For my second project, I wanted to focus more on the aspect of praise dance through different things like my culture and religion. For my history portion, I wanted to interview my Mom who was raised in the Puerto Rican culture and I interviewed a formal dancer that is a close friend of mine. For my English portion, I wanted to talk about the problems with praise dance and what it is meant for. I did this by analyzing a story from the bible and using the story to explain the different problems. Then for my art portion, I wanted to choreograph and demonstrate a dance.
Praise dance: Culture
Back groundOne of the big things I wanted to bring into this project is my culture because it’s one thing to grow up in a Christian home, but it's another thing to grow up in a Hispanic environment as well. I come from a small island called Puerto Rico. Both my parents were born and raised there and I was raised around that culture. A lot of that culture influences how I act, what I eat, what music I listen to, and even how I speak. One of the big things it influences is my religion. The big difference is that I go to a Hispanic Pentecostal church so a lot of the stuff that we do is impacted by the Hispanic culture. This also means even praise dance is a bit different in the way that it's done vs what other cultures and churches do. To get a better understanding of this I conducted two interviews. I interviewed my mom Joseline Dejesus because I wanted to know what part of praise dance came directly from our culture and what changed throughout time. I also conducted an interview with my good friend and current praise dancer Yashira Mendoza. I wanted to gather aspects on praise dance and know why she started to dance and the true meaning of praise dance to her is. |
Interview with Joseline Dejesus (mom)
Q:What elements does Puerto Rico or the general hispanic religious culture put into praise dance to make it cultural to them?
A: “Well, we use flags, fans, scarves, and other stuff to dance with. Every church is different though and might add their own things, but for the most part, praise dance in churches like ours are the same. It also depends on the church and pastors themselves and their own opinions because you never know if they might think of dancing as wrong. It’s also different because I know in American churches they do more ballet and then you see churches with dance group more focused on hip-hop. It all just depends.”
Q: I know you visited a church in Puerto Rico, what was different about the dance they did and the way the church presented themselves Vs what our church does here in York PA?
A: “There is a big difference. Over there you feel like you're in puerto Rico because they do a lot of things you would only see there. They painted their faces white, they dance to fast pace music, like you can see they take it seriously and they put a lot more effort and time to each dance. It’s cause dance has always been a part of Puerto Rico. You see it everywhere you go and since it's a part of who we are it's not surprising they take it so seriously. Everyone is so into it and makes worshiping so much more interesting and involved.”
Q: Is there a connection with the dances they do in puerto rico like bachata and plena that connects to praise dance?
A: “No. there is no connection because praise dance came from the African and Israeli cultures so there really isn't a connection. We kinda just took their dance and got inspired to dance like them since there the dance is more focused on God and dance in Puerto Rico is more focused and seen in parties and festivals.“
Original interview was conducted in spanish and translated to english
A: “Well, we use flags, fans, scarves, and other stuff to dance with. Every church is different though and might add their own things, but for the most part, praise dance in churches like ours are the same. It also depends on the church and pastors themselves and their own opinions because you never know if they might think of dancing as wrong. It’s also different because I know in American churches they do more ballet and then you see churches with dance group more focused on hip-hop. It all just depends.”
Q: I know you visited a church in Puerto Rico, what was different about the dance they did and the way the church presented themselves Vs what our church does here in York PA?
A: “There is a big difference. Over there you feel like you're in puerto Rico because they do a lot of things you would only see there. They painted their faces white, they dance to fast pace music, like you can see they take it seriously and they put a lot more effort and time to each dance. It’s cause dance has always been a part of Puerto Rico. You see it everywhere you go and since it's a part of who we are it's not surprising they take it so seriously. Everyone is so into it and makes worshiping so much more interesting and involved.”
Q: Is there a connection with the dances they do in puerto rico like bachata and plena that connects to praise dance?
A: “No. there is no connection because praise dance came from the African and Israeli cultures so there really isn't a connection. We kinda just took their dance and got inspired to dance like them since there the dance is more focused on God and dance in Puerto Rico is more focused and seen in parties and festivals.“
Original interview was conducted in spanish and translated to english
interview with Yashira Mendoza (Current dancer)
Q: How and why did you start praise dancing?
A: “So, when I first knew about dance I saw this woman dance at this service I went to when I was little and I just loved the way she moved. It was that same service that the woman and preacher that preached that night spoke to me telling me that I had a calling to dance for God and that I was gonna touch and inspire people.”
Q: So would you say that you are dancing for God and for his purpose?
A: “Well, yeah I started doing dance and I loved and enjoyed doing it, but yeah I did it cause it was my calling and also because what they told me was true. There would be people that were going through some serious stuff and would have these chains on them which was the burdens they carried. When I would dance people would come up to me and tell me I touched them and broke those chains and that God was using me in a powerful way. So, I continued to dance, but yeah I always knew who I'm really dancing for and that’s God.”
