dance. In God, we move—yes dance. And in God, we have our being—a reason to dance.
I imagine God loving our expression of dance in all the sacred places. Liturgical dance is simply another way of praising God. It is a lifting up of us, back into the loving arms of a God who could not bear to be alone. A God who asks us, “May I have this dance?”
Sister Margaret Guzzardo, CSJ
The Bible has many stories of persons dancing to express joy, worship or celebration. Psalm 149 says, “Let them praise his name in dance, make music with tambourine and lyre.” I dance to express these positive emotions. I also dance to express longing, wonderment, fear, lament, anger or other emotions. God invites us to dance as we are. Dance is the expression of my prayer.
Liturgical dance is a means of communication between me and others in the presence of God. I move my body in sync with God who inspires, listens and receives me. Then, together, we invite others to join us in the liturgy. One posture, movement or facial expression may strike a chord in the other and draw us together.
I dance with or without music. I prefer using music because it evokes more feelings, especially if paired with words. Before I choreograph a dance, I listen to the song. I imagine the scene. I think of the feelings and the ideas the song conveys. I notice the action words that prompt responses. When I prepare to dance, I combine the lyrics, sound and rhythm as one.
All artists use the senses to convey feelings and ideas. One paints, another sculpts, another sings, another dances. Visual artists create a visual image. Dancers navigate space and time to create the dance and to interact with others. A dancer is like an actor or an opera singer whose words go away, never to return in the same way.
When I dance, I may alter the movements depending on my relationship with myself, God and others. The dance brings us together as one body, made in God’s image.
Will you have the next dance?
Sister Mary Schneider, CSJ
I recently read a poem that said, “everything is dance!” If that is true, then I have been dancing my whole life, even if I didn’t know it.
In the 1980’s, I had the opportunity to dance at the Tucson Creative Dance Center in Tucson, Arizona, with Barbara Mettler. This sparked a desire to bring this new love of dance into a church setting, into liturgy.
Through liturgical dance, I began to bring more beauty and femininity into celebrations of our community. Others joined me as we danced psalms, communion meditations and in processions. Sometimes, we danced with thuribles, filling the chapel with incense.
Dance has been a way for me to more fully participate in the liturgy, sharing my creativity with the community and God. Indeed, everything is dance, and movement during liturgy is liturgical movement. In a way, as you make the sign of the cross or stand or sit or pray with open hands you, too, are dancing.
I was so pleased to read this article about liturgical dance. it has been a part if my life especially since the 1970’s when I came into a deep spiritual awareness while my husband and I had an extended 5 year pilgrimage in Israel. I have been a member of the Sacred Dance Guild and did do liturgical dance ministry at St.s Peter & Paul Church, Soulard in the 1980’s and then during a 25 year stay in Hawaii. Now I am 72 years old and have moved back to St. Louis and am only aware of a couple parishes that incorporate dance into liturgy- the Rock Church and at Mary Mother of the Church (which has just started this ministry up again). I would love to be at a service or liturgy with the Srs. of St. Joseph where liturgical movement is welcomed. Please keep me updated about this.