Krista Henry, Staff Reporter
One is never too young to worship in dance at the Praise Academy. - File
'WILLIE BOUNCE', 'Log On', 'Swing It Weh' and 'Pon Di River' are some of the moves that come to mind when one thinks about the resurgence of dancing in the dancehall.
However, there are a number of dancers that are not just gyrating and contorting their bodies to the latest rhythms. Worship dance is expressing itself through the churches and making its way to the wider Jamaican population.
Worship dance's aim is to glorify God through movement and expression. According to Lisa Wilson, lecturer at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, dance in the church to express worship to God has increased over the years
According to www.crossway.org/worship/dance.com, worship dance is "a form of worship unto the Lord, an expression of our gratitude and devotion, an interpretation of the Word all through dance. There are many forms of worship dance, including interpretative dance, spontaneous dance, circle dance, and choreographed dance."
And the website www.praisedancing.org says "Styles include modern, ballet,
lyrical and hip hop, as well as prophetic and intercessory. Dances range from the spontaneity of one person to choreographed dances with numerous participants. Oftentimes streamers, flags and banners, and tambourines are utilised to further express one's praise. Every style differs from denomination to denomination."
DANCE FROM THE HEART
Pat Noble from the Praise Academy of Dance states that "Worship dance is a dance from the heart expressing joy, adoration or love for Jesus Christ. This dance is always centred on God and decentralises self. One becomes totally unconscious of self and surroundings. It is the word of God demonstrated through movement."
Noble says "This dance has been cited as being very therapeutic because of the anointing which breaks bondages and brings healing, salvation and deliverance to those who are withdrawn through pain, depression, abuse, fear or even loneliness ... Worship dance speaks directly to the heart of the one wanting or receiving ministry. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives this divine impartation and as we do this type of dance it deepens our relationship with God and strengths our relationship with others.
"It is through this type of dance that our objective of evangelising the lost can become real and practical, ministering this type of dance at our annual concerts, local and international ministries and
outreach," Noble said.
Wilson says, "Worship dance is done in church services, praise usually in Catholic and Anglican services. It is an interpretative dance, it interprets the Bible and transforms to dance."
Noble concurs that "Dance was an integral part of the celebrations of the ancient Israelites. It was used both in worship in ordinary life and occasions of festivity. This was done to bring them into a closer relationship with God. They had different types of dances that were used in worship. The processional dance was often used to celebrate specific events, as when King David danced before the Ark of the Lord, which was understood to represent the presence of God. If you look in Samuel 6 verse 14, you can read it as proof.
"There is another form that has whirling and hopping movements that were exuberant with joy," she said. However, Noble notes "Worship dance has no particular style or movement. We do interpretative worship where words or phrases are translated into movements through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Props such as flags, banners, tambourines and more are added to give another dimension to the dance."
NOT CONFINED TO THE CHURCH
Worship dance has broken away from being performed just in churches and is looked on as a dance form in itself. Noble says "This type of dance is not confined to the Church, but can be done at any function whether civic or
otherwise.
"God is now redeeming the dance back into the church, because that is where it all began. From our experiences we are able to report that this dance is a useful tool that is changing mindsets. It is one of the art forms that our youths can identify with. The word of God is demonstrated through this creative expression, we have discovered that our youths are realising that they can offer God worship using dance," Noble said.
Worship dance, like other forms of Jamaican dance, has its own unique pull which captivates an audience. Wilson says "It's so condensing, how deep it touches your soul. If the dancer truly believes in what they are doing, it's like the dancer almost connects with God. You burst out into praise and response."
Sarah Newhart, teacher at Praise Academy, elaborates that "Worship dance is dancing with a different focus; your primary audience is God and then all other persons and things are secondary.
"The style varies from church to church. Dance is often done in sign language, the use of body to communicate the message is prominent," Wilson said. Noble says "It can be in the form of reggae, hip hop, jazz, modern contemporary or folk. This type of dance is influenced by culture. If someone lives in Africa or Fiji he or she automatically worships God using this form of dance."
She added that "In recent times we are looking at it as something new, but it isn't. It's becoming more popular now, because a number of denominations are more interested in becoming a part of the arts. Whereas it was once forbidden in churches, it is now popular." As Lisa Wilson puts it, "Religious dance has been around since primitive man."
This type of performance is more developed in the U.S. than in Jamaica. As Wilson puts it, "In the States there are well trained dance groups. Oftentimes it is done to address social issues, but it is usually better expressed through the theatre."
However, the Praise Academy of Dance is trying its best to popularise the technique. At the Praise Academy they teach worship dance outside of church and all their dances are seen as a means of giving praise. Newhart says, "In essence, the way we teach here is that every dance is worship dance; we don't limit
ourselves."
Name changed upon request.
