Dance

Dance, in all of its myriad forms, has long held spiritual significance in the world's cultures. From Sufi whirling dervishes to modern Christian liturgical dance, religious communities the world over have and continue to explore the spiritual undertones of dance. In the United States, sacred dance takes a variety of forms, including ballet, jazz, and ethnic folk dances. A recent survey indicates churches in more than 23 denominations embrace dance as a form of worship, including Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Unitarian, Mennonite, Russian Orthodox, as well as some Jewish synagogues. The Sacred Dance Guild, an interfaith organization committed to dance as a catalyst for spiritual growth, sponsors events and workshops offering various dance forms from a unique blend of religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

To all appearances, American dance forms share little in common with their ancient ancestors. However, beneath the surface, there are many similarities. Dance as a spiritual practice has roots in the Paleolithic era. Ancient paintings and sculptures from the areas now known as Greece, Spain, India, Egypt, and a variety of other countries depict women dancing. Many scholars interpret these women as dancing priestesses.

The religious use of dance likely began as sympathetic mimicry of birth. Priestesses and midwives gathered around the birthing woman, miming her movements in an effort to support her and lend their energy to a successful birth. From these beginnings, early peoples set these movements to rhythms for use as a form of sympathetic magic for a variety of religious purposes.

In Ancient Egypt, for example, everyone danced, whether slave or king. While there were many nonreligious festival dances, the most prevalent dances were for religious purposes. The Ancient Egyptians danced in celebration of the gods, such as Hathor and Bastet, they offered harvest and fertility dances, and they danced at funerals to usher the spirit of the dead to the afterlife.

Cultures all over the world continue to use dance as a spiritual tool. In Morocco, dancers perform the Guedra as a ritual of blessing. The zar is another ritual dance used for emotional healing on behalf of someone who has been possessed. Hadra, which is part of a ceremony performed by the Sufi brotherhood called the Aissawa, is another exorcism ritual. Finally, the Mevlevi and Jerahi sects of Islam use whirling as a spiritual tool. Religious and spiritual dance rituals such as these are often used as intentional tools to promote healthy development. Many dance styles and practices have a particular appeal to young people and should be considered in attempts to better understand [Page 107]how religious and spiritual practices can impact healthy development in childhood and adolescence.