Q: Do you believe that other churches and cultures don't take praise dance as serious as they should?
A: “Yeah, some people take it as a joke and just do it to show off or think they’re all that. It really is something that should be done for God cause it's all about having that connection and relationship with him and some people fake that and it's never good to do that. Its also about knowing your limits too. Like you should know if you can dance or not based on your spiritual life. Like if you're not right with God and you're doing all these other ungodly things then you should know you shouldn't be on the altar and dancing. Right now I'm going through a lot, so I know I can't dance until I know I’m ready again. Some people just don't care or they don't know their limit.”
Q: How is praise dance different then other dances?
A: “It's different because it's something that's more spiritual and like I said before it's that connection and relationship with God. You’re not doing it because you feel like it. You do it because it's God's calling for you and is something you're doing to touch people and bring them closer to him and his kingdom. It’s also about saving lost souls and thanking him for being able to give you the ability to dance to do his will. That's basically the main difference.”
Interview was conducted in english.
A: “So, when I first knew about dance I saw this woman dance at this service I went to when I was little and I just loved the way she moved. It was that same service that the woman and preacher that preached that night spoke to me telling me that I had a calling to dance for God and that I was gonna touch and inspire people.”
Q: So would you say that you are dancing for God and for his purpose?
A: “Well, yeah I started doing dance and I loved and enjoyed doing it, but yeah I did it cause it was my calling and also because what they told me was true. There would be people that were going through some serious stuff and would have these chains on them which was the burdens they carried. When I would dance people would come up to me and tell me I touched them and broke those chains and that God was using me in a powerful way. So, I continued to dance, but yeah I always knew who I'm really dancing for and that’s God.”
Q: Do you believe that other churches and cultures don't take praise dance as serious as they should?
A: “Yeah, some people take it as a joke and just do it to show off or think they’re all that. It really is something that should be done for God cause it's all about having that connection and relationship with him and some people fake that and it's never good to do that. Its also about knowing your limits too. Like you should know if you can dance or not based on your spiritual life. Like if you're not right with God and you're doing all these other ungodly things then you should know you shouldn't be on the altar and dancing. Right now I'm going through a lot, so I know I can't dance until I know I’m ready again. Some people just don't care or they don't know their limit.”
Q: How is praise dance different then other dances?
A: “It's different because it's something that's more spiritual and like I said before it's that connection and relationship with God. You’re not doing it because you feel like it. You do it because it's God's calling for you and is something you're doing to touch people and bring them closer to him and his kingdom. It’s also about saving lost souls and thanking him for being able to give you the ability to dance to do his will. That's basically the main difference.”
Interview was conducted in english.
Tower of Babel
For my English portion, I wanted to continue my blog, but I didn’t just want to write progress reports every day because that was very time-consuming. However, I really wanted to tie everything together with my religion, culture, and passion. With praise dance, I’m able to tie all three of those things together, but the dance was not the only thing that I used to do. In my church what we also would do is something called mime. Mime is a dance that tells a story. So that got me thinking and what I ultimately had decided to do was take a story from the bible and use it explaining praise dance like the problems with praise dance, how it started, and where it's heading. A lot of things that I wanted to also address comes from my experience and things I have noticed happen with my old dance group. So, the story I chose to do is the story of the tower of babel in the book of Genesis. I also decided to listen to a sermon to be able to get a better understanding of the story first before I made connections. This, believe it or not, is a step that is important to my religion. When you want to take something from the bible and want to make connections it is critical that you understand what you are reading first.
When I was reading and analyzing this story I was surprised to find a lot of my own personal connections as well as many connections to praise dance.
When I was reading and analyzing this story I was surprised to find a lot of my own personal connections as well as many connections to praise dance.
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
In these two verses, I caught something that was explained in the sermon that was interesting. In verse 1, when the people came together they all spoke one language and this for me represented when praise dance began. It was something that the dancers in the church had in common and something that united them. Then in verse 2, it explained they moved to the east. This may seem small or unimportant, but whenever someone moved east in the book of Genesis they are moving away from God or away from his purpose. Good examples are Adam and Eve when they were banished they went east. Then in the story of Cain and Abel, when Cain was cursed he also moved eastward. With praise dance, it started with one goal and purpose and that was to praise God and to serve as another way to worship him. Then as it became more popular people started to drift or “move east” away from God’s purpose and treated it as something less.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
In verse 3 it said the people used brick instead of stone and tar for mortar. Then in verse 4, it explained how they wanted to make a name for themselves and make a tower to reach the heavens and in some other versions, it explains how they also wanted to be like the Gods. I took this as them making the tower their own and wanted to make and use their own materials. With praise dance, the dancers do the same thing. The dance moves in praise dance are different from other dances and were something the church made their own. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but then people started to take pride in this type of dance and the dancers did it for themselves moving farther away from God's purpose. Like the people building the tower, the dancers wanted to make a name for themselves and wanted to be known for their dance and not their connection and relationship with God. This demolishes the whole purpose of praise dance.
