Human Creativity and Dance 

Victoria Schlie 

Human Creativity 

14 December 2018 

   
 Human Creativity and Dance
For the Christian, wholeness, or thriving, is deeply connected to the human 

nature God has designed us with. Worship does not come from our pitiful attempts to 

present Him with grandiose, embellished praise. He is not pleased with our 

self-centeredness thinly masked as hyper-spirituality. Jesus decries, “​You blind fools! 

For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?” (Matt. 23:17, 

ESV). Rather, worship emanates naturally from the created being what the Creator 

intended it to be. The more ​human w

​ e are, the more we worship the artist and author of 

humanity. This becoming fully human is so integral to God’s relationship with us that 

He Himself became permanently human in the incarnation of Jesus. To invalidate any 

genuine aspect of human experience is to shun God’s creation of and marriage to 

humanity.  

The physical, raw nature of dance connects participants with their physical and 

emotional humanity. These concrete elements of human nature are so apparent that 

scientists research them. Hanna Poikonen, a researcher at the ​University of Helsinki’s 

Cognitive Brain Research Unit​ and a dancer, enthusiastically reports, “We do know that 

in dance, the basic elements of humanity combine in a natural way. It combines creative 

act, fine-tuned movement and collaboration, … [and] the whole body” (2017, para. 13).  

To exercise so many endowed faculties in a harmonious way glorifies the designer of 

such an intricate, contained symphony. These faculties so dance with each other as one 

dances that they produce a flow state: “a well-researched phenomenon in which the 

person becomes fully immersed in an activity. Flow experiences have been found to 

increase the general contentment and productivity of the person as well as the quality 

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of the activity” (para. 14). This allows the dancer to savor and appreciate normally 

overlooked subtleties of their own own body, environment, and feelings. This is not to 

say that dance is worship because it is self-expressive, but because it makes manifest a 

thoroughly human experience. In response, we more readily experience peace, 

connectedness to others, and meaningfulness. I argue along with Augustine of Hippo 

that all truth belongs to God (A.D. 397, book II - ch. 18), including scientific operations of 

the universe. A naturalistic description of a spiritual experience does not necessitate a 

naturalistic explanation. Dancers truly encounter the glory of God in flow states which 

connect them to creation.  

In fact, dancing is itself a pinnacle activity that proclaims the uniqueness of 

humankind. Patel, a researcher at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, stresses that 

dancing is “a very rare ability in nature… [and] the vast majority of species don’t do it” 

(Dingfelder, 2010,​ ​para. 9). This is because “Dance requires a brain that’s been wired up 

to reproduce complex sounds” (para. 9). The ability to decipher tempos and beats 

depends on the listener’s ability to vocally imitate sounds (para. 14). Without language, 

humans would not have the cognition or creativity needed to synthesize beats and 

proprioception (the sense of body position in space). Amazingly, language has given 

humans the fine-tuned faculties to encounter realities that cannot be expressed in 

words. Significant facets of “both art and spirituality [lie] in the domain of 

mystery—that which cannot be fully explored, understood, or known—and 

ineffability—that which exceeds verbal, rational, or conceptual articulation” (Guthrie, 

2011, p. 7). Dance steps behind the curtain of verbal articulation to both encounter and 

express some of the truths inherent to human nature; I do not believe dance (or the arts) 

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transcends l​ anguage per se, but gets one step closer to the incomprehensible source of 

these truths while still being in line with the words used to describe them. 

These basic truths echo throughout creation, as Scripture asserts that all of the 

created order “declares the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1) and testifies to God’s “eternal 

power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20). When exposed to such overwhelming truth, it 

would be unnatural to ​not​ respond deeply: this is worship—to be exposed to God and 

respond deeply. Jade Luerssen expounds on this experience splendidly in her essay on 

sacred dance in Judeo-Christian tradition: 

The universe is permeated by rhythm, harmony, and patterned movement—the 

movement of stars through the galaxy, the rotation of the earth, the rising and 
setting of the sun, the seasons, the cycle of birth, growth and death. Therefore, it 
is perfectly natural that man respond deeply and significantly to these ordered 
rhythms that make up his life, his world, and his universe. (1967, p. 1) 
 
She goes on to say that dance has been a traditional way to allow oneself to be overtaken 

by the grandness and depth of God and His creation. In Eastern religions, bleeding over 

into Eastern Christianity, “‘The cyclic whirls of the dance portray… the union of the soul 

with God’” (Ragini as cited in Luerssen, 1967, p. 10). Apocrypha, the Didache (early 

Christian teaching manual), and Origin all reference mystical rituals involving 

formations and dance in the early Church (pp. 27-8). More well known scriptural basis 

for dance as worship includes David dancing “before the Lord with all his might” (2 

Samuel 6:14), the Psalms’ command,​ “Let them praise his name with dancing and make 

music to him​,” (​Psalm 149:3), and the Lord’s promise to “​build you up again, and you, 

Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt… and go out to dance with the joyful” (​Jeremiah 31:4). In the 

Bible, dancing seems to be a natural part of, and arguably response to, human 

flourishing.  

