Worship dance
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Worship dance is any kind of dance that is undertaken for the specific purpose of worshipping God, most commonly in the Christian faith although it is also known in other faiths and cultures such as those in Africa, Bali, and so on.
In the Christian faith the emphasis is on drawing all the attention towards God and not the dancer. Therefore there are often many, many movements and attitudes physically directed in an upwards direction. Likewise, any element of the movement which may be seen as exalting the dancer by drawing attention to either their own personal beauty, dance costume, sexuality or skill is usually discouraged. This is not to say that the pursuit of skill is not valued, however it should not be emphasised above the primary goal of the dance which is to give all honour to God.
Dance is an element of human expression which has been less commonly used in the practise of worship in Christianity in the most recent centuries. However there has been a massive resurgence and growth in the use of dance in the church, which received a boost within the framework of the controversial Charismatic Revival movement of the 1970s. During this time, the International Christian Dance Fellowship was formed in Australia by Mary Jones and it has now got branches in many other countries.
See also prophetic dance, intercessory dance.