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
In verse 6 it shows that people who are united and can understand each other can accomplish almost anything, but in verse 7 it explains how God will confuse them because they chose to abuse this and take pride not in God, but in themselves. When dancing for God it is important that you take pride in God because he gave us the ability to be able to dance for him and he allowed it to be another form the praise him. When a dance team knows they are dancing for God many things can be accomplished for and through him, but when arrogance rise it becomes a problem and it will be difficult to understand each other and work as a group to accomplish anything.
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Through these last two verses, it explains how God scattered the people throughout the world. With praise dance many people see it as something that shouldn't be allowed and the reason is because praise dance used to be one style and type and now its “scattered”, there are all kinds of ways and styles of praise dance and people are confused on what praise dance really is and if people are really doing it for God. As a praise dancer myself it is easy to get caught up in the audience and wanting them to see what you came up with and it's easy to forget why you started dancing in the first place. I have experienced it myself with my old dance group. Everyone did it just to do it and the church saw that and started to question praise dance. Like this tower the people were building, I’m sure God would have liked the tower, but he would have liked it if they made it for him, so he questioned their motives and decided to scatter them. I don’t believe praise dance is something that should be taken out of churches, I do believe it should be taken seriously and be done for God. I also don’t believe that the style of praise dance matters as long as it's being done for God and has a purpose then it can be accomplished. I do think it's gonna be a bit of a problem in the future as churches try and start there own dance group and things might not work out so well, but if it's done for the right reasons it can unite people together and make them stronger.
In these two verses, I caught something that was explained in the sermon that was interesting. In verse 1, when the people came together they all spoke one language and this for me represented when praise dance began. It was something that the dancers in the church had in common and something that united them. Then in verse 2, it explained they moved to the east. This may seem small or unimportant, but whenever someone moved east in the book of Genesis they are moving away from God or away from his purpose. Good examples are Adam and Eve when they were banished they went east. Then in the story of Cain and Abel, when Cain was cursed he also moved eastward. With praise dance, it started with one goal and purpose and that was to praise God and to serve as another way to worship him. Then as it became more popular people started to drift or “move east” away from God’s purpose and treated it as something less.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
In verse 3 it said the people used brick instead of stone and tar for mortar. Then in verse 4, it explained how they wanted to make a name for themselves and make a tower to reach the heavens and in some other versions, it explains how they also wanted to be like the Gods. I took this as them making the tower their own and wanted to make and use their own materials. With praise dance, the dancers do the same thing. The dance moves in praise dance are different from other dances and were something the church made their own. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but then people started to take pride in this type of dance and the dancers did it for themselves moving farther away from God's purpose. Like the people building the tower, the dancers wanted to make a name for themselves and wanted to be known for their dance and not their connection and relationship with God. This demolishes the whole purpose of praise dance.
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
In verse 6 it shows that people who are united and can understand each other can accomplish almost anything, but in verse 7 it explains how God will confuse them because they chose to abuse this and take pride not in God, but in themselves. When dancing for God it is important that you take pride in God because he gave us the ability to be able to dance for him and he allowed it to be another form the praise him. When a dance team knows they are dancing for God many things can be accomplished for and through him, but when arrogance rise it becomes a problem and it will be difficult to understand each other and work as a group to accomplish anything.
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Through these last two verses, it explains how God scattered the people throughout the world. With praise dance many people see it as something that shouldn't be allowed and the reason is because praise dance used to be one style and type and now its “scattered”, there are all kinds of ways and styles of praise dance and people are confused on what praise dance really is and if people are really doing it for God. As a praise dancer myself it is easy to get caught up in the audience and wanting them to see what you came up with and it's easy to forget why you started dancing in the first place. I have experienced it myself with my old dance group. Everyone did it just to do it and the church saw that and started to question praise dance. Like this tower the people were building, I’m sure God would have liked the tower, but he would have liked it if they made it for him, so he questioned their motives and decided to scatter them. I don’t believe praise dance is something that should be taken out of churches, I do believe it should be taken seriously and be done for God. I also don’t believe that the style of praise dance matters as long as it's being done for God and has a purpose then it can be accomplished. I do think it's gonna be a bit of a problem in the future as churches try and start there own dance group and things might not work out so well, but if it's done for the right reasons it can unite people together and make them stronger.
Priace dance CHOREOGRAPHY
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I did the dance to the song Oceans by Hillsong United. Things that I incorporated into the dance that comes from my culture is the fan, the dress that I made and the movements themselves each have a special purpose and meaning that matches the words to the song.