Dance Magic, Dance! The Final Step to Religion.

A short clip from Footloose to set the mood.
Please only watch from 3:00 to 7:38.


Geertz defines religion as: A system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.

Religions are filled with symbols used to portray their belief and to represent them in a certain light. When, where, and how people dance is determined by attitudes toward the body, whether it be spiritual, physical, or mental. Attitudes toward the body are shaped by religious belief. Therefore, Dance is shaped by religion. Through this, dance becomes a powerful symbol incorporated into almost every religion. While dance may be part of most religions, it most certainly does not represent the same for each one. Some just sing to praise, while others sing and dance to solidify their beliefs.

From the very beginning of the indigenous people of WI, we find certain burial grounds which imply the integration of religious beliefs in the culture. From the cave art to the Indian Burial Grounds, symbols appear giving us perspective into the ritualistic manner in which they live their lives. One of the more prominent rituals of which many ancient tribes lived by was the rain dance. Dressed in elaborate headdresses to appeal to gods, this dance was most commonly danced in the spring and used to ask the gods to send the appropriate amount of rain, so that summer harvests would be plentiful. This an example of one of the more practical dances used in religion. A dance which appeals to the gods for a certain purpose.

The other half of this is the Indian war dance. Dressed as they would going to war, the Indians try to appeal to the gods for good fortune and a winning war. Many times, the war dance had three parts. Before, during, and after the war. Typically, they started with a drum beat, then act out the battle while dancing. Sometimes these dances used weapons, but sometimes did not. Many times the dancing concluded with a crazy solo ending in a warrior stabbing a sword or spear into the ground in front of the chief to signify a successful battle. During the war, women and children in the tribe would continue to dance in order to ensure the protection and safety of the men at war. Last, if the tribe won, there would be a celebratory dance where they would recount what had happened and commemorate the triumphant event. Also be reenacting the battle at the end, it cemented tactics in the minds of the warriors which worked during the battle.

Dancing was not always for a practical purpose which benefited the dancer or the people. Dances were often used to send souls to the afterlife. The dance helped the souls find peace and helps them transition to the next world, whatever it may be. The video you are about to watch does not represent a real religion, but i think it conveys the idea quite well.


This video is from Final Fantasy X. It is one of my favorite PS2 games and i think has an excellent plot. Yuna, the girl dancing is called a summoner and she can be thought of as a priest. This dance is used to send the dead on to the farplane so that they can rest in peace and not turn into evil beasts called fiends. After watching this, you can pick out some very key elements of religious traditions. First, the constanting chanting. That is called the song of the faith, where the faith are pretty much gods. Second, you see the bodies all in caskets underwater, adorned with lavish decorations. Third, Yuna dances. This world contains magic which gives her the power through this dance to help guide the souls to their final resting place. While this video does not contain a real religion, I believe it epitomizes dancing and music in religion.

In Australia, the aborigines sing and dance to evoke the clan totems (another symbol) of a dying man and then repeat the dance two months after death, recreating the animals to purify the bones and release the soul.

The Sagari dances are part of a cycle performed on the anniversary of a death on the islands of Melanesia, New Guinea. Dancing by a female shaman is an important element of Korean ceremonies to cleanse a deceased soul and to allow it to achieve nirvana, closing the cycle of birth and rebirth.

At Kachin, Upper Burma, funeral rites include dances to send back death spirits to the land of the dead.

As a tradition from dancing for the dead, now let us look at dancing for one's self. Have you ever just burst out dancing to some good music not caring who was around? Have you ever started to dance in an elevator for your own personal pleasure? Going back to what i said earlier: when, where, and how people dance is determined by attitudes toward the body, whether it be spiritual, physical, or mental. Attitudes toward the body are shaped by belief. Dancing can have the same effect as meditating. By focusing only on the dance, you release yourself from the rest of the world. Whether or not someone is religious, the effect that straight dancing has is profound. I know this through swing dancing. Someone recently comment on my blog when i talked about self reflection and how that related to the bell shape of the Baha'i temple in Chicago. They said "One hour’s reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious worship" which he quoted from the Baha'i reference library. Thus for anyone dancing, if they can lose themselves in it, it is an enlightening process. Dancing is the process of discovering one's self and one's body. To be able to fuse movement and emotion is a very powerful thing when trying to express yourself.


Dancing is also a way of self expression. As said in Footloose, dancing is a way of celebration. We have all seen the football touchdown where the player immediately starts their personal touchdown dance, and then proceeds to thank god. We see it during sacrifices after a plentiful harvest. We see it at a Jewish wedding. In ancient times dancing had been an integral part of worship and celebration. Exodus 15:20 records how Miriam and others danced for joy to celebrate their deliverance by the mighty Hand of God. The Hebrew Scriptures emphasizes that dancing was used to express one’s thankfulness to the Lord. When reading the Hebrew Scriptures, while certain words might translate to "dance", they could usually translate as "rejoice", "joyful" and even "tremble" to convey meanings of spinning around with a vigorous and enthusiastic expression of joy. An example is this video is of a girl dancing for her Church to the song "Blessed be Your Name."



While this might seen out of place because it might seem that there is no reason to dance as stated in some of the comments on this video, in fact, it is completely relevant because of the dance through celebration. A young girl got up, choreographed a song and proceeded to share it with her church. This goes back to what i had to say about self expression and combing movements with emotions. Obviously, this song spoke to the girl, and thus she felt connected to it. Then to express her what she felt, she danced. For no reason except to express herself, she danced. She thanked god stating blessed be your name for her own personal gratitude towards god.


Dancing as you can see plays a direct role in religion, whether talking to gods, or cementing beliefs. One thing that i have not talked about is the connection between dancing and community. While thinking about dancing and community, please watch this short clip from Sister act:


Now, I'm betting that whether you are religious or not, you started watching this piece just as a choir singing, even if you knew what was coming. And yet, by 1:40, you were moving with the beat just as much as the audience in the movie. Dancing, singing, and music all come together, and in many cases, no matter the context, dancing will bring people together. It's not imposing religious ideas on anyone, just building a sense of community so that people want to be there. Community keeps religion going. Except for a few special cases, it is that community where people can share their ideas to try and find a common purpose. It is community which allows people to feel close to one another. Some might say that we live together and die alone, but within religion, within this community, we live together, but we shall never die alone. People we be there when we leave this world, and people will be there when we enter the next. Dancing provides the gateway, linking everyone together that cares to participate.


I have completed summing up dancing with religion, but if you still need more convincing on the significance of dancing, here is indisputable evidence on the power of dance:


I hope you enjoyed my blog.