Are you a fan of spiritual dance? Spiritual dancing is a liturgical or spiritual dance that integrates music and movement as a form of worship rather than as an artistic or entertaining expression. Spiritual dancers express God’s word and spirit with their bodies. Today, we will be discussing types of spiritual dance
Everyone wishes to unite with the divine – something beyond fragile and mortal minds and bodies. Dance is one way to connect with the divine. It bridges the gap between finite and infinite and fulfills the need for free expression and leisurely catharsis.
Everyone has a deep desire to dive into the ocean of life’s depths and experience its true fluidity and mysticism, even though the majority of people merely skim along the surface waters of life, superficially navigating their efforts here and there. Spiritual dancing is the truth of who you are, beyond your names, beliefs, titles, accomplishments, memories, and identities.
Dancing is the ultimate act of surrender.
Keep on reading if you want to gain a deeper understanding of the types of spiritual dance:
The Mystical Dervish Dance
The word dervish means “one who seeks doors.” Dervishes seek to raise souls to higher states of consciousness to unite humans with God through elaborate dancing. In mystical dervish dancing, the right-hand holds with the palm facing infinity. While the left-hand holds with the palm facing the earth. By doing this, the dancer transforms into a conduit between the divine and the earth, a bridge between heaven and earth, gathering and dispersing blessings to earth. Sema, a ceremonial form of dance and meditation, refers to the whirling dance. Dervishes rotate in a circle to the rhythm of the music for hours at a time, accelerating and intensifying their rotation until it comes to a high point in their spiritual ascent. Sema attempts to mirror the rotating nature of the earth.
Meditation Dance
Marita Sanguinetti developed meditation dance. The main goal of meditation dance is to help you better understand your body, movements, and life while helping you in creating healthy relationships with others, the world, and yourself. Furthermore, it is said that regular practice will help you glow with health, happiness, energy, and beauty. No prior dance training is necessary.
Praise Dance
It is one of the types of spiritual dance that incorporates music and movement as a form of worship rather than as an artistic or entertaining expression. Praise dancers express God’s word and spirit through their bodies. It incorporates freeform steps and ideas from jazz, modern, hip-hop, and ballet. Each gesture promotes energy movement and conveys a personal message. It often characterizes by the waving of arms above the head, wild clapping, and swaying bodies, and is performed to a fast, upbeat music tempo.
Ecstatic Trance Dance
It is a structured form of Nataraj, based on Shiva’s original dance. It performs with eyes closed. The dancers abandon themselves to the rhythm and move freely as the music takes them, resulting in a trance and a feeling of ecstasy. The effects of ecstatic dance begin with ecstasy. Which can be felt to varying degrees.
So, dancers define it as feeling connected to others and their own emotions. The dance uses the form of meditation, assisting people in coping with stress and achieving serenity. It is to nourish and revitalize your body and bring you into the present moment, through repetitive movement and breath.
Kizomba
This Angolan couple dance combines sensuous rhythmic movements from Angolan Semba, Argentine tango, samba, salsa, and French zouk. This passionate technique, performed in pairs, encourages interaction between the leader and follower. The leader’s torso and right arm guide the follower across the dance floor. The goal is to perfectly synchronize a couple with the music and express it through elegant footwork. Moreover, smooth body movement, and attitude, are known as Ginga (for women) and Banga (for men). Ladies are taught to trust their partners by closing their eyes and following their partners’ lead.
Shamanic Long Dance
Participants in this all-night ceremony prepare their medicine banners before painting a vision they wish to manifest onto them. The ceremony begins with a purification lodge. Followed by the lighting of a fire in the center of a square marked out by eight posts connected by twine from which the banners hang. Entering the square, dancers form a circle around the central fire. They dance in a clockwise direction until the drum stops. Under the watchful eyes of the chief and supported by the drum beat. Furthermore, when it resumes, the dancers switch directions and dance until dawn. Following the dance, everyone sleeps for a few hours before eating breakfast together and donating money to fund future events.
Five Rythm Dance
Dancer, musician, and author, Gabrielle Roth developed 5Rhythms dance in the 1970s. According to research, It is a synthesis of gestalt therapy, transpersonal psychology, shamanism, and eastern philosophy. Additionally, this type of dance includes five rhythms: “flowing,” “staccato,” “chaos,” “lyrical,” and “stillness.” When these five elements are combined, they form a “Wave,” which can be seen in the movements expressed in this type of free-form dancing. The 5Rhythms Dance, according to Roth, is a journey of the soul to freedom through the release of the heart, mind, and body.
Circle Dance
Circle dance is a type of dance in which participants dance in a circle without a partner. It is one of the oldest types of dance, if not the oldest. This type of dance frequently accompanies a few musical instruments. Such as drums and woodwind instruments such as the flute to sustain the rhythm. Because it is performed in various cultures and religions around the world, the circle dance can be considered a universal ritual and symbol.
Middle Eastern Belly Dance
When most people think of belly dancing, the first word that comes to mind is “goddess.” This type of dance, with its undulations, shimmies, and sinuous movements. Puts you in direct contact with the power of feminine energy. Many women report that belly dancing has helped them embrace their sexuality and accept their bodies more.
The Ending Note
Undoubtedly, Spiritual dancing allows you to shed everything you think you are for a few moments by allowing your mind to stay fully centered in the present moment. It opens the door to fully experiencing what is beyond thought and form; it is a path to merging with your eternal nature.
We hope that you like this article “types of spiritual dance”. Let us know in the comment section, which types of spiritual dance you adore the most.