07/21/2007

'Dancing for God'

Faith moves art form out of the studio and into churches

By Gretchen Murray
Local columnist
gmurray@
record-eagle.com

Read Gretchen's past columns here

They praise His name in a dance, With timbrel and harp sing praise to Him.

— Psalm 149:3

Ask Jennifer Howard what inspires her dancing, and she'll likely say the spirit moves her — the Holy Spirit, that is.

The Kalkaska County resident, who has been dancing for 18 years, realized early on that her talent was a gift. It's a gift that she's been willing to share with her own congregation and the community.

"I didn't start until I was 12,” she said, acknowledging that's considered a late start for a dancer. "Some start real young and have the ability. I realized that dancing was my gift from God and I use the gift that he gave me.”

Howard's dancing has evolved into a focus on sacred dance, a combination of dance movements and sign language that tells a story.

"This is something we do in our church,” she said, referring to Christ United Methodist Church in Traverse City. Howard says sacred dance is a modern approach to worship that praises God not only in voice, but in dance, often with tambourines.

Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
Dance instructor Jennifer Howard is offering classes in religious-themed music at The Dance Center located at 225 E. 14th St.

The concept isn't new. There are numerous biblical references in the book of Psalms alone to praising God in dance. The Sacred Dance Guild, an international nonprofit that promotes sacred dance as prayer, has been around since 1958. As a worship tool, though, dance is just getting a foothold in area churches.

Howard offered to dance at her church during the Christmas holidays. That has evolved into her dancing about once a month during Sunday services.

She understands that, while more churches here are welcoming such trends in worship, the choice to accept them is entirely up to a congregation.

"More churches here are aware of it and accepting of it,” she said. "When people realize what I do they often say 'Oh yeah, our church does that.'”

She is pleased that the interest in sacred dance is growing and people are willing to learn.

Since June, Howard has been offering classes in sacred dance at The Dance Center in Traverse City and encouraging her students to take what they learn back to their own churches. Her first offering has been successful enough to schedule another session in the fall.

"Most are untrained dancers,” she said of her current class. "Some have had a class or two, but most have limited dance experience, but they have that love for God.”

Howard is leading the group in three worship songs choreographed to music currently on Christian music labels — not unusual considering praise dance also is tapping into the Hip Hop scene. The Dance Center is considering adding it to a sacred dance workshop planned for sometime this fall.

"We think of teenagers and the stuff they see on MTV, and we realize we have to think outside the box, but there's really good Christian music out there that has a good beat, great words and a great message,” Howard said.

Getting the message across to the congregation is a goal she prays about before every performance, but it's not her main thought as she dances.

"I'm not dancing for anyone in the congregation,” she said. "I'm dancing for God.”

Howard's next Sacred Dance classes begin the week of Sept. 10. To learn more, contact The Dance Center, 947-6820.

Reach Gretchen Murray at 933-1490 or gmurray@record-eagle.com.