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Intellect Books - Emily Wright

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138 pages

English

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In response to a scarcity of writings on the intersections between dance and Christianity, Dancing to Transform examines the religious lives of American Christians who, despite the historically tenuous place of dance within Christianity, are also professional dancers. Emily Wright details how these dancing Christians transform what they perceive as secular professional by transforming concert dance into different kinds of religious practices in order to express individual and communal religious identities.
Through a multi-site, qualitative study of four professional dance companies, Wright explores how religious and artistic commitments, everyday lived experience and varied performance contexts influence and shape the approaches of Christian professional dancers to creating, transforming and performing dance. Subsequently, this book provides readers with a greater awareness and appreciation for the complex interactions between American Christianity and dance. This study, in turn, delivers audiences a richer, more nuanced picture of the complex histories of these Christian, dancing communities and offers more fruitful readings of their choreographic productions.

Introduction

Making Christian Movements: Differentiation and Adaptation in Christianity from the Patristic Era to the Middle Ages

American Christianity from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century

Dancing as American and/or Christian in the Twentieth Century

‘Let Us Praise His Name with Dancing’: Ballet Magnificat! and the Transformation of Concert into Church

Servant Artists: Ad Deum Dance Company and the Transformation of Suffering

Befriending the Both/And: Dishman + Co. Choreography and the Transformation of the Choreographic Process

Dancing Divine Love: Karin Stevens Dance and the Transformation of the Spiritual Journey

Conclusion

Sujets

Religion

Christianisme

Christian Living

Modern

Performing Arts

Philosophie et théologie

Christianity in the United States

Ballet Magnificat!