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 Dance is also a strong buffer​ ​against the gnosticism the Church has so easily 

gravitated toward. It so embraces the physical nature of reality that “a dancing gnostic” 

is an oxymoron; one must believe the movement of the body can encapsulate and 

communicate metaphysical truths (Bresnahan, 2017, para. 40), which gnosticism 

ardently rejects. ​“Since the human body was made as the climax of creation, to despise 

it as evil would have been directly against the handiwork of God and also against the 

teaching of Christ… that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (Luerssen, 1967, pp. 

26-7). When we dance, we remind ourselves and proclaim to others without a word that 

the whole of being human is a good, beautiful, and ​meaningful ​thing . If this is true, 

then being more in tune with one’s body fosters human flourishing, which is worship to 

God as we live into what He created us to be. 

Considering dance in practical application reveals its vivid ability to unite people. 

Dancing in teams or crews offers members a highly structured, dedicated family that 

upholds accountability; this kind of environment can be life saving for those in chaotic 

circumstances with unstable relationships. Even without a tumultuous home life, 

studies have found that “imposing structure and constraints on a task... is more likely to 

induce creativity than creating conditions of total freedom” (Sagiv, Arieli, Goldenberg, & 

Goldschmidt, 2009, p. 5). This is because defining structure and limits channels 

exploration more effectively instead of leaving a lack of direction to overwhelm and 

paralyze the creative person (p. 4). In addition to promoting creativity, actively 

attempting to align movements with other human beings actually aligns their brains: 

“during cooperation,...the low-frequency brain waves of the participants become 

synchronised” (Poikonen, 2017, para. 18). This contributes to both flow states in the 

members and group unity. Adding onto the neuroscience, empathy seems to be an 

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element of dance and dance crew cohesion. While being a family member of a crew 

naturally builds empathy through social interactions, this gained empathy also 

“informs our kinesthetic and other appreciative responses,” specifically, the ability to 

understand and appreciate dance; “Here some philosophers...refer to philosophical 

accounts of our bodily connections to the world” (​Bresnahan, 2017,​ ​para. 56). When we 

engage in group activities that heavily involve the body, our empathy toward the 

created order sharpens and allows us to appreciate it better. Without expounding on it, 

this is where the breathtaking operation of mirror neurons connects us to our world and 

to others. 

The unifying nature of dance combined with its freedom from descriptive words 

allows it to transcend cultural barriers, uniting people from vastly different worlds 

through a shared experience of being ​human​ and ​embodied. ​It “is also a powerful tool 

for expressing emotion—one that can cross cultural divides” as all humans understand 

acute emotions and facial expressions, regardless of language and cultural customs 

(Why do we dance?, 2010, para. 3). This effect is fuel to my passion for dance; I long to 

see individuals from opposing backgrounds experience peace and mutual 

understanding through art that connects them paradoxically to themselves and to 

something beyond themselves.  

Specifically, I am passionate about the hip hop and rap culture, both because I 

have personally been creatively empowered through being adopted into a dance family 

and because its underdog nature deeply resonates with me. When hip hop culture 

emerged after the civil rights movements, “‘Authorities took their work as a guerrilla 

war on civility. They were right.’ All of hip-hop was shaped...by the social and political 

upheavals of its time” (Katel, 2007, para. 57-8). Fundamental to this culture is a defiance 

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to oppressive authorities and a call to freedom of creativity and personhood. Although 

the hip hop culture is not solely dance, dancing is currently a significant marker of the 

culture and is highly valued. Here, I wish to discuss how engaging in the hip hop culture 

through dance presents meaningful ways to worship God, unify communities, and 

purify culture.  

It is no secret that modern rap is typically highly offensive far beyond dealing 

with genuine oppression. In general, it is no longer a stand against present danger but a 

romanticizing of rebellion and rights at the cost of others. The root of hip hop lended 

itself to this bent: “There was a time when Malcolm X the liberator was the patron saint 

of hip-hop," says Chicago-based poet Heru Ofori-Atta” (Katel, 2007, para.25). It then 

morphed into a “glorification of violence, sexual exploitation and crime” (para.4) which 

does more to perpetuate stereotypes and segregation of cultures than it does to liberate 

creativity. The main concepts communicated in secular rap are sickeningly shallow and 

self-defeating, yet masses of young people accept these as gospel. I am addressing the 

music of hip hop because dance is not just connected to music, but is a physical response 

to music—to rhythms and emotional content. Hip hop dance cannot be separated from 

the attitudes, motivations, and doctrines of its music. To be a dancer and a dance crew 

as a christian(s) in this tainted context is to communicate starkly deeper truths and 

realities through both the actual dancing and the music fueling the dance.  

Hip hop dancers are in a perfect position to purify the culture around them. 

