"It Shows on Your Face": The Gaze as a Transformative Force in a Presbyterian Liturgical Dance Troupe

This research explores the gaze of the liturgical dancer, constituting a study of the "female gaze" of the performer rather than the "male gaze" of imagined spectators. * I anchor fieldwork at a Presbyterian church and a survey of liturgical dance manuals to a review of contempor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Dance chronicle 2012-09, Vol.35 (3), p.338-359
Main Author: Kieswetter, Vivia Kay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Church music
Dance
Dancers & choreographers
Essays
Feminism
Field study
Male gaze
Musical performance
Performing artists
Prayer
Presbyterian churches
Protestant churches
Religious dances
Street dance
Theology
Women
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Summary:This research explores the gaze of the liturgical dancer, constituting a study of the "female gaze" of the performer rather than the "male gaze" of imagined spectators. * I anchor fieldwork at a Presbyterian church and a survey of liturgical dance manuals to a review of contemporary literature on the theology of the body with a particular emphasis on feminist theology. Noting the contested role of the female body in Christian worship, I explore the gaze of the performer from the perspective of dance theory and sacred art aesthetic theory. I argue that the liturgical dancer's gaze functions as a symbol of her intent and as a powerful tool for transforming performance into worship. Hence, it is a means of establishing community within a congregation and unity with God. A shorter version of this paper, "Looking at Her Power: The Gaze as Transformative Force in Christian Liturgical Dance," was presented at the 2008 conference of the Congress on Research in Dance in Roanoke, Virginia.
ISSN:0147-2526
1532-4257
DOI:10.1080/01472526.2012.721639