| Description |
Dance and spirituality are connected in many ways. Dance acts as a spiritual connection through worship in sacred contexts, portraying spiritual and religious content. Movement and dance act as a catalyst to explore the inner witness, allowing the dancer to develop a more conscious awareness of the embodied experience. They also connect all of the components of the body, including the spiritual component, making the body a spiritual vessel with which to manifest the mover's inner intent. This thesis investigates these three connections in depth: dance as spiritual and religious portrayal, the inner witness, and the mover as a spiritual vessel. It then discusses how these connections informed two creative dance projects, which included three movement workshops that explored spiritual beliefs through dance and culminated in a movement choir developed with spiritual themes, and dance choreography exploring the relationship between an outer witness, or observer, and the inner witness. |
