Liturgical Dance-when is it ok?

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Lovemyfaith

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My high school daughter has a religion class project of putting together a Liturgical Dance. I know there were a million threads about Liturgical Dance during Mass, but I am wondering when is the proper time it can be performed? Is there an acceptable type of music for Liturgical Dance? My daughter has done some research, but there are so many different schools of thought, we are confused.
 
Lovemyfaith said:
My high school daughter has a religion class project of putting together a Liturgical Dance. I know there were a million threads about Liturgical Dance during Mass, but I am wondering when is the proper time it can be performed? Is there an acceptable type of music for Liturgical Dance? My daughter has done some research, but there are so many different schools of thought, we are confused.
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The Church has a VERY long history of incorporating local culture into the Mass when new communities are evangelized through missionary efforts. Good examples where dance has been part of the Eucharistic celebration since their local introduction long ago include some countries in Africa and parts of the Hawaiian Islands. Does that mean that dance need necessarily be part of all parishes in Africa or the Hawaiian Islands? Certainly not. Does that mean that dance should be part of the Mass where it has no historically cultural basis such as in England? Nope.

On the other hand to suggest that dance is never an acceptable part of the liturgy is to be show ignorance of the Church and Her history and treatment of different communities.
 
Liturgical dance in the USA can be permitted in very narrow circumstances. Here is the correct procedure.

  1. *]The priest and the entire congregation send a notice to the bishop that they are self-excommunicating themselves.
    *]Since they are no longer Catholic, they vacate the parish and find a new venue.
    *]Liturgical Dance can be performed in the pseudo- (read: sacrilegious) Mass.
    That is it, just three simple steps.
 
That is, liturgical dance is forbidden. 😛

Is there an official patron saint of good liturgy who we can invoke to pray that these abuses stop? If not, we seriously need one.
 
rpp said:
Liturgical dance in the USA can be permitted in the narrow circumstances. Here is the correct procedure.

  1. *]The priest and the entire congregation send a notice to the bishop that they are self-excommunicating themselves.
    *]Since they are no longer Catholic, they vacate the parish and find a new venue.
    *]Liturgical Dance can be performed in the pseudo- (read: sacrilegious) Mass.
    That is it, just three simple steps.
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  1. And how do you suppose your retort was viewed by someone looking for an honest answer? Comments like your own only weaken the voice of those wishing to rid the Mass of deformations.
 
Actually Liturgical Dance is permitted in a small specific venue.

It must:
  1. Be outside of the normal liturgy.
  2. Be in assembly areas which are not strictly liturgical (i.e. the church)
  3. The priests (and I assume by extension deacons and other ordained ministers) must always be excluded from the dance.
If the proposal of the religious dance in the West is really to be made welcome, care will have to be taken that in its regard a place be found outside of the liturgy, in assembly areas which are not strictly liturgical. Moreover, the priests must always be excluded from the dance.
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So technically it could be held in a gymnasium, church hall, etc. outside of a Mass.

But it can’t be held during a Mass, in the church, or with the priest participating.

Since this is for a high school class, it could be done in the classroom or the school gymnasium.

See the following for more information:
ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWDANCE.HTM
 
There’s this dance you can do where you make the sign of the cross with holy water, walk a few yards, genuflect, scoot sideways, kneel, fold your hands, sit, then stand, make the sign of the cross, tap your breast lightly three times with your right hand in a fist, then sit again, then stand, make a cross with your right thumb on your forehead, lips and over your heart, then you sit, then you stand, then you bow for just a bit and straighten back up again, then you sit, then you stand, then you kneel…
 
Spiller said:
And how do you suppose your retort was viewed by someone looking for an honest answer? Comments like your own only weaken the voice of those wishing to rid the Mass of deformations.
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It emphasizes the seriousness of this particular abuse of the liturgy. The idea that someone can write their own liturgy, to introduce practices that are not part of their culture and ignore Church law are not issues of small consequence.

You may not like my response, but it is correct.

Liturgical dance may be permitted in some native African liturgies, for example, because dance is part of cultural practices with some peoples there. These cultural practices involve the community and are not some form of entertainment for elites. Such cultural and community traditions do not exist in the USA except as a form of entertainment that appeals to a small minority.
 
Marauder said:
Actually Liturgical Dance is permitted in a small specific venue.

