Dance and the Christian Faith

Martin H. Blogg has spent a life-time in Dance. He was founder of the Christian dance Company, SPRINGS and author of Time To Dance and Healing in the Dance; previously a senior lecturer in dance at Middlesex University and Th e Western Academy of Performing Arts, who in 2008 - 2009 was elected a Bye-Fellow at Robinson College, Cambridge. He is presently continuing his research in dance at Griffith University.

• List of IllustrationsForeword by Maurice Wood, former Bishop of NorwichIntroductionGeneral structureAcknowledgementsSection I: Dance and ScripturePart I: Dance as explicitly recorded in scripture1. Back to basics: ‘It is written’2. Different uses of the term ‘word’ in scripture3. The Word in the Old Testament and the New Testament4. Biblical commands and biblical principles5. General references to dance in scripture6. Specific references to dance in scripture7. Some basic questions about the dancePart II: Dance implicit in biblical principles1. The biblical use of the term ‘word’2. Knowing the Word – knowing God3. Worship and the Word4. The body and dance5. The church body and truthSection II: Dance and Education1. Education as initiation2. Forms of knowing3. Knowledge is both objective and subjective4. ‘Bridges and barriers of knowledge’5. Liberal education6. A comparison of different media expressions7. Education and the ‘whole man’8. The educational process – teaching and learning9. Three co-ordinate species of knowing10. An initiation into dance as a form of knowing11. What artists and philosophers say about dance12. What should we understand by ‘religious dance’?13. Creativity14. Craftsmanship and dance15. Some theories of dance as art16. Significant parallels between pursuit of dance and pursuit of the Christian faithSection III: Religious Dance – Practical1. Angelus ad Virginem2. Broken for me3. Jesus came4. There’s a quiet understanding5. Turn your eyes upon Jesus6. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord7. The Lord is present8. God has spoken9. Ostende NobisDance Project No. 1: GloriaDance Project No. 2: Prayer of Humble AccessDance Project No. 3: The Wondrous CrossSources of Dance MusicBibliographyFurther ReadingAppendix

'Noting the growing number of dance groups with a religious vocation, the author, a dancer, teacher and devout Christian recounts the sometimes ambiguous place of dance in Christianity. He begins with the mentions of dance in scripture in order to show how it is brought into liturgy, despite the lack of trust in which it is sometimes held. Finally, he highlights the interest in dancing in religious education and finishes with practical examples of religious dances.' NDD: L'Actualite De La Danse, Winter, 12 no.53