Dance Form That I Am

¶ … dance form that I am quite familiar with is praise dancing. My cousin actually has her own dance studio and one of the most popular classes she gives is praise dancing. Praise dancing has developed quite a lot since its inception. Originally, praise dancing was performed spontaneously in Christian churches while believers played music and sang songs. The music was generally upbeat and energetic, and the dancing it inspired -- along with spontaneous cries, speaking in tongues, and other expressions of the holy spirit -- was wild, somewhat erratic, and generally accepted as a physical reaction to God's presence within the church and within individual and collective believers.

In contemporary times, praise dancing has changed dramatically. Although there are still some churches in which this former method of praise dancing occurs (particularly in Baptist ones), praise dancing is generally performed now by separate groups such as those that meet at my cousin's studio. The music is significantly slower and subdued, the movements are graceful, refined, and well-coordinated. Dance groups tend to move in unison and dress alike. Much of this form of dancing's former spontaneity has been replaced by structure. In some ways, the fact that praise dancing has evolved beyond the church's doors makes it more culturally significant, since it allows believers to convey their faith in other venues for a wider audience.

There are some distinct similarities between contemporary praise dancing and ballet. Although praise dancing is not as athletic, it requires a poise and grace that is found within ballet. But it appears that these two forms of dance have developed in opposite directions. Whereas ballet is more accepting of different interpretations and elements to incorporate into it, praise dancing has become more structured, choreographed, and rigid, compared to its initial spontaneity and individualism it represented. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAKuz6ubGhQ

I have never seen (or even heard of) lyrical dance before I read Nicole's post. However, it actually reminds me of the way praise dance originated in church's because of the high degree of expression involved in it. In lyrical, dancers are moving and acting out the verses of different types of music. In praise dance's original form, dancers would also act out the words of the lyrics of songs as they moved their spirit. I liked the clip that she presented of this form of dance, and would actually like to go somewhere and see this type of dancing live.

I have always liked jazz dancing, and have an affinity for both forms of jazz dancing that Alyssa described, both the original and the contemporary version. However, I understand what she was saying about the lack of cultural significance of jazz dancing today. It has simply become a form of art, whereas when it first began in New Orleans, it represented the culture of what was actually a countercultural movement among African-Americans. Praise dancing is somewhat similar to jazz dancing for the simple fact that for a long time, the only place that African-Americans could legally gather was in church or during church related functions.