Dance Schedule
-Tuesday Night Dance Classes - 7:30pm, Everyone Welcome!
-"Dance Made Easy" - After Shabbat Services
What is Messianic Dance?
Messianic dance is praise and worship dance that combines Israeli folk and contemporary worship music to choreographed dance. G-d is restoring the established ways of worship in dance that have been a part of Israel since the earliest days of its faith expression. Historians have found that dance was a significant component of the Temple worship in the time of Yeshua (Jesus' Hebrew name). Dance has not only been a meaningful demonstration of corporate praise and worship, but dance has always been the Jewish depiction of celebration, Jewish life-cycles, religious holidays, and triumph in warfare within the Jewish faith community.
Is Messianic Dance Biblical?
People always ask if dance is a Scriptural form of worship. In Exodus 15:20, Miriam and the other women respond to G-d's triumph over the Egyptians in an expression of dance. We can note harvest dances in the book of Judges (21:21), as well as the demonstration of the joy of Jephthah's daughter at his return (11:34). 2 Samuel 6:14 describes how David led the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem when he "danced before the L-RD with all his might." 1 Samuel depicts the children of Israel praising David their king by dancing and singing songs of his exploits (21:11). Jeremiah 31:13 shows us that G-d's redemption causes His people to dance before Him. In verse four of this chapter, dance is seen as a response to G-d's love for His people. As I said earlier, historians have found that dance was an integral part of worship and celebration during the Second Temple period, in the time of Yeshua. All these illustrations of dance throughout Israel's history as recorded in Scripture, give us a very potent basis for dance as praise and worship in the faith-life of G-d's people.
What does this mean to you as a Jewish person?
As Jews, we are continually searching for spiritual meaning within our lives. We have rediscovered, as Messianic Jews, that our Jewish roots are not lifeless traditonal rituals, observances, and life-cycles, such as weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, but is to be a true expression of worship and praise. Messianic dance is one way to integrate worship within the Jewishness of our faith. In a sense, each time we come together as a commuity, our corporate worship exhibits an expression of joy and faith so that our community can be a testimony to the living G-d of Israel. You may not have come from a Jewish synagogue that affirmed a worship expression in dance, but this is a part of your heritage -- so reclaim it!
What does this mean to you as a Christian?
After the early Messianic Jewish believers became so few in number compared to the non-Jewish believers of that community, much of the celebrations, ceremonies, praise, and worship of the Church began to develop on a course that was far removed from its original Jewish roots. Dance, in various forms, continued to be a part of the believers' expression of faith. There was the development of dance forms around the eucharist, baptism, ordination of priests, processional for entering and leaving the sanctuary, holiday dances, etc. For more information about the history and theology of dance, you can send away for the book, Dancing For Joy. Later in history, around the seventeenth century, the Church began to move away from dance as an expression of faith, preferring the more sedate expressions of worship. But, today, G-d is restoring the joy and celebration of faith to the Church! G-d desires that we get together in corporate worship, rejoicing as a redeemed people, manifesting our faith to the world.
How about the person who does not believe?
Even if you do not believe in the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and you do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, who paid the redemption price for our sins, we invite you to enjoy the spirit of praise and worship deep within your soul. Our prayer is that you will sense along with us that G-d is vey real, and that He wants to take the burdens from your heart to fill you with His peace and love. If you feel that G-d has made this opportunity for you to search for Him, please talk with us about what you are feeling in your heart.
