I'm in a modern dance class at lawrence and today we did a really interesting exercise that made me think about this question. The main point of them is to move or the absence of a certain kind of movement in environments that aren't used to that. So a group would stand really still with their eyes closed in a busy area of the campus. another one was to move in slow motion near the road with speeding cars coming by. The reactions we received from people walking by or cars driving by as well as when I observed some of the students myself made me realize how powerful movement can be for any message. Religion is continued by a strong community of people who have found ways to communicate it to others. So if body language is 90 or so percent of the communication between people then wouldn't dance be the highest form of intentional communication, especially for religion? I'm curious peoples thoughts on that....
I think movement is a very important part of religion, and not just dance but even actions such as "moving with the spirit". The act of purposefully sitting still in meditation can be as powerful as something like Sufi whirling. People in religious services often sway or move if there's music, or clap, etc. Dance is often also a part of religious services or rituals, such as traditional dances done at Jewish celebrations.
ReplyDeleteIn short, I agree :-)
i love dance and you :)
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