I am not a dancer. Danielle can vouch for that. Not only am I not a dancer, but I used to have absolutely no interest in dance whatsoever. Several summers ago when Danielle starting watching a new show on Fox called “So You Think You Can Dance?” I thought it was the dumbest name for a show I’d ever heard and it looked like a dance version of American Idol. She watched that first season alone. The next summer, however, I sat down with her once while she was watching. “If this is what I have to do to be with my wife, this is what I’ll do,” I thought, “even if it does mean watching this dumb show.” However, as I sat there with her I was pulled in by the way that dance can tell a story and cause emotion to well up in me. I found that choreography was not unlike creative writing; it just uses dancers instead of words.
“So You Think You Can Dance?” is about to complete their tenth season (for a while they had two seasons within one calendar year). Now the whole family watches it. I am continually drawn in by the beauty of the movement, the sheer artistry that can be produced by someone’s body. Now, when I watch some of the dance routines, it is an experience of worship for me, a time of giving thanks to God for God’s good gifts and for dancers’ willingness to share those gifts with me.
A few weeks ago one of the dancers, a young man named Tucker, talked in a video piece about how when he was growing up he never wanted to play sports. He knew the first time he ever saw someone dance that he wanted to be a dancer. His dad could tell how much it meant to him, so instead of trying to force him into a more stereotypically “masculine” childhood of sports and hunting and so on, his dad supported him. His dad just wanted Tucker to do what was in Tucker’s soul. To watch Tucker dance is to watch what it looks like for someone to be allowed to do what they were put on this earth to do. It’s that way with pretty much all of the dancers. When I watch some of these dancers, especially when they dance pieces that were choreographed by Mia Michaels or Travis Wall, I feel like I am watching the essence of life, the very heart of what it means to be human with all the loss and celebration, the rejection and the love. It is absolutely beautiful. I wish I could do that, but that’s their gift not mine.
Here are a couple of videos to watch so you can see what I’m talking about. Tucker is not in either of these dance pieces tell powerful stories and they are choreographed by Mia Michaels. This first piece is called “Addiction.” The male dancer is playing the role of a drug addiction; the female dancer is playing the role of the addict. I just watched this dance again for the first time in a few years. It is so incredibly powerful. You couldn't tell this story with words.
This second piece is called "Hometown Glory." It is also by Mia Michaels. It is incredibly moving as well.
The Scriptures are filled with exhortations to dance in praise of God. I love the scene in which David strips down to his “skivvies” and dances before the ark of the Lord. He was so filled with the joy of the Lord that he could do nothing but dance. One of my favorite memories from seminary is when my World Religions class went to the Simchat Torah celebration at a local conservative Jewish synagogue and we danced with the congregation, holding the Torah scrolls and dancing in the joy of the Lord. Here is a link to the Scriptures where dance shows up in the Bible.
http://www.openbible.info/topics/dance
Also, here is a link to a children's choir in Britain singing my favorite hymn of all time: "The Lord of the Dance." I have always loved the image of Jesus dancing through history, putting out his hands for us to dance along with him.
This seems like the appropriate venue through which to let you know that Diane Matticks is starting two ballet classes that will begin meeting on Monday, September 16. The classes will meet in Persinger Hall and will only be for kids 3-7 years old. If you would like more information for your daughter or son (what if Tucker’s parents would have said “no?”) please call Diane at 740-490-5398. When Diane told me why she was coming out of “retirement” to offer these two classes for little ones, she said, “When God gives you a gift, you have to share it.” Right on, Diane. Right on.
Personally, I will never dance in front of someone. I know no actual dance moves. My legs are too short and I’m 25 pounds overweight. I’m a balding white guy who can’t keep a beat. But sometime when I’m all alone and when I’m filled up with sadness or anger or joy or doubt or frustration or love and there is no other way for me to get it out, I’m going to go somewhere all alone where no one can see me or hear me or wonder where I am. I’ll put my earphones in and turn on itunes and I will dance. You probably wouldn't be able to recognize it as dance, but that's why you won't be there. My heart will know it is dance as will my soul and my body. My God will know it is dance too. I’ll dance not because I’m good at it, but because I’m human. I’ll dance not because I want to, but because I have to. Sometimes words just can't tell the story. Sometimes it takes dance.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
