REACHING OUT: DIMENSIONS IN SACRED DANCE
Recently Jane Siarny, a former member of Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, put together a concert of sacred dances for the Sacred Dance Guild. Performed at Mundelein College, it was a fascinating example of how music and movement can unite a diverse group. This writer, who has no particular religious convictions, was moved by the commitment and devotion expressed in these dances. The most theatrically effective were performed by Siarny and Maggie Kast, gifted professional artists; and although their dances are based in Christian faith, these were the most ecumenical in spirit and style.
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Whether one can experience dance as a part of religion must depend largely on one’s own approach to the spiritual. But for those of us who believe that humanity’s genius is expressed in the poetry of the human body as it responds to life, that may well be a profound religious experience in itself.
