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Worshipful Stretching Routine for Praise Dancers

Stretching tutorial — Click image for more information

Do you want to be more flexible?

Do you want to improve your dancing?

Do you want to prevent injuries?

Do you want to worship while you do this?

The Stretch and Adoration DVD by Pastor Lynn Hayden will help you do all of these. It’s a wonderful tool for the praise dancer. I’m using this DVD twice weekly as part of my studies in the Dancing for Him teacher certification class. I love it.

Read my review below to learn more and enjoy this short stretching tutorial in which I demonstrate one of my many favorite stretching segments from the DVD: Continue reading “Worshipful Stretching Routine for Praise Dancers”

Modern Dance Exercise Tutorial

Do you need ideas for choreography?

Do you want to grow in your dance technique?

Do you want to make your dances more worshipful and emotive?

If so, the Modern Dance I DVD, by Dancing for Him, is a fantastic tool for you. Watch this short tutorial, teaching how to do the hip joint opener and read my review below. This exercise is based on the Modern Dance I DVD by Lynn Hayden of Dancing for Him, You can purchase that DVD, in my store.

The Modern Dance I DVD gives you an introductory modern dance class for the dancer with a heart to minister through dance. It was designed to give dancers a movement vocabulary, using the fundamentals of modern dance. Beginning with floor work, moving to stretching and abdominal exercises, and finishing with across the floor work, Pastor Lynn first teaches each exercise, carefully instructing on proper form and technique, and then invites the dancer to practice the exercises with along with her and a team of worship dancers. I have used this DVD over and over in the two years that I have owned it. It has inspired my worship dance choreography. I love modern because the movements are emotive (using contractions) and earthy (using flexed feet and parallel position in addition to pointed feet and a turned out position) and fun. Because the DVD provides an introduction to modern dance, I find it provides a great model for the technique portions of my worship dance classes with children. Modern dance seems more accessible to the new dancer and to children than ballet. The parallel feet positions are easier for most children to imitate than the turned out position (and from there, I teach the turned out position.) It seems easier for children to learn to turn out after they have learned the parallel position. In addition, my older students are drawn to modern dance’s emotive and fun movements. For the worship dancer who wants to express his or her heart to the Lord and to tell stories of God’s work in their lives, and for the emerging dance teacher, this DVD is a powerful and effective tool. Click the image below for more information or buy now to order immediately You will love this DVD and gain great benefit from it.

: Modern dance instruction DVD cover

Price: $26

Continue reading “Modern Dance Exercise Tutorial”

What Dance Ministry Leaders Need to Learn from the School Dance Team

Welcome to part three of this blog series inspired by my local dance team’s stand out performance last weekend. If you haven’t read the first two posts, check them out before diving into this one:
Ten Things Worship Dancers can Learn from the School Dance Team and What I Wish Every Dance Team Member Knew.

As praise dancers, we can learn from the excellence with which these dancers present. As dancers who know Jesus, we have an important message to speak to them. As dance ministry leaders, if we want to reach youth and keep them dancing for Jesus (instead of giving their gifts and their selves away to the world), here are five things we need to heed:

