I can't imagine a life without dancing

[Guest LilaFowler]

I just can't. I feel bad for people whose religion doesn't allow them to dance.

[DamnPrecious]

I was allowed to dance around in the house and just be silly, but was not allowed to take dance or go to dances until I was a junior. I w,anted to soo badly, but no. I did do gymnastics, though, leotard and all.

My niece and I were discussing were we wanted to send our children (if I have one, she has a 9 month old). There is a bapstist school I wouldn't mind sending my kids too, but I don't like the no dancing rule.

[clibbyjo]

I know. Not even a dance at your wedding! That is why they can't listen to music with an evil beat, they may start tapping their toes and all hell would break loose!

That is one thing that really pisses me off about my fundie sister, her youngest was a toddler(same age as my youngest) and dancing to the radio at X-MAS MUSIC at my parents house years ago. She made him stop. You could see he wanted to dance so badly with my son. It was so sad. We all know dancing to "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" as a toddler is pure evil.

[Jessica]

Of course it's evil! It's celebrating Christ's MASS which is Catholic and thus you're participating in the evil of the Whore of Babylon!

(whoa, I've read Keeping the Home way too many times!)

[Jessica]

Anyway, I love dancing! I HATE dancing in front of people because I look dorky and trip over my feet, but I love dancing around at home with my toddler! Right now we're listening to the Doors and bouncing on the couch. :)

[Cassandra]

One of my friends that I did theatre with in High School was the son of a Baptist preacher. His church did not allow dancing. However, he (and another friend I had who was fundie) was allowed to do choreography-style dancing for musicals.

I never managed to figure out why it was okay to waltz during a scene in the Sound of Music but not in real life.

[O Latin]

Honestly, I would be perfectly happy to live a dance-free life, not because I think it's evil or any of that nonsense, I just stink at it. I might have to have my wedding at a conservative Baptist church because I can't think of any other way to get out of having a ridiculous "first dance" (just kidding, btw). I do excel at one kind of dancing though, the punk-rock-jump-up-and-down-with-one-arm-in-the-air kind, which definitely wouldn't be fundie-approved.

[clibbyjo]

Anyway, I love dancing! I HATE dancing in front of people because I look dorky and trip over my feet, but I love dancing around at home with my toddler! Right now we're listening to the Doors and bouncing on the couch. :)

Girl, you gotta get over that! Just Dance! I dance anywhere. I even do "the robot" at red lights in front of my kids and their friends.(I say "its robot time!" and jam it out. Of course I seem to be the only one doing it, oh well, their loss!) I don't even care. When we had the Steampunk Ball, I got the party started by going out in the middle of the roller rink and danced BY MYSELF for a full song before other people finally came out. It really doesn't take much for me to get going...

[clibbyjo]

Honestly, I would be perfectly happy to live a dance-free life, not because I think it's evil or any of that nonsense, I just stink at it. I might have to have my wedding at a conservative Baptist church because I can't think of any other way to get out of having a ridiculous "first dance" (just kidding, btw). I do excel at one kind of dancing though, the punk-rock-jump-up-and-down-with-one-arm-in-the-air kind, which definitely wouldn't be fundie-approved.

Sounds like you found the perfect dance for your first!!! The wacky first dances are always the best anyway, look at Youtube!

[GoJiRa]

My baby girl has been dancing since she was 4.

[debrand]

Its such a natural act for most women to dance with their toddlers, I can't imagine why anyone would deny themselves the pleasure. Moving with your child in your arms is such an innocent, sweet thing to do and it makes the child happy. Plus, dancing is a great way to get the energy out of little kids

[O Latin]

Sounds like you found the perfect dance for your first!!! The wacky first dances are always the best anyway, look at Youtube!

Haha, yeah, my future husband and I will just have to have our first dance to our favorite Flogging Molly or Green Day song. :dance:

[Lillian]

I loathe dancing, so it wouldn't be a problem for me! :)

[Guest LilaFowler]

Even something as little as hearing a song (while sitting down) and swaying to the beat, or claping your hands. It's such a natural thing. I feel bad for people who can't do that.

