Because dance is an embodied art, it can act as a powerful illustration of the truth of Christ’s incarnation, offering us another language and vocabulary with which to communicate and experience God. Through Christ’s incarnation, even our earthly bodies – though not yet existing in the form they will have in heaven – are given a measure of glory. The art of dance gives us another way of celebrating this mysterious truth. In the same essay, Fujimura continues:
Christians should be the first in line to see and applaud this fusion of body and
soul. Christ is not an ideology, a sentiment, or a mental image, but a fusion of
body and Spirit. Scripture speaks of how God turns our “wailing into dancing”
(Psalm 30:11). Our bodies are not empty shells to be filled with souls but are
mysterious and inexplicably tied to our redemption. Our Lord will dance with us
in the coming age, and we should begin to prepare for that day.
PRAISE HIM WITH THE DANCE:
INCARNATION, CREATION, AND THE SACRED ART OF MOVEMENT
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Baylor University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Honors Program
By Mariah Sky Franklin
Waco, Texas
May 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………………………….iii
Dedication……………………………………………………………………………………………………….iv
Chapter One: Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………….1
Chapter Two: Sacred Dance ……………………………………………………………………………..11
Chapter Three: Historical Evidence of Christian Dance………………………………………..32
Chapter Four: Dance as Christian Art…………………………………………………………………69
Chapter Five: Sacred Dance, C. S. Lewis, and the Life of the Spirit ………………………84
Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………………………..95
Appendix A: Easter Procession ………………………………………………………………..96
Appendix B: “Divine Romance” ………………………………………………………………97
Appendix C: “C. S. Lewis Song”………………………………………………………………98
Appendix D: Interview with Sheila Kogan……………………………………………….102
Appendix E: Arts Organizations……………………………………………………………..111
Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………………………112
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