Dance Alternatives

I am motivated to write about dance because the Bible tells us to dance and we don’t—not in church—and because Dance has been taken away from Christians at the cultural level by worldliness. It became personal when my daughter told me about the horrors of her first prom—the immodest dresses were one thing (neck lines that went literally down to a girl’s navel), but the grinding line that stretched around the gym was pornographic—she and her friends, however, were left to stand by and do nothing; they didn’t have a dance alternative.

All Things Are Holy

I have written before that there is no subject which is not important to Christians. When Christians stopped being concerned about Hollywood, movies became increasingly immoral. When Christians stopped being concerned about fashion, the result was immodest, indecent clothing. We abandon involvement in various aspects of culture at our own peril. So with dance: much in contemporary dance is vulgar and overtly sexual. Holy dance that celebrates God or right human pleasure is so far removed from our culture that Christians feel too ashamed to dance or as if they need to apologize for doing so.

In the Bible, dance serves essentially two functions: to worship God (2 Samuel 6:14, Psalm 149:3, Psalm 150:4) and to celebrate life, good fortune, and victories (Exodus 15:20, 1 Samuel 18:7, Job 21:11, Ecclesiastes 3:4, Jeremiah 31:4,13). These are two very good reasons that Christians should, in a godly way, participate in dance and bring it back to our culture.

Dance in the Church

We can return dance to our services of worship in several ways, from actions that are not intrusive or awkward to more elaborate and direct activities. For starters, worship services that allow for standing, clapping and at least toe-tapping already put us in the position to move rhythmically with the songs we’re singing. It isn’t much more of a stretch from this position to encourage people to sway or side-step if they want to. Secondly, we can try doing what we say we’re doing in our songs. If we sing, “We bow down, and we worship you Lord” we should mean it and do some bowing. If we sing, “I stand in awe of You,” we should stand up. Otherwise let’s start being honest about what we sing: “Though I’m sitting here comfortably in the pew, I stand at least in a symbolic way in awe of You.”

Many churches have “special music” during the offering. How about a “special dance” once in a while? The Christmas play and the Easter Cantata could include dancing easily enough. Here’s my most radical idea: we take our junior and high school kids (a few at a time) and load them into a van without telling them where they’re going. We take them to a dance studio where they are paired up with trained college age kids who have agreed to help out, and we teach them how to dance in ways that are fun, appropriate for Christians, and contemporary enough to interest them.

Dancing for Fun

I asked a group of college students to give me some feedback on the topic of dance: “What kind of dancing is out there now that people your age would seriously be attracted to?” and, “Why is dancing good for couples—why is it a pleasure worth pursuing?” Cassie suggested that, as far as interest or trendiness are concerned, the kind of dancing doesn’t matter so long as you have a group of friends who want to learn together. She’s had fun with line dancing, swing, two-step, even waltz. Amanda said, “Swing dancing…takes the same kind of energy that the grinding type of dancing does, but is not nearly so erotic (a good mix).” She also likes Salsa and line dancing (though she notes that line dancing isn’t so much about couples).

As for why dancing is good for couples, Amanda answered, “Dancing teaches a man how to lead and a woman how to follow. It is a good exercise in communication. After dancing with [my husband] Tim for a few years now, I can follow him with my eyes closed….It is a great way to build trust….There is [also] that physical contact that is a part of affection, but it need not be so overwhelmingly touch oriented as the sexual dancing of pop-culture. The total experience of leading, following and moving as one unit is very powerful….[Dance] teaches a man to touch a woman with respect and teaches a woman to respect herself enough not to be pushed over.”

Stacy added that modern club dancing leaves something missing—the respect and leading of a man. She likes waltzing because it “makes a girl feel beautiful, like she isn’t an object” just for a lusting eye. And Cassie pointed out that couples dancing “can give guys confidence” and that since girls like dancing so much, guys “should take a hint—girls love a guy who can dance!”¹

Out of all the ideas that were shared with me, I especially like the idea of intimacy with restraint. If we could through dance go back to teaching young men to touch young women with respect and purity, I think it might go far toward helping them satisfy needs for intimacy and social interaction with members of the opposite sex within the boundaries of true love and holiness.

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¹My thanks to Amanda Bridget, Stacy Dreiling, and Cassie Holmes for their feedback. (back to text)