[thoughtful]

The music teacher in me has to say:

DANCE! :banana-dance: :banana-linedance: :banana-guitar:

Even if it's only in private. Sing, too. It's good for you.

The ability to feel a steady beat seems to be linked to all kinds of life skills, both intellectual and physical. Making music and moving to it has been a part of every known culture.

Depriving children of rhythmic movement is awful, IMO. It's one of the things that frustrates me about the fundy craziness.

So, even if you are shy about "dancing" in any particular style, or in public, dance around for fun with your kids, play rhythm games, recite poems and chants, tap out a familiar song on a surface (or gently on their backs) and ask if they can figure out what it is, etc.

[PennySycamore]

I can't imagine a life without dancing either. It's just so natural to me -I hear music and I've got to move. That's what's important. I spent 3 1/2 hours on my feet last Friday evening dancing and swaying to the music when the Furthur tour came to town. I had a fabulous time!

I'd love to join the local swing dance club. You don't have to have a partner which is a good thing since my dh is a terminal non-dancer. I'd also like to really learn some Latin and ballroom dance, but a lot of Latin just flows so naturally from the music. I do dance around the house by myself, but it bothers my dachshund. (She's a weird dog.)

I went to see a production of the opera Lucia di Lammermoor at Bob Jones U about 16 years ago or so. There are some scenes featuring social dancing (the wedding and maybe others) and those BJ students looked so uncomfortable dancing. I thought that was so sad!

And here's an old joke: Why don't Baptists have sex standing up?

Because it might lead to dancing!

[HowRude]

I had a religous upbringing and I never heard of the whole no dancing thing until my teens.I had a friend and I would tell her about my dance studio and competition teams and she said that her parents only allowed ballet and she would refuse to even do dance through church. I never heard of people believing it was all together evil until the Duggars and a bible study instructor. And about the rock beat I'm positive 100% of the music played at my church has it.But yeah I'm not sure how people survive dance is such a good way to express feelings and feel free, I could have sworn Christ was all about that free thing.

[emeraldskull]

I definitely couldn't live without dancing, or music with an "evil beat". :-P Weddings with no dancing are soooooo boring. :-P I've been to one. :-P it was seriously boring... anywho, I love dancing, and often embarrass myself in public places... :-D

[lilwriter85]

I can't imagine life without dancing either. I took tap lessons from age 8 to 12. Then when I was a teen I took hip hop dance and was apart of performance group for awhile. I still dance at parties and other places with friends. I can't imagining not dancing at weddings or big events.

I find it funny that the Duggars are ok with their kids learning to play instruments but yet they are against dancing which is something that is connected to music. I wonder if they would let their kids square dance or something.

[lilwriter85]

I had a religous upbringing and I never heard of the whole no dancing thing until my teens.I had a friend and I would tell her about my dance studio and competition teams and she said that her parents only allowed ballet and she would refuse to even do dance through church. I never heard of people believing it was all together evil until the Duggars and a bible study instructor. And about the rock beat I'm positive 100% of the music played at my church has it.But yeah I'm not sure how people survive dance is such a good way to express feelings and feel free, I could have sworn Christ was all about that free thing.

The first time I heard about some religious people being against dancing when I was around 10 or 11. My dad was an HR manager for a mining company and he and mom were in charge of the annual summer picnic and one year a new employeee told my dad that he wasn't going to attend the picnic because he had heard that band was hired for the picnic and that he was against dancing because his church was against dancing. I remember my dad telling my mom and I asked my mom why some people would be against dancing and she explained about people thinking it is a sin. I remember watching Footloose a year or so later. But for awhile, I didn't a lot of people were against dancing. I was surprised when I was 17 and I read Lisa Beamer's book. Lisa Beamer is the wife of 9/11 victim Todd Beamer and in the book she talked about she and Todd attended Wheaton College an evangelical college that didn't allow dancing up until 2003. I watched a documentary titled Prom Night in Kansas City which focused on four different proms and one of the proms was for Mormon kids and it was just a dinner party without dancing. I have heard of other religious high schools and colleges that don't allow dancing and instead of proms, formals/dances they just have dinners.