Young people want to dance. There were 250 students in this performance. Clearly there is a need and a desire for dance leaders and teachers. If you have ever wondered if you are called to reach the youth at your church, take time to pray and listen for that call. There are young people out there who want to dance and are looking for an avenue to develop their gift. Will you help them?
We need to invest in our own training. There are skilled young dancers out there. If we want a voice in their lives, we need to take the art of dance seriously and invest in our own training. This does not mean we can not speak to them until we can outperform them with our technique. But we need to be growing, learning, and gaining skill. It is our anointing that ultimately will enable us to have an impact on their lives, but having skill gives us credibility as well as something to offer them.
What you are doing matters. These kids are going to use dance for good or for evil. If we have the chance to plant seeds for righteous dancing, it could change the trajectory of their lives as well as all the lives they will impact through dance.
Get boys into the act. Women bring beauty, passion, gentleness and refined strength to dance. Men bring strength, humor, power. We are, together, made in the image of God. Dance is more complete, more impactful when you have both men and women dancing. I’m speaking to myself before I’m speaking to anyone else. I’m in my comfort zone with women and young girls. They think like I do, and they dance like I do. It’s comfortable for me to reach them. But this year I’m going to make it my goal to learn to dance with men, to learn from them with the intent that I can bring boys into dance.
Give your dancers something awesome to wear. The kids I saw dancing must have had a ball changing from costume to costume. Their costumes were fun, beautiful, playful, sassy, exciting, and sometimes provocative, depending on the dance. Now, our standards are not the world’s standards, and we are going to teach our dancers to cover up. I said more about this in my earlier post. Even so, these kids, especially girls, want to look beautiful and feel special. In my children’s dance curriculum, I have a whole lesson on teaching kids the difference between empty (vain) dancing and full (worshipful) dancing. So I’m not talking about catering to their vanity. I’m talking about meeting their God-given desire to be lovely (for girls). You can choose modest garments that are also fun and flattering. Don’t ask them to dress in something that looks like a potato sack. Lucie Poirier says, in her book Dancing for the Endtime Harvest that we are to dance for “beauty and for glory.” For an excellent resource on praise dance garments, I highly recommend Jocelyn Richard’s e-book Garments of Glory.

Continue reading “What Dance Ministry Leaders Need to Learn from the School Dance Team”

Ten Things Worship Dancers can Learn from the School Dance Team

This weekend I went to watch the local high school dance team perform. They had advertised in the local paper. We’re new in town, so I don’t exactly have a full social calendar, the ticket price was right, and I love dance in most forms, so off I went. Their performance inspired me, made me think, and convicted me as well. So, I’ll be writing a 3-part blog post this week:

Part I – Ten Things Worship Dancers can Learn from the School Dance Team.

Part II – What I Wish Every Dance Team Member Knew

Part III – What We Worship Dance Leaders Can Learn from the School Dance Team Continue reading “Ten Things Worship Dancers can Learn from the School Dance Team”

My Seven Favorite Choreography Tips

I’ve been studying choreography as part of the Dancing for Him course this past month and have compiled my ten favorite choreography tips and how I used them in the most recent dance I choreographed:

1. Begin with prayer. The Lord knows the moves that will minister to others. All creativity comes from Him. Pray about which song to use. Once you have chosen a song, spend time praying through the lyrics, asking the Lord to give you a picture of what He wants this dance to look like.

2. Keep your dance to 3 to 4 minutes, especially if it’s a solo. Unless you are very experienced and/or have a large group of dancers, it’s difficult to keep enough variety to hold the audiences interest longer than this. Continue reading “My Seven Favorite Choreography Tips”

Learn How to Choreograph Dances that Minister

What do you need to make an impact in dances, inspiration or knowledge of choreography? In Divine Choreography, Lynn Hayden’s answer is both. She begins by explaining that “Whatever offering you bring to the Lord (if it is presented with a humble and submissive worshiper’s heart) will be a sweet smelling savor to our Lord.” (p.11) At the same time, she points out that “if a dance is interesting and has a lot of variety, it will, more than likely hold the audience’s attention longer and thereby minister more effectively.” (p. 22). So, she first instructs the dancer to pray over a dance, listen to the song over and over, to listen to the Spirit, and to consider fasting, so that the inspiration comes from the Lord. Continue reading “Learn How to Choreograph Dances that Minister”

Dancing for “them” or for Him?

Here’s another must have resource for worship dancers. Written by Lynn Hayden of Dancing for Him Ministries, Dancing for Him (to purchase, click here) is a guide to understand the heart attitude necessary to minister effectively through dance, to understand the scriptural significant of the movements we do and what effect they have in the spiritual realm, and it provides practical wisdom for a dance ministry team leader.

