Dancing to Transform: How Concert Dance Becomes Religious in American Christianity

What does religion do for dance? What does dance do for religion?

Dance has held a controversial position in Christianity seemingly from its beginning. Yet, despite—or perhaps because of—its contested status, dance persists inside and outside organized religious communities. Beginning in the 1970s, new groups of dancing Christians developed approaches to dance that blend concert dance with religion. Dancing to Transform details a multi-site, qualitative study of four regional professional companies to explore the ways in which concert dance becomes religious for professional dancers.

In this presentation, Wright argues that these participants dance to transform: Ballet Magnificat! transforms concert dance into church service; Ad Deum transforms suffering into a sacrifice of worship, and Dishman and Stevens transform themselves through the practice of making dances. Dancing Christians transform what they perceive as secular professional dance into different kinds of religious practices in order to actualize individual and communal religious identities.

Speakers Expertise:

Dr. Emily Wright is an associate professor of dance at Belhaven University in Jackson, with BFA, MFA and Ph.D. degrees in dance. Wright’s teaching specializations include modern dance technique, pedagogy and dance history, with additional expertise in research and writing practices. Wright also directs the modern division where she oversees modern teaching faculty and the consistent delivery of the modern technique curriculum. Wright is a founding member of Front Porch Dance, a Jackson-based contemporary dance collective.