[PennySycamore]

I had a religous upbringing and I never heard of the whole no dancing thing until my teens.I had a friend and I would tell her about my dance studio and competition teams and she said that her parents only allowed ballet and she would refuse to even do dance through church. I never heard of people believing it was all together evil until the Duggars and a bible study instructor. And about the rock beat I'm positive 100% of the music played at my church has it.But yeah I'm not sure how people survive dance is such a good way to express feelings and feel free, I could have sworn Christ was all about that free thing.

I was about to write that I always found that whole "Baptists think dancing is wrong" thing odd, too. I was brought up Southern Baptist, albeit in a moderate/liberal church with liberal parents, in the 50s. I'd really never encountered that attitude among Southern Baptists. Maybe among Wesleyans or the Church o'God, but not the SBC. (There were no fundie Baptist churches in my hometown in the 50s.) My mom was active in the Baptist Student Union in college and was also in the Berea Country Dancers. She obviously did not think dancing was sinful. Historically Baptist Furman University has a tradition of the Viennese Ball every spring that dates from before the school cut ties to the convention and went independent.

lilwriter85, if Mormons are against dancing, it's sure a a new one for me. I thought that was one thing they did enjoy.

[emeraldskull]

I was about to write that I always found that whole "Baptists think dancing is wrong" thing odd, too. I was brought up Southern Baptist, albeit in a moderate/liberal church with liberal parents, in the 50s. I'd really never encountered that attitude among Southern Baptists. Maybe among Wesleyans or the Church o'God, but not the SBC. (There were no fundie Baptist churches in my hometown in the 50s.) My mom was active in the Baptist Student Union in college and was also in the Berea Country Dancers. She obviously did not think dancing was sinful. Historically Baptist Furman University has a tradition of the Viennese Ball every spring that dates from before the school cut ties to the convention and went independent.

lilwriter85, if Mormons are against dancing, it's sure a a new one for me. I thought that was one thing they did enjoy.

The First Baptist Church in the area is very against dancing, ESPECIALLY in the church building... but they seem to be tending more and more toward legalistic teachings.

[Jessica]

lilwriter85, if Mormons are against dancing, it's sure a a new one for me. I thought that was one thing they did enjoy.

Yeah, there are LDS youth dances all the time! Heck, my dad goes to them for older single adults ocassionally too. A friend of ours is even on some ballroom dance team for BYU. We like to get our grooves on!

[liltwinstar]

Dancing wasn't really allowed in our house - well, I shouldn't say that. I don't *think* it was allowed, although there wasn't anything to dance to, since all we listened to was "praise music" at that point.

Funny story though - the church we went to at the time (AOG) did not allow dancing at all, though choreography was ok. Anyway, in the yearly big-deal Christmas show one year, they put in a "Christmas Waltz" and apparently the little old ladies in the congregation had a conniption and it had to be scrapped.

Anyway, I'm a terrible dancer. I took ballet and ballroom classes when I was in college, just to get more familiar with my body and hopefully pick up a few things. I like the barre exercises in ballet class, just because they're so scripted and precise, and I can do precise. I'm bad at center work and ballroom stuff, though, because I don't do improvisational movement at all well.

And, when I got married, we didn't have any dancing. My husband doesn't care for it either and we had a small wedding where it would have been dumb. And no one said our wedding was boring :)

[darkplumaged]

Yeah, there are LDS youth dances all the time! Heck, my dad goes to them for older single adults ocassionally too. A friend of ours is even on some ballroom dance team for BYU. We like to get our grooves on!

Yep. I'm not LDS, but I went to a bunch of dances at a Mormon church as a teenager. (My friend's boyfriend was LDS, so we'd all go as a group.) Some of those kids could really dance--like, advanced swing dance stuff.

I am a terrible dancer, but I can't imagine a life in which moving to a beat is forbidden. Sometimes you've just gotta break out some moves.