Modern history

Contemporary dance

Choreography

General officer

Dance

General

Obermodern-Zutzendorf

Informations

Publié par	Intellect Books
Date de parution	11 mai 2021
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781789383287
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,4000€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Dancing to Transform
Dancing to Transform
____________________________________________
How Concert Dance Becomes Religious in American Christianity
Emily Wright
First published in the UK in 2021 by Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2021 by Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright 2021 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copy editor: MPS Limited
Cover designer: Alex Szumlas
Cover photo: Lydia Henderson
Production managers: Helen Gannon and Georgia Earl
Typesetter: MPS Limited
Print ISBN 978-1-78938-283-9
ePDF ISBN 978-1-78938-329-4
ePUB ISBN 978-1-78938-328-7
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This is a peer-reviewed publication.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Making Christian Movements: Differentiation and Adaptation in Christianity from the Patristic Era to the Middle Ages
2. American Christianity from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century
3. Dancing as American and/or Christian in the Twentieth Century
4. Let Us Praise His Name with Dancing : Ballet Magnificat! and the Transformation of Concert into Church
5. Servant Artists: Ad Deum Dance Company and the Transformation of Suffering
6. Befriending the Both/And: Dishman + Co. Choreography and the Transformation of the Choreographic Process
7. Dancing Divine Love: Karin Stevens Dance and the Transformation of the Spiritual Journey
Conclusion: Spiraling Outward in a Post-Christian World
Notes
References
Index
Acknowledgments
This book has been years in the making, and there are many people who have contributed to its realization. My parents Jay and Beverley Henderson first introduced me to both the worlds of dance and Christianity, and I cannot imagine my journey without their influence.
My appreciation of dance was shaped by the dedicated instruction of Irena Linn. Leann Dickson, Marc Arentsen, Lauri Worrill-Biggs, and Amy McIntosh deepened my understanding and introduced me to the complicated world of Christian dance. Thank you for your commitment to my education and training.
I am deeply grateful for the mentorship I received in the dance and religious studies departments at Arizona State University and for the encouragement of Mary Fitzgerald, Karen Schupp, Tisa Wenger, Tracy Fessenden, and, especially, Naomi Jackson, who first inspired me to explore dance and Christianity as a scholar.
The research that informed this book took place during my doctoral studies at Texas Woman s University. I am indebted to Linda Caldwell, Claire Sahlin and Rosemary Candelario for their rigorous engagement with my writing and to my colleagues A Keitha Carey, Ali Duffy, Merry Lynn Morris, Melonie Murray, Anisha Rajesh, and Mila Thigpen for their friendship and support.
This book would not have been possible without the generous contributions of my participants, including Kathy Thibodeaux, Randall Flinn, Elizabeth Dishman, and Karin Stevens. Thank you for your willingness to share this journey with me.
The readers and editors at Intellect Press, especially Helen Gannon and Mareike Wehner, have strengthened this manuscript in numerous ways. Thank you as well to the photographers who contributed images for the text and to my sister, Lydia Henderson, for creating the image for the cover design.
It is a great pleasure to acknowledge the critical contributions of Kimerer LaMothe. I first encountered LaMothe s work during my studies at ASU, and her scholarship revolutionized the way I thought about dance and Christianity. She has since become a mentor and a friend. I am deeply grateful for her generosity as a scholar, her critical readings of my work, and her advice as I navigated this project.
The companionship of family and friends sustained me throughout the writing process. Thank you to Naphtali Beyleveld, Rachel Bomgaars, Miriam Lamar, Andrea Thornton, Keri Wright, and Grey Zachary. Megan Voos, talking to you was my writing reward. Thank you for being my carrot. To my students who inspired and challenged me, this book is for you.
Finally, to my husband Joshua and my sons, Benjamin and William, thank you for your patience, your encouragement, your enthusiasm, and your love. I am so glad that we belong to each other.
Introduction
Despite a distance of more than 30 years, the sensations arise easily, as if hovering just beneath the surface of my skin. My heart pounds and my mouth is dry. My stomach sinks as realization and dread wash over me. The music plays softly, and I recognize its tone and cadence as my cue to move. Hesitantly, I rise from my seat. My cheeks burn with embarrassment. I feel as if every eye is fastened on me, so I keep my gaze forward and down. Yet, as I begin to move, relief courses through me. I reach the front of the sanctuary and pause uncertainly. A small group has clustered in front of the stage, huddled in twos and threes. There are muffled sobs and the murmur of whispered prayers. An older woman catches my eye and smiles warmly at me. I promptly burst into tears. As she pats my back comfortingly, I sob out my sorrow and relief, familiar words of repentance and redemption on my lips.
Christianity has been a presence in my life as far as my memory goes. My parents converted to evangelicalism during its resurgence in the 1970s. Although my family s financial and emotional instability meant that we frequently changed churches, I recognized familiar patterns among the various congregations we were a part of: a literalist interpretation of the bible, an emphasis on supernatural phenomena, praise music that blurs the boundaries between entertainment and worship, and a casual, come-as-you-are atmosphere. As the oldest of five children in a white, working-class family with histories of mental illness, addiction, and abuse, I was attracted to the sense of clarity and stability that Christianity seemed to offer. I often felt ashamed, overwhelmed, and isolated by my chaotic home life. Christianity gave me an intelligible framework to explain my suffering and provided relief through ongoing practices of self-reflection, repentance, and trust in a personal God. The regular rhythms of weekly church attendance, the ordered structure of the service, and the clear messages of right and wrong provided a useful container for my confusing (and often painful) childhood.
My experiences with dance served a similar function in my formative years. I began taking lessons in modern technique at the age of 8. My teacher was a former student of German expressionist dancer and choreographer Mary Wigman and American modern dance icon Martha Graham. A strict disciplinarian, she cultivated an atmosphere of rigor and reverence for dance. There was little variation in her classes, even as I advanced through the ranks of students: We began class by dancing away from the barre, an improvisational ritual often accompanied by a verbal prompt and music piped from an ancient record player in the corner. Then, we progressed through a series of floor, standing, and traveling exercises based on Graham technique. Class concluded with a respectful gesture of gratitude to our teacher.
While the ordered patterns that dance and Christianity generated in my childhood continued to compel me through my adolescence and young adulthood, I also glimpsed moments of individual expressivity that prefigured the ways in which my future self would diverge from these structures. My dance teacher always emphasized that dancers are creators as well as performers. Each year, my fellow students and I learned new approaches to making dances and presented our original compositions at a formal in-studio showing. At 9, I made my first dance using a self-selected series of action words. Push. I sink into a deep knee bend, shifting from side to side as my hands extend downward, following the path of gravity. Pull. I swoop in a circle and swing my arms back, gathering my energy for a slide to the floor. I hop up again. Melt. I thrust my torso forward as I slide face-first to the ground. At 12, I composed a dance inspired by a mask study. I glued green tulle streamers and plastic daisies to a silver hockey mask. The effect of this arrangement was unsettling, at once pastoral and other-worldly. The mask invited me to delight in these contrasts. I twirl in a circle, reveling in the sensation of my Medusa-like tresses fanning out around me. I crouch and spring, tilting my head up to offer the audience the best view of my mask. I curl to the ground, resolving into a watchful sleep. At 14, I collaborated with my classmates to create an ensemble work for our spring concert. My teacher brought a bolt of golden yellow fabric to the studio and cut it into different sizes and shapes so that each dancer had a distinct swatch to work with. One dancer winds her section into a rope that she twists around her body. Another holds her small scrap to her face in a gesture that suggests a handkerchief wiping away tears. I wrap my portion around me like a shawl, imagining myself as a pilgrim on a long journey. Our solos alternate with a unified walking pattern that winds through the space. As we walk, we gaze straight ahead, confronting our futures with the earnest solemnity of youth.
I distanced myself from my troubled family by becoming more involved in church, particularly the youth ministry. 1 During this phase of my upbringing, youth group gave me a sense of belonging I was unable to find else