Christian rap has some of the most theologically rich lyrics and emphasis on spiritual 

narrative of all modern music, which can be put on display and celebrated in dance 

performances. But one of the most impactful purifications to hip hop dance that could 

be made is desexualiztion. Even without considering the lyrics of the music, the 

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majority of hip hop dance is hyper-sexualized, glorifying the body as a play toy and an 

expendable tool to gain attention and pleasure. For many, dance is not primarily about 

being in tune with their bodies or others or conveying any truth, but a means of 

advertising themselves to others as “buyable” while labeling it self-expression. This is 

testified to by “the ever-present young women who are portrayed as rappers' sexual 

playthings, draping themselves around star performers and shaking their booties 

through hundreds of near-pornographic videos” (Katel, 2007, para. 2). To those who 

have only been fed this imagery and secular gospel, witnessing dance that expresses 

real human struggles, joys, and narratives in a unifying way could create a much 

needed tension, promoting critical thinking and personal searching. The journalism site 

CQ Researcher discusses one hip hopper’s realigned thinking after being exposed to 

truth: 

Anti-violence educator and filmmaker Byron Hurt explored this territory in his  
PBS documentary, "Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes." "The more I grew, and  
the more I learned about sexism and violence and homophobia, the more [rap]  
lyrics became unacceptable to me," he says in the film. (para. 19) 
 
Dance crews can and should set an example of respect for other humans, their own 

bodies, and creation. 

Finally, while there is much truth to speak into the genre, the Church also has 

much to gain from considering some of its principles. Hip hop grew out of civil rights 

movements and African American preaching, which lead to “many similarities between 

the gospel of Jesus and the social concerns of many rappers” (Smith/Jackson as cited in 

Opsahl, 2016,​ ​p. 19). Many dancers and crews have invested themselves in protecting the 

weak and supporting international, cross-cultural acceptance. I am inspired when I see 

videos of crews in foreign, sometimes third world, countries who find the exact same joy 

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and flourishing in dance that first worlders do; I am even more inspired to see videos of 

international dance conventions and showcases bringing together dancers from all over 

the world, who may not even speak the same language, to have fun with one another 

and support each other’s skills. I have also personally experienced being a member of an 

international crew in which I was trained by a friend from China, partnered with a 

friend from the Philippines, and taught dance to Koreans, Venezuelans, and Americans. 

In my experience, the more we practiced together, the fewer differences I saw between 

us: their nationality was second to their humanity.  

Daniel White Hodge, a PhD from the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller 

Theological Seminary and the director of the Center for Youth Ministry Studies,  

outlines five areas in which theology has much insight to gain from hip-hop: 1) a 
theology of suffering, 2) a theology of community, 3) a theology of the ‘hip hop 
Jesuz’ [Christ’s multi-ethnic emphasis, both in lineage and in social engagement], 
4) a theology of social action and 5) a theology of the profane [an embrace of the 
culturally offensive]. (Opsahl, 2016, p. 19)  
 
The showy, confident air of hip hop dance can actually serve as a testimony to 

Christians’ surety in God’s promises and guidance. Its aggressiveness can represent 

devotion and passion. Its high levels of group work and love of dance battling can 

promote cooperation and interaction. In addition, the genre favors reappropriation.​ ​“By 

‘reappropriation,’ Hoch means ‘sampling,’ or taking snippets from other people’s work 

and using them in creating something new” (Katel, 2007, para. 44). This encourages 

both creativity and honoring the creativity of previous artists.  

Hip hop dance affords a beautiful contextual opportunity to unite all kinds of 

people—young and old, Christian and secular, urban and suburban, American and 

foreign, etc. Beyond this, dance as an activity wired into our complex faculties worships 

the Creator by embracing and honoring creation, of which we are a part. Dancing allows 

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us to join with the order and rhythms of the universe in a grounded way, and in return 

we receive suspended moments of being caught up in something both firmly within and 

extensively without.    

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 References 

Augustine of Hippo​, On Christian Teaching,​ II. 

Bresnahan, A. (Winter 2017 Edition). The philosophy of dance. In ​The Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy.​ Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Retrieved from  

<https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dance/> 

Dingfelder, S. F. (2010). Dance, dance evolution: Psychologists’ research on the  

power of movement is giving us insight into why we first danced and how  

cultures built on that ancient impulse. ​Monitor​, 41(4), 40. 

Guthrie, S. R. (2011). ​Creator Spirit.​ Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. 

Katel, P. (2007, June 15). Debating hip-hop. ​CQ Researcher,​ ​17​, pp. 529-552. Retrieved from  

<http://library.cqpress.com> 

Luerssen, J. (1967). ​The evolution of sacred dance in the Judeo-Christian tradition.​ Illinois  

Wesleyan University: Bloomington, Illinois. 

Poikonen, H. (2017). A dan​cer’s brain de​vel​ops in a unique way. ​University of Helsinki.

Retreived from <https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/health/a-dancers-brain- 

develops-in-a-unique-way> 

Sagiv, L., Arieli, S., Goldenberg, J., & Goldschmidt., A. (2009). Structure and  

freedom in creativity: The interplay between externally imposed structure and 

personal cognitive style. ​Journal of Organizational Behavior​. Published online in 

Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/job.664  

Why do we dance? (2010). 41(4). Retrieved from <https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/  

04/dance-research.aspx> 

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