Dancing for Him explains how dance can be used in praise and worship time, for prophetic ministry to an individual or group, and for gospel presentations. It

The part of the book that provoked the most thought for me was in chapter 7, Performance vs. Ministry. pastor Lynn distinguished between several categories of Christian dancers: those who dance because they enjoy dance and like to dance to Christian music; those who want to take back the arts for the Lord; and those who dance solely to minister to the Lord and to minister to people.

I see myself in a combination of the categories. I began dancing in worship with no training and with the sole desire to minister to the Lord and people through dance. Over the past few of years, the Lord has enabled me to gain training so that I am now also I a moderately I skilled dancer with a desire to take back dance for the Lord. I don’t separate this from ministering to people through dance. I teach worship dance to children whose parents are so grateful to have a Christ centered environment for their children to dance in. I see offering dance to them as a ministry. The ministry begins with taking back dance for the Lord. But this is not separate from ministering to the children and teaching them to be ministers. Usually, we end a session of dance class with a ministry a presentation at a nursing home. I teach the children that this is ministry, not performance. We pray for the residents together, and they pray at home. They love dancing before other people. There is joy in the act of dancing. But they know the reason we are there is not to get applause or impress people, but to tell God’s stories and prepare the way for him to move in people’s hearts.

Like the children, I love to dance. Even when I’m not ministering, even when I’m not overtly worshiping (like when I’m taking a class in the studio), I love to dance. It’s a joy to move the body god gave me in a way that is beautiful; however, that does not compare to the joy and meaning I find in worshiping Gd through dance and dancing in ministry. So, I see myself in all three categories. The most important part of dance for me is worshiping the Lord. From there, it is a privilege to grow in skill and to minister to others.

This book will challenge you to ask yourself if you are dancing for “them” or for Him.

It will give you practical wisdom about how to use dance in praise and worship, in gospel presentations, and in prophetic ministry. It will also encourage about the power that God releases as we move before Him in worship and ministry.

It’s a fantastic complement to Pastor Lynn’s other book and DVD, Dance, Dance, Dance! which is available in my store.

What does the Lord think of Dance? What’s the purpose of Dance in ministry?

What does God think of dance? Does it please Him or offend Him? I read on a blog today that, “dance is a great sin and a very horrible vice because it degrades the common morality and degrades traditional Christian values.” Wow.

I’ve been dancing as worship for many years now and studying have studied what the bible says about it. I know He was pleased when David danced and displeased when Micah judged him for it. I know that Miriam, the first prophetess, danced after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, so I’m confident that dance has a place in the Lord’s heart and will. But I studied, Dance, Dance, Dance! this week, by Lynn Hayden of Dancing for Him and felt like the Lord opened my understanding about dance.

Dance, Dance, Dance! is a great resource for the dancer who wants to know more about dance and movement in the bible, who wants to go beyond the questions, “Is it okay?” to asking, “When and how should we use it? and “What difference can dance make in the Kingdom of God.”

In reading the first section of the book, what struck me was how much a part of Hebrew culture that dance is. The Israelites danced in response to victory in battle, to being restored, and to express joy. They danced to find a spouse and to celebrate a marriage. Dancing was part of life, and often was a community activity. Sometimes, but not always, it was an act of worship. In the cases of David and Miriam, the dance was an expression of praise and the dancers exulted in the presence of God. Other times, dance was more of a community activity, and sometimes it was an act of sin: The daughters of Shiloh came out dancing to attract husbands, and the Israelites danced before the golden calf. So, this says to me that the desire to dance is part of being human. When we dance in response to God’s goodness, He affirms our dance. When we dance as part of our culture, scripture acknowledges it, not necessarily affirming nor condemning it. When our dance is an act of idolatry, as when the Israelites danced around the golden calf, or lust, as when the daughter of Herodias danced before Herod (Mark 6:22), it grieves The Lord. So, what I got from that is that dance, in itself, isn’t good or bad, rather its value comes from the motivation and heart condition of the dancer.

