Why is liturgical dance an illicit practice?

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When my husband and I were in RCIA (ten years ago–Happy Anniversary to us!), we were told by the priests and other instructors that the reason why liturgical dancing is not allowed in the Mass is that in the United States, “dance” has developed a sexual connotation.

It is almost impossible to find any dance style in the U.S. that hasn’t been associated with sex. Even the venerable square dancing is associated with sex by Americans, who see almost any movement by women as “sexual” or “arousing.” Same for various folk dances; e.g., “Irish step dancing” has become associated with Flattley, who wears an unbottoned shirt and is undeniably sensual in his performances.

It’s very sad. It’s hard for me as a woman to identify with this, as I don’t find any style of dance “arousing.” But it’s a reality here in the U.S.

We even see this with figure skating–there are a lot of people who think this sport is too “sexed.”

In many other countries, dance IS allowed in the Mass, because there is absolutely no association of dance with sex.
 
johnmann said:
The recessional is not part of the Mass which ended when the priest said, “The Mass is ended.” The entrance procession is part of Mass but when exactly the procession begins can be fuzzy. E.g., if two songs are sung during the procession, can the procession be considered to begin at the final song?
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Yes but I don’t think it should be extrapolated to mean that, “Hey, mass is over, let’s dance, I’ll grab the beer and cigars, you grab the cheetos!” The recessional is still within the “sphere” of liturgy.
 
grandfather said:
You are right about the difference between discipline and dogma.

The practice of fasting has changed, but still the Church says eating meat on Good Friday is forbidden. It is sinful. This is a matter of discipline or practice. It can be changed. Suppose your priest or the pope decided it would be a good idea to roast and eat a sacrificed animal.

The practice of confessing our sins as we do is a discipline. It did not develop for centuries. Now the Church says Catholics must confess their sins. It is Church law. I know priests who tell their parishioners it is optional.

The Sunday Mass obligation is discipline. The pope has the power to say it is optional. He can change this Church law and others if he so wishes.

But suppose instead of changing the law he ignored it. Suppose he said he was not going to say or attend Mass, because it did not matter.

Ordaining only single men is a discipline of the Roman Church. It is Church law. It can be changed. But suppose the pope did not change this law and instead ordained a group of married men.

If the laws that prescribe how we practice the faith can be ignored by the clergy and the pope, why should you or I follow any of them?

Suppose the president decided next year he would not file a tax return.

It is the same thing.
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Grandfather–I agree with you. I think when changes are made, that it would be easier on the faithful if they were done over time and slowly—bringing us lay folks into any change with some decorum and empathy—and perhaps an explanation of WHY!. I dropped out of the Catholic Church for just over 30 years—at least in great part—over all the cr#p that happened in V2. To me, back then, they took away everything I knew and loved about the church and replaced it with what all too closely resembled any other cheesy, Protestant service out there—and primarily for that reason , I just decided “What’s the point?” and dropped out totally! That little mistake on my part cost me 30 years of life with Jesus and ended with my having raised 5, non-Catholic kids–not a good result any way one looks at it. Jesus said that He would watch over His church forever, Apparently, however, He didn’t mean that He’d guard her from every stupid screw-up out there but rather only the really big ones involving faith or dogma–not tradition.(sigh)

Again, I agree with your feeling that dance at Mass is inappropriate. I don’t go to Mass to be entertained–rather, I go to worship. To me, while a dozen dancing Philipinos in full native regalia falls more into the first category than the second and I loathe it, I guess I’ve decided to pick my hills. The pope choosing to wash women’s feet and not just priests’ on Holy Thursday doesn’t bother me an iota. Infact, I think that including women and teens is quite appropriate and is about time in coming. Times have changed and it’s not 1950 anymore. Women are part of the lay faithful too! We aren’t talking about women priests here or anything close to that. Simply washing a woman’s foot is just no big deal to me—but in this day and age, I suspect it MAY be a big deal to some women–so okay, whatever they do is fine with me on that one—though I agree that it would have been better had Pope Francis announced the planned change so we “oldies” could be prepared rather than just to simply do it as a fait accomplis and we see it on TV

I understand that different groups feel differently about what constitutes worship and the form of the Mass. I think what I’m trying to say is that I’ve learned to accept the small, less consequential changes–and even to accept that some of them may be good and I may just be old and set in my ways. As long as they stay away from accepting artificial contraception, all forms of abortion, and any form of homosexual marriage, I’ll give Pope Francis and the new Vatican “crew” pretty much a blanket leeway. Pope Francis seems to be a genuinely good and humble man and pope. We’ll see if his less structured approach leads to good or evil. My point is that the only other option is to grouse about it because do you really think that any church that incorporates dancing into their ritual is going to change because you or I complain? Again, in the past taking that route that led me away from the Catholic church for over 30 years—and I’m not sure that I have 30 more years to come back if I were to repeat the same behavior again. So, if they want dancers at the offertory, I just grit my teeth and deal with it!! God bless!
 
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