"Dance is the hidden language of the soul." --Martha Graham
Of the variety of physiological responsa that human beings exhibit when we receive certain types of information, I find dance to be the most intriguing. Like laughter, it's not intuitively obvious why motion should sate our desire for expression. It's certainly possible to process and enjoy music (or other forms of information) without moving at all. How does it help to add kinetics to the experience?
An '08 article in Scientific American suggested that it might have something to do with stimulating the orbitofrontal cortex and the ventral striatum but concluded that, "Scientists aren't sure why we like movement so much, but there's certainly a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest we get a pretty big kick out of it." Indeed. For those who prefer a less reductive approach, Jewish teachings on the topic may offer a satisfying alternative.
The Jewish mystical tradition holds that there were a series of epochs or pre-universes before our own, each with its own unique characteristics and energy array. (Interestingly, there are analogues to this belief found in theoretical physics.) These dimensions, Kabbalists believe, are alluded to in multiple biblical narratives and are even embedded into various biblical genealogies. The dominant trait of the world that preceded ours was that it was conceptually circular (unlike our own, which is linear). Unlike the linear plane, which is intrinsically fraught with inequality and hierarchy, the circle world was built on equity, harmony and balance. As such, it represented our collective past as well as our ultimate destination. A corollary to this concept would also suggest that all ideas and movements which stress the circle-world qualities are unconsciously tapping into an innate human desire to rectify reality and return to our roots. In this regard, the modern drive for equality in its various forms hearkens back to our primal, collective pre-history. For better or worse, however, the only method we possess to bring this about is through our presently flawed and hierarchical plane of existence. The circle is the future. This is the reason that Jewish tradition has embraced the symbol of the circle dance.
There are two quintessential biblical stories about dancing which explain the two purposes of dance from a spiritual perspective. The first is when Miriam the Prophetess leads the Jewish women in a (drum) circle dance directly after the nation was delivered from the Egyptian army. Her dance comes on the heels of the joyous song that the men sang. Interestingly, the verse literally translates as "the men will sing," in the future tense, implying that in the moment they were not fully in touch with the newly opened access point of "circle universe" awareness. The women, by contrast, seize the energy of the moment and channel it to kinetically express their joy. The Miriam story is very deep, but suffice it to say that there is a certain point at which one's consciousness expands to such a degree that it can no longer be contained by the heart and mind alone and one's entire being needs to be utilized to capture the moment. As Kabbalistic thinker Sarah Schneider explains, it's "like trying to run a complex graphic program on an antiquated laptop, there is not enough space in the computer's brain to hold the complexity of operations ... similarly here, 'circle awareness' is so vast that it takes an entire body to hold it." At times it requires a whole network of people together. Anyone who has experienced it can attest there is huge power generated by a large group dancing with a unified purpose. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts and the import of the moment can be palpable.
The second biblical account of the spiritual power of dance is that of King David's ecstatic dance before the Ark of the Covenant as it was being brought into Jerusalem. In David's case, the dance was a vehicle for him to access deeper recesses of his consciousness. Like other repetitive acts such as mantras, prayer and meditation, the dancing overrides analytical consciousness, opening a purer and deeper channel. In this regard, dancing and praying may be considered very closely related (when done properly) and is the reason that many mystically inclined religious groups, such as Judaism's Hasidim, employ so much singing and dancing in their observance.
The intensity of David's dance raised the ire of his wife Michal, who was shocked at the raw emotionality he displayed in public, commenting that he had conducted himself "as one of the empty people." The King's retort defended his exuberance and suggested that it would intensify further in the future declaring, "I will continue to play before God!"
Like all good art, ecstatic dance reflects the desire of the inner self to transcend its limitations and merge with something greater. This is the root of its power. Most people find such a transcendent state to be uniquely blissful. Some spend their entire lives in its pursuit. From a Judaic perspective, it is the soul's spontaneous desire to reach beyond its corporeal container and express its most sublime root in the highest realms.
Follow Rabbi Adam Jacobs on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RabbiAdamJacobs
Rabbi Arthur Green: Kabbalah Centre: Marketing Superstition as Spirituality?
Why do people dance? | Education | The Guardian
Jewish dance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Life Apart: Hasidism In America -- Inside the Community: A Holy Life
Whatever floats your boat, I guess!
Kabbalists believe, are alluded to in multiple biblical narratives and are even embedded into various biblical genealogies.
Dance is a way of using excess energy and getting attention. It's been happening since the beginning of time.....bees do a dance to give directions to where they found the flowers so that others can know the flight path to them.
There is no reason to believe said allusions are accurate or that they even exist and are not an attempt to squeeze the universe as revealed by science into a collection of bronze age fables.
The author was neither making an analogy nor claiming that Kabbalistic concepts are analogous to multi-dimensional theories posited by physicists.
See also paragraph 4 of the author's previous article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-adam-jacobs/a-kabbalistic-view-of-evo_b_846334.html
Ever hear of the concept of researching before you post?
It seems that like math and, as we're finding out aboot, music, dance is 'real' in that sense as well :3 That it isn't 'just' hormones pumping and electrical signals buzzin :3 Dance is natural -- I remember how my nephews, below a certain age, would LOVE dancing and automatically do it.
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
even if we're just dancing in the dark.."
Could you be more specific about what you mean?
Is it wrong for people to learn a little about Jews (or, at least, different types of Jewish beliefs)?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1weDjpXhCE
Shiva, the lord of the Lingam, the consort of Shakti-Devi, also is Nataraja, King of Dancers.
Dancing is an ancient form of magic. The dancer becomes amplified into a being endowed with supra-normal powers. His personality is transformed. Like yoga, the dance induces trance, ecstasy, the experience of the divine, the realization of one's own secret nature, and, finally, mergence into the divine essence. In India consequently the dance has flourished side by side with the terrific austerities of the meditation grove - fasting, breathing exercises, absolute introversion. To work magic, to put enchantments upon others, one has first to put enchantments on oneself. And this is effected as well by the dance as by prayer, fasting and meditation. Shiva, therefore, the arch-yogi of the gods, is necessarily also the master of the dance.
The dance is an act of creation. It brings about a new situation and summons into the dancer a new and higher personality. It has a cosmogonic function, in that it rouses dormant energies which then may shape the world.
Rest at link... http://www.deepyoga.ca/dial_up/pages/yoga_and_dance_as_cosmogonic.html
And this is a clip of folk dance, involving hundreds of dancers in dozens of traditional costumes, performing many different dances together on a huge stage: http://youtu.be/w0fT08VGQQc?hd=1 (starts at 3:30 min on this clip).
God (spoken) created all by word orally, Let there be light and there was light. All was done orally. Songs of King David. They danced in worshiping God, they sang to God of their troubles. Who till this day past also has continued to do this? Some songs like -Nobody knows the troubles I seen, no body knows but me. Or I looked over Jordon what did I see, coming forth to carry me home? Songs of Moses etc. Interesting. Where the begging of song and dance in OT originated from.
Enoch grandfather> Abraham, great grandson Noah, Ethiopians from Africa all related.
I've never met a more closed-minded and unhappy group of people than those associated with religious sects.
When the message goes against human nature, unhappiness is a by-product of a belief system.