It was the words that connote movement that moved me the most in the book. Dance, Dance, Dance! lists Hebrew and Greek words, their English translation, and then the definition of the words. I was moved to learn the power that is released when we move in the ways scriptures describes. Spinning can be an act of intercession (chul, p. 37) or can be like a battering ram against the enemy (karar, p. 65). Jumping and shaking can shake off bondage (nathar, p. 73). Waving hands or streamers can be a perfume of fire that drives out the enemy (tnuwphah, p. 91). The Lord compasses about us. He surrounds us with His mercy and protection (cabab, Psalm 32:10). Through movement we can break of chains that the enemy has placed on people (p. 129). I’m an intercessor. I think one of my primary callings is intercessory prayer. This book created many strong links for me between movement and intercession, gave me a language for intercessory movement, and increased my movement vocabulary for prayer. I have always loved using expressive sign on my dances because of the clear meaning that the movements communicate. Dance, Dance, Dance! showed me how other dance movements like spinning, walking, waving arms and leaping can be not only beautiful but full of meaning and powerful and effective to bring healing and deliverance.

If you are leading others in dance, you need this book. It will equip you to teach others what the bible says about dance and movement and will teach you to choreograph with greater meaning and power. Also, consider purchasing the Dance, Dance, Dance! DVD, for sale in my store.

Price: $16.00

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Dance the Scriptures

I’m loving the “Dance Dance Dance!” DVD and book by Lynn Hayden. I used the lesson from the DVD to teach this lesson in my worship dance class with children last week. You can purchase and/or DVD here.

The DVD has several parts: In it, Pastor Lynn unpacks the meaning of the word dance as it appears in the Old and New Testament. We learn that the bible is full of words that imply dancing, dancing in a circle, moving the body in a beat or rhythm, being stirred in rapid movement, and going around in a circle. Then she goes on to teach about Hebrew words found in the Old Testament and Greek words in the New Testament that imply movement. For each word, we learn how the Hebrew or Greek word is translated into English. These words are called the “locator words,” and they are the words we see in our Bible. Then, Pastor Lynn gives an amplified definition of the word, in which we see how much movement is implied by it. Next, a group of dancers embody scriptures where each of these words can be found. In the last section of the video, Pastor Lynn teaches a dance choreographed to “Psalm 23.”

The DVD is full of biblical and practical tools. It will equip you to teach others that there is so much more to dance in the bible than Miriam’s dance and David dancing before the Lord. When the bible says to “rejoice,” it means more than just “be happy.” The word gull or gil means to spin around under the influence of any violent emotion, to be joyful, to rejoice, to cry out, or to exalt. I have used the exercises in the DVD at dance workshops to get women and children bringing the scriptures to life. I love what different groups of people will choreograph to scripture. Do one word study each week at dance team practice to build a biblical foundation for dance for the team as well as to build their movement vocabulary.

To purchase, click here.

Now is the Time

Have you been thinking about purchasing my children’s worship dance curriculum? Now is a great time to buy it.

Here’s why:

1) You’ll receive my updated videos which include live teaching and footage from dance class. I’ve been getting great feedback from those who have received these videos. I’m adding them to the current package without changing the price.
2) You can purchase a hard copy of the book, if you’d like. I’ve had many people ask about this.
3) You can purchase the book separately from the videos, allowing you to get started with the book alone for a lower price, if that suits your needs better.
4) As a reward for taking action this next week (before March 8), you’ll receive the gift of “Raising Up Worshipful Children” Teleseminar audios with your curriculum. This will teach you how to build a worshipful children ministry and how to use the activities in my book. I taught with Jocelyn Richard of The Praise Dance Life. You’ll receive two 1-hour audio messages as well as slides that accompanied the class.
So, if you have been thinking about purchasing the curriculum for yourself or for a friend, there’s no better time than now.
To learn more, click here.
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