- Worship dance
Worship dance is any kind of
dance that is undertaken for the specific purpose of religiousworship .As a basic element of human expression,
dance is found within many of the world'sreligion s, and is frequently associated withworship . However, use of the term worship dance appears to be restricted toChristianity andMessianic Judaism .Hinduism
From a Hindu point of view, the whole Universe is being brought into existence as the manifestation of the dance of the Supreme Dancer,
Nataraja . In the Hindu scriptures every god has his or her own style (lasya andtandava respectively represent two aspects of dance). We read about 23 celestial beings calledApsara s who dance to please the gods and express the supreme truths in the magic of movement.The dance in Hinduism used to be a part of a sacred temple ritual, especially in South and Eastern India, where the female priestesses
devadasi 's worshipped different aspects of the Divine through the elaborate language of mime and gestures.Natyashastra is the most ancient and the most elaborate scripture describing every element and aspect of this sacred art-worship.The temple dance gradually evolved into what is known today as the South Indian Classical Dance that still preserves many ritualistic elements of Hinduism. Some of the
classical Indian dance rs are believed to be incarnations of apsaras.Messianic Judaism
A distinctive style of worship dance has developed within
Messianic Judaism . Known as "messianic dance" or "davidic dance" (named afterKing David , who famously danced before theArk of the Covenant ), it takes a similar form toIsraeli Folk Dancing .References
Christian
* Gagne, Robert, Kane, Thomas, VerEecke, Robert (1999). Introducing Dance In Christian Worship. ISBN 1-56929-030-X.Messianic Judaism
*Silberling, Murray (1995). Dancing For Joy - A Biblical Approach To Praise And Worship, ISBN 1-880226-62-6Related Links
*
Sacred dance
*Dance in mythology and religion External links
* [http://www.messianicdance.com Messianic Dance]
* [http://www.israeligiftstore.com/dancers.htm Israeli Celebration Dancers]
* [http://www.soaringspiritdance.com Soaring Spirit Dance]
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