Dancing Catholics

There is nothing I enjoy more than a good dance movie  From Singing in the Rain to Step Up, there's something so BA about watching talented people performing a well choreographed dance routine.  One of these BA movies that I love is a fun, upbeat and totally 80's good time; Footloose.

I know what some of you might be thinking, and to answer your question, I enjoyed both the original 1984 and the 2011 remake.  Both have great choreography, a fun soundtrack, and I like to think of the 2011 film more as a tribute than a remake to Kevin Bacon's classic film.

For anyone who hasn't seen Footloose, the story takes place in a rural southern town, Bomont, where public dancing is against the law.  Ren McCormack, a teen from Chicago, tries to get the law changed so that the high schoolers can have their senior prom.  In his way are the stubborn adults of Bomont, including Reverend Moore and the other members of the town council.

In the movie's pivotal scene, Ren goes before the town council, and in order to appeal to the Reverend, and the other town council members, uses quotes from the Bible.

Here are the actual scenes......

And here are the Bible verses that he used:
Psalm 149:3: "Praise ye the Lord.  Sing unto the Lord a new song.  Let them praise His name in the dance"
2 Samuel 6:14: "David danced before the Lord with all his might... leaping and dancing before the Lord."
Ecclesiastes 31-4: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance"

I use these quotes and this scene as an example, because I believe that dance is a way to express our love for the Lord.  I don't believe that people should be breaking out into dance routines during Mass or backflips should be done on the altar (Seriously, that did happen), but I think that we as Catholics and Christians should take more pride in dancing before the Lord.

I'm going to lay it out there for everyone that I love to dance.  That's why I'm so disappointed when I see people who clearly want to join a celebration, but are too intimidated or shy.  I believe that everyone has the ability to dance, and if they let go of their fears and preconceptions of what dancing should look like, anyone can be a fantastic dancer.  At my Newman Center's Fall and Winter retreats here in Bellingham, the leaders coordinate a dance for the retreaters to get them pumped up during the weekend.  It's usually coordinated to an upbeat contemporary Christian song and can be easily taught and followed.  I had the pleasure of helping coordinate our Winter dance routine to the Newsboys "Way Beyond Myself."  The year before, we had 3 major retreats, for all of which we chose Tobymac music to be our theme song (and then used him for an additional retreat the year after that.  We really like Tobymac).  Usually, everyone isn't too into the routine the first time that it is taught, but by the 5 or 6th time it is performed, everyone has the routine down and fully participates.  However, there are those retreaters who choose not to participate in the dance at all.

I don't want to shame those who don't participate, because on retreats we don't want to force anyone to do something they feel uncomfortable doing.  I do want to point out, however, then outside of retreats, Catholics have lost their ability to dance.  Now, I know many Catholics who are very talented dancers, but they do not use this gift as often as they should.  I've heard the saying that when people sing to the Lord, it is like praying twice, but I also believe that singing and dancing are intrinsically linked, and if we put an emphasis on singing to the Lord, we should also be putting some effort into dance.

Now, I understand why some people may feel uncomfortable dancing, because I've experienced those feelings myself.  Some Catholics, and people in general, may not feel confident in their dancing abilities, but like anything Christ related or not, it takes time to learn.  A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post about exercise and how I wish that I could achieve Twilight werewolf status after just one workout.

That obviously will never happen.

The same goes for dance; you won't improve unless you practice, and practicing means actually trying to dance.  Sure, you may feel silly or uncoordinated at first, but unless you're hanging out with jerks, people won't really care.  The important thing is to actually go out and do it!

Like this guy......

Another common occurrence that I've observed is people only dancing in the dark.  I don't mean that they are doing something inappropriate, but that they only feel comfortable dancing when people cannot totally see them.  Again, this can go back to a lack of confidence.  Here's the thing though, someone is always watching you dance in the dark: God.  If he is watching you every moment of everyday, why would He not watch you while you were dancing?  The best thing is that God is not going to judge your dancing skills.

Well He might, but I've yet to see anyone struck by lighting because they couldn't do the Macarena.

So, when you dance, don't dance for the people around you.  Dance for the Lord!  Show your love for Him, by sharing a dance floor with His people.  He doesn't care how well you move, because He would rather see you having fun and enjoying the gifts that He has given to us then see you worried about pulling off the perfect moonwalk.

Go have fun like these random people!

My final thought is on partner dancing.  For most of last year, I participated in my college's Blue Dancing club.  Blues dancing is a little bit more.....intimate..... than other forms of dance, but I had friends who were extremely talented and helped me practice.  Plus, it was fun and didn't have a very difficult learning curve.  I also have several friends who swing dance, which is a bit more appropriate, as I know CCF (Campus Christian Fellowship) has swing dance parties every once and a while.  Pretty much everything that I could say about partner dancing has already been said earlier in this post.  I just want to add that when you're dancing with someone, keep it clean.  Partner dancing is very fun, especially when dancing with someone you know.  Just make sure that you don't dance because of lust or greed, because then you are no longer dancing for the Lord.  Go into each dance respecting your partner and wanting to and learn, and nothing else.  To me, that is the best way to have fun with a partner.

I want to make something perfectly clear.  I'm not giving you a license to dance.  Don't try and do the cha cha on your way to Communion, or bust our your best waltz during the Responsorial Psalm.  Know when it is appropriate to dance for the Lord.  Again, I love to dance, so I'll groove whenever I get the chance, but I make sure that the setting and type of dance is appropriate.  For instance, back at my old church, our choir would do a very lively rendition of "This is the Day the Lord Has Made" where people would be clapping and singing along, and a few of us would throw a little two-step into it.  I think that is perfectly acceptable, because you aren't disturbing anyone or looking like one of those televangelized exorcism victims.  Basically, ask God before you dance, because He is the ultimate DJ and will let you know when its time to get the party started or its closing time.

So, whether you hit up the clubs every weekend or your dancing experience stops with the Cupid Shuffle, I hope that Catholic and other Christian populations will see the beauty that is dance and use that beauty to praise the Lord.  You can share your gift with Him anywhere, even club, as long as you keep God on your mind as your body sways to the music.  Dancing is fun, and when I die and (God willing) make my way up the Pearly Gates, I want to be dancing all the way there, because it will be a moment of great joy and I cannot think of any other way to share my joy then through dance.

Side Rant:  We need to do something about dance circles.  Really.  They need to stop.  They can be fun if you're just with 4 or 5 of your friends, but when a circle has 20 people, that's a little ridiculous.  I know that circles give the impression of inclusion, but after a while, I want to enjoy a party in a non-shape format.  So, lets try to be inclusive with people, while not creating a giant gaping circle between you and the person across from you!  I look forward to that day where I can literally rub shoulders with other dancers.  That's my kind of party....as long as I have friends there of course, because I'm not that brave to go out all on my own......I'll just leave it at that.  Or I'll just leave this video of both Footloose final dance scenes.....

Peace and Love