“Could a Person Approach a Spiritual Lifestyle through Dance?

Have you even find it very difficult to express what you are experiencing? Sometimes it is
nearly impossible to put into words what one is feeling in a particular moment, especially if its a
spiritual experience. Could a spiritual experience be expressed through dance?“Dance speaks what
cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows
from heaven to the soul.”1 Dance is a true expression of people through their bodies. Dancing is a
practice where a person acts physically and intellectually by experiencing and living the moment. It
is practiced for entertainment, ceremonies, rituals, and celebrations. Through dance, people can tell
stories and express their feelings. Movements and dance steps can express joy, fear, even pain, and
transmit a message without using words.Therefore, while a person dances, the body and mind
connect and create a setting. Dance can be used as a channel to communicate what the soul feels
with help of body movements. Is this why dance plays an important role in some religions?
In the movie Baraka, I realized how most religions use dances and musical elements to
connect to their god and to approach spirituality. For instance, aboriginal Africans had dances and
were using objects to create sound and music. Also, in other religions people follow certain body
movements and steps when they are in a ceremony or in a ritual. When all the people are making
the same steps, they get connected with other people, with their body, and their soul. More
importantly, they unify in a single act, so it becomes like a social celebration. Also, dance could
help a person express their pure and innermost feelings by using sincere movements. A person can
be guided by music and dance without following steps. A person can dance without being able to
describe why he is dancing in a particular way in a particular moment. Either if there is a
soundtrack or not, dance makes us feel inexplicable emotions like excitement. In any case, people
can experience, feel, and live life with no need of a dialogue. Then, could a person approach a
spiritual lifestyle through dance?
In the movie Hero, martial arts were used as a mean to approach a spiritual life. By practicing
martial arts, a person uses body movements to connect to their spiritual life. Therefore, I believe
dance could also be used as a path to explore and express a person’s inner spirit and soul by
harmonizing with its body movements. A person listening to a particular song and performing a
particular dance could fully experience a spiritual moment by using them as a channel to connect to
a power one cannot explain with words. Also, it follows the idea of “healthy mind and healthy
body”. Furthermore, people could use instruments and material things, like in martial arts, to
produce music and dances. Finally, another important factor is that dances can be transmitted from
generation to generation, and they can be modified and be transformed easily. If religions would
have special dance practices, would it help their followers approach a spiritual lifestyle?

1
Unknown.