Fair warning: This is going to be a post about religion. And dancing. And the idea of dance as a form of prayer. I know, that's weird.
I was poking around on the internet on Friday with the hopes of finding an old friend's email address, and I went searching through his blog, which I almost never read as it's a blog about Catholic music. Anyway, while searching, I came across a post about liturgical dancing. Mainly, it referenced this "incident" and expressed disgust and outrage that dancing was allowed in the liturgy.
Now, call me a liberal heathen, but I don't get what the big deal is. Growing up in Catholic school, we did liturgical dancing all the time. Those dresses the girls are wearing? Not that horrible. Not that great, and not what I would necessarily wear to church, but it's not like they were wearing bikinis or their boobs were hanging out or whatever. That first picture? My guess is that it's just been taken at an unfortunate angle during a moment of motion and the dance move wasn't quite as provocative as it appears.
Regardless, this "incident" has been slammed on a number of Catholic blogs (mainly conservative ones) along with the opinion that dance has no part in the liturgy. One of the blogs has a quote from the Pope, back from when he was a cardinal that said,
And this is why I'm annoyed. I think dancing absolutely can be a form of expression in Christian liturgy. Dancing can be very spiritual. Back when I was in marching band in high school (Color guard, REPRESENT, yo) I remember a band instructor told us, "There's only two reasons to preform: To uplift and raise the human spirit and to give grace and glory to God." If what he said was true, then dancing most certainly fits in with the liturgy.
The Pope's quote above sort of hints that dancing is too "Pagan" for Catholic services, which to me, is a weak argument. If that's really your concern, then you're going to have to rearrange the church calender since Christmas and Easter were placed on the calender for their close proximity to the solstice and equinoxes. Also, give back St. Bridget.
This whole outrage on dancing is bugging me because the majority of liturgical dancers are women, and this is a way for them to connect with their faith using their whole bodies, a way of being spiritual in a faith that is notorious for pressing them down and shutting them out.
This also illuminating why I don't particularly care for the Pope. Along with his recent "Protestant denominations aren't real churches" announcement, he's making a lot of statements recently that are upsetting a lot of people. Last year he made a statement that associated Muslims with violence, for instance (which he later apologized for, but the sting remains). And while I didn't always agree with John Paul II, I could at least get where he was coming from. Benedict I feel is more conservative for conservatisms sake. And he's pissing a lot of people off.
Add this onto the long long list of Things I Don't Get about my former religion. While I don't practice Catholicism actively anymore, a lot of my identity is wrapped up in this religion. From kindergarten to grad school I've attended Catholic institutions, it would be impossible for me to disengage completely. I still hope though, that someday the Church will live up to what my vernacular thinks it should be.
I was poking around on the internet on Friday with the hopes of finding an old friend's email address, and I went searching through his blog, which I almost never read as it's a blog about Catholic music. Anyway, while searching, I came across a post about liturgical dancing. Mainly, it referenced this "incident" and expressed disgust and outrage that dancing was allowed in the liturgy.
Now, call me a liberal heathen, but I don't get what the big deal is. Growing up in Catholic school, we did liturgical dancing all the time. Those dresses the girls are wearing? Not that horrible. Not that great, and not what I would necessarily wear to church, but it's not like they were wearing bikinis or their boobs were hanging out or whatever. That first picture? My guess is that it's just been taken at an unfortunate angle during a moment of motion and the dance move wasn't quite as provocative as it appears.
Regardless, this "incident" has been slammed on a number of Catholic blogs (mainly conservative ones) along with the opinion that dance has no part in the liturgy. One of the blogs has a quote from the Pope, back from when he was a cardinal that said,
"Dancing is not a form of expression for the Christian liturgy. In about the third century, there was an attempt by certain Gnostic-Docetic circles to introduce it into the liturgy [...] The cultic dances of the different religions have different purposes--incantation, imitative magic, mystical ecstasy--none of which is compatible with the essential purpose of the liturgy [...] It is totally absurd to try to make the liturgy 'attractive' by introducing dancing pantomimes (wherever possible performed by professional dance troupes)...None of the Christian rites includes dancing. What people call dancing in the Ethiopian rite or the Zairean form of the Roman liturgy is in fact a rhythmically ordered procession, very much in keeping with the dignity of the occasion."
And this is why I'm annoyed. I think dancing absolutely can be a form of expression in Christian liturgy. Dancing can be very spiritual. Back when I was in marching band in high school (Color guard, REPRESENT, yo) I remember a band instructor told us, "There's only two reasons to preform: To uplift and raise the human spirit and to give grace and glory to God." If what he said was true, then dancing most certainly fits in with the liturgy.
The Pope's quote above sort of hints that dancing is too "Pagan" for Catholic services, which to me, is a weak argument. If that's really your concern, then you're going to have to rearrange the church calender since Christmas and Easter were placed on the calender for their close proximity to the solstice and equinoxes. Also, give back St. Bridget.
This whole outrage on dancing is bugging me because the majority of liturgical dancers are women, and this is a way for them to connect with their faith using their whole bodies, a way of being spiritual in a faith that is notorious for pressing them down and shutting them out.
This also illuminating why I don't particularly care for the Pope. Along with his recent "Protestant denominations aren't real churches" announcement, he's making a lot of statements recently that are upsetting a lot of people. Last year he made a statement that associated Muslims with violence, for instance (which he later apologized for, but the sting remains). And while I didn't always agree with John Paul II, I could at least get where he was coming from. Benedict I feel is more conservative for conservatisms sake. And he's pissing a lot of people off.
Add this onto the long long list of Things I Don't Get about my former religion. While I don't practice Catholicism actively anymore, a lot of my identity is wrapped up in this religion. From kindergarten to grad school I've attended Catholic institutions, it would be impossible for me to disengage completely. I still hope though, that someday the Church will live up to what my vernacular thinks it should be.
Labels: Rants
1 Comments:
might I humbly suggest the Catholic Church should just shove it?
Liturgical Dance, when done right, isn't about the dancer. The dancer is creating a visible sign of love and faith, as well as an expression of the God given talents some people have been blessed with. Their expression of God's graces is another form of prayer. A church so rooted in tradition and ritual should recognize these different paths to holiness.
but that's just this hippy-chics thoughts agreeing with you 8k...
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