BELIEF SYSTEM = DANCE

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BELIEF SYSTEM DANCE

• College of Fine Arts

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Introduction

• Who,what why,where, when and how people dance is
  often determined by attitudes toward the body.
  Religious beliefs can and do shape attitudes
  toward the body. Thus, belief systems can be
  said to control, in large measure, how people
  think about and use dance.

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SACRED VS. SECULAR

• Where dance is Sacred (body embraced) Where dance
  is Secular (body denied).
• Religious beliefs convey a societys highest
  values. Dance, as an essential form of
  communication can be used as a SACRED form of
  communicationone in which gods are embodied and
  brought to Life. People can come to PERSONALLY
  KNOW the SACRED through the process of dance.

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RELIGIOUS DANCE TRADITIONS YORUBA

• In Yoruba, as in West African traditional
  cultures in general, dance is a bridge to the
  spirit world. OrishasYoruba gods representing
  deified ancestors or personified natural
  forces-can be known through dance as they mount
  or possess a dancer.

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RELIGIOUS DANCE TRADITIONS HINDU

• The Hindu religion, over 2000 years old, has
  strong examples of devotional dance. For
  example, Bharata Natyam is a highly codified
  dance which shows religion, dance and theater as
  part of ONE piece in traditional Indian life. BN
  traces its roots to the devotional dances of
  Hindu temples and tells the stories of Hindu
  culture as outlined in the Mahabharata.

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RELIGIOUS DANCE TRADITONSJUDEO CHRISTIAN

• The Judeo-Christian world demonstrates
  significant ambivalence on the subject of dance.
  No doubt related to the ambivalence, if not
  denial, of the body incorporated into many parts
  of this tradition. Early Christians sought hard
  to distinguish themselves from pagans who
  danced in religious ceremonies.

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SECULAR DANCE

• Dance is a force. Where religions did not allow
  it within ceremonies, local dance
  traditionsformerly associated with
  worshipsought survival as folk or national
  dances.
• The Maypole, for example, survived as a
  childrens dance/game.

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What This Means in TODAYS WORLD

• As religions continue to spread throughout the
  world, the attitudes towards the body move with
  them. These attitudes are, in turn, affected by
  the cultures with which they interface.
  Therefore, the dance may become secularized ( or,
  worse yet, disdained) or become reinvigorated as
  a way to know the spirit.

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DEFINITIONS TO REMEMBER

• Liturgy. A sacred rite, particularly the rite of
  the Eucharist in Christian religions.
• Ritual. A prescribed or customary way of doing
  something, particularly associated with
  conducting religious ceremony.
• Oriki. Yoruba songs of praise directed to
  specific deities