It must:
  1. Be outside of the normal liturgy.
  2. Be in assembly areas which are not strictly liturgical (i.e. the church)
  3. The priests (and I assume by extension deacons and other ordained ministers) must always be excluded from the dance.
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So technically it could be held in a gymnasium, church hall, etc. outside of a Mass.

But it can’t be held during a Mass, in the church, or with the priest participating.

Since this is for a high school class, it could be done in the classroom or the school gymnasium.

See the following for more information:
ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWDANCE.HTM

You are correct, I was mostly focusing on it NOT being okay for the Mass, esp in the U.S. :eek:

I’m really not sure what the value of doing this assignment would really be?
 
Let’s not confuse the matter.

Liturgical dance, as it is implemented and practiced in North America and Europe, is a mockery of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass straight from Satan. Period.
 
Jennifer_J said:
You are correct, I was mostly focusing on it NOT being okay for the Mass, esp in the U.S. :eek:

I’m really not sure what the value of doing this assignment would really be?
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I figured that since the OP mentioned that it was for a school project it didn’t have to be in a Mass setting. If the teacher said, “Come up with a liturgical dance and perform it in the classroom” then they are within the policies. If the teacher said, “Come up with a liturgical dance and perform it at the school Mass tomorrow.” Then they are breaking the rules.
 
Marauder said:
I figured that since the OP mentioned that it was for a school project it didn’t have to be in a Mass setting. If the teacher said, “Come up with a liturgical dance and perform it in the classroom” then they are within the policies. ** If the teacher said, “Come up with a liturgical dance and perform it at the school Mass tomorrow.”** Then they are breaking the rules.
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Depends where the school/church is located and what sort of community it supports.
 
Lovemyfaith said:
My high school daughter has a religion class project of putting together a Liturgical Dance. I know there were a million threads about Liturgical Dance during Mass, but I am wondering when is the proper time it can be performed? Is there an acceptable type of music for Liturgical Dance? My daughter has done some research, but there are so many different schools of thought, we are confused.
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When it is rooted in the culture of the people celebrating the Liturgy. In other words when a Mass is celebrated for those primarily of the African Culture would be an example of where it might be allowed.
 
Marauder said:
I figured that since the OP mentioned that it was for a school project it didn’t have to be in a Mass setting. If the teacher said, “Come up with a liturgical dance and perform it in the classroom” then they are within the policies. If the teacher said, “Come up with a liturgical dance and perform it at the school Mass tomorrow.” Then they are breaking the rules.
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Instead of sewing the seeds of abuse in our children, how about teaching them the divine truths of the faith?

How many of the children enrolled in religion classes in a Catholic school could enumerate even the most essential tenants of the faith? I went through 12 years of Catholic school, and by the end, I didn’t know what the Eucharist was. All I was taught was pure modernist claptrap and hippy-inspired nonsense. It made me think religion was all fluff and stupidity. It took these forums to convince me otherwise. Catholic education should have taken care of that, but it failed miserably.
 
The Mass is not the only liturgy the Church has.

The OP did not ask when was it OK at Mass, but rather when at a different time and in some other liturgy is it OK?
I know there were a million threads about Liturgical Dance during Mass, but I am wondering when is the proper time it can be performed?
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I have no idea. Wish I did. Sorry.

DANCE IN THE LITURGY
Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship

This link of course deals with dance in the Mass. So it also isn’t much help. But it is a good read to maybe get you started in your search for your answer.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
When it is rooted in the culture of the people celebrating the Liturgy. In other words when a Mass is celebrated for those primarily of the African Culture would be an example of where it might be allowed.
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It also must be something that is incorporated into the Mass when the peoples are initially evangelized through missionary efforts.

If dance is part of the culture but was never incorporated as part of the Mass, it would be wrong to add it in now.
 
Dauphin said:
Instead of sewing the seeds of abuse in our children, how about teaching them the divine truths of the faith?
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The problem with comments like this is that the OP asked a question, many people on here are giving their opinion of Liturgical Dance as an abuse. The OP asked is liturgical dance ever permitted. The answer is YES as long as it meets certain requirements as defined by the Vatican. Giving your opinions or saying that the teacher should be or shouldn’t be doing something doesn’t really help the OP in getting a clear answer.

Yes liturgical abuse during Mass in a “western” church is prohibited but if it is part of a school assignment, the teacher can do it.

For all you know the teacher is doing this to show the kids how silly it looks, and imagine what it would be like during Mass.
 
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