Should A Christian Dance?

Dance is a part of cultures all around the world. They are expressions of feelings through movement of the body. Dance has the ability to tell stories, to celebrate events, even to communicate ideas. Dancing can even be the physical demonstration of sheer emotional exhilaration. It comes in all styles: ballet, folklore, belly, hula, ballroom, square, clog, tap, can-can, erotic and on and on.

Because of this wide diversity, dancing is not inherently sinful or evil. As a means of imparting human ideas, a certain dance is only as sinful as the ideas it conveys.

In the Bible, dance was sometimes the means of confessing and thanking God before others (Psalm 149:3; 150:4). Dance expressed joy before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:14-21) and commemorated God’s victory over His enemies (Exodus 15: 20-21). Dancing was the opposite of mourning or wailing (Psalm 30:11). It was the joyful response of a believer to God’s hand of deliverance and help.

However, dance can also be used to convey the sinful side of the human condition. King Herod was so seduced by the dance of his stepdaughter that he reluctantly gave in to her request for the head of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:6). The seductive power of dance to incite the passions marks it as a potentially dangerous means of artistic expression.

In this regard, it is understandable why some Christians condemn certain styles of dance, especially those with a strong sexual dimension implicit in their movements. For example, today’s nightclub dancing has been described as “dry sex” and is part of the overall “party” scene that appeals to the appetites of the swinging single. In this context, dancing is just an excuse for carousing and is condemned by Scripture (1 Peter 4:3). Given God’s desire for sexual purity in our lives (Ephesians 5:3; 1 Timothy 5:2), believers are wise to avoid any dance that is erotic, provocative or sensual.