VBU's main focus on the dance is to provide the correct and proper way to minister dance
from the “word” of the bible in scripture. We tend to update, teach, enhance, encourage, uplift, promote, and
provide dancers with the "Word" from the Lord on the dance. My goal is to take back the dance and place it in its rightful
place, the "church". Our mission is to minister dance to the church that they may be delivered from their bondages, to tear
down strongholds, to provide a holy dance and open the doors for praise and worship. Our goal is to open the eyes of the saints
and show them its o.k. to praise God without shame. We're here to usher in the Holy Spirit, to let His presence come forth
so we may be healed and delivered. Our focus is to “minister” the dance instead of “dancing the dance”. We’re taking back everything we allowed
the enemy to take from us!
What Is The Dance All About?
There are two spiritual requirements to be
a praise dancer
1.You must know without a doubt the Lord Jesus Christ called you to minister
dance unto Him and His people.
2. A willingness to empty self so you
can become full of the Lord.
Ministering dance is not a feeling, it's not
something you want to do because you danced in the world and you think you'll be good at it, or you do it because you like
to dance. It's not something you do because the garments are shiny and pretty or because you'll be in the spotlight during
praise and worship service. It's a MINISTRY!
You're affecting people lives when you put on the garments of praise. This ministry should be a calling from the Master and
only Him.
Ability, training, talent or gracefulness aren't requirements,
just a heart that truly want to worship the Lord. They're spiritual tools to perfect your dance. You always want to give the
King the best of yourself at all times. However, don’t let training, talent and ability get in the way, because it
can be a distraction satan uses to bring pride into the dance instead of a heart of worship. Training is very helpful;
it's necessary to learn. As a team and as a church, we should desire the spirit of excellence be upon all we do. And while
technique is important, ultimately our heart towards the Lord will be the greatest determining factor in the level
of anointing we operate under. If we have no anointing, we have no power, and there will be no fruit! When is there is no
fruit, no one can prosper from your dance.
How Do We Dance?
David didn't just dance; he danced with all his might because
he recognized he was in the presence of the Great I Am and in His presence there is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11)
Can you imagine being so caught up in the presence of the Lord
bringing forth-radical praise? Can you imagine being so caught up in the Holy Spirit you lose total control of yourself? Can
you imagine letting God direct your steps? Can you imagine someone getting delivered because you let God use you in dance?
That's what dance is all about! It's about Jesus, not about you!
The Heart of the Praise Dancer
The praise dancer should possess certain spiritual qualities.
In my opinion, you must be:
A. A Praiser
B. A Worshipper
C. Anointed
D. Dedicated and Committed
E. Have a heart for Christ
F. Be Holy-Ghost filled
G. Must be pure and holy
You should also:
H. Exercise
I. Study your Bible on a regular
basis
J. Attend dance practice (we want
to be on one accord)
K. Get extra training (perfect your moves)
L. Attend church services on a regular
basis
M. Know the word and its meaning of ministering dance
N. Learn spiritual sign language (interpret the
word)
Remember,
Prayer, Praise and Practice brings power, peace and perfection. Let's be the very best we can for the Lord so He'll be
glorified and magnified as He flows through us in dance.
Spiritual Garments
Do
you know the colors of your garments have a meaning?
Red- Blood, Atonement
White-Purity
Pink- Right Relationships
Black -Death, Sin
Gold- Glory of God, Divine Nature
Purple -Royalty,
Kingship
Blue -Heavenlies,
Holy Spirit
Green -Maturity
in Christ, New Growth, Life Everlasting
Silver -Redemption,
Salvation
Iridescent
-Overcoming
Orange -Praise
Violet
-Invisible, Supernatural
Yellow -Shekinah
Glory
Red, Orange and Yellow symbolizes
the fire of the Holy Spirit, which comes to purify us. When these colors are worn together, it's AWESOME!
Your dance
attire should consist of: leotard (long sleeve), overlay or angel blouse or long sleeve blouse, dance pants (long),
tights or full-body camisole body tights, full circle skirt (ankle length) or lyrical dress (ankle length), headband (optional),
and jazz shoes. Kneepads come in handy for excessive kneeling especially during practice. There are other items that
can be used to praise the Lord such as: tambourines, praise flags, banners, praise scarves, billowing, and signs.
Sign language is a must! Praise Dance is expressed through the word and by the word; you should take a course in spiritual
sign language. All words have a meaning and sign behind it. Please don’t become discouraged; if you were taking a course
in college, you're required to buy books and supplies to complete the course. So, count it all joy, it pays off in the end!
There is no reward greater than the Lord's!
What
is the proper name for my praise garment and its meaning?
Rejoice: In Greek
it means to exalt and to make merry, in Hebrew it means to make glad and dancing.
Joy: In Greek
it means to leap, in Hebrew it means to leap and dance
Study scriptures
2Timothy 2:15, I Peter 2:9. In Exodus 32:17-18, you'll find an example of a victory dance being led by
Miriam. In Exodus 28th, it's clear and specific about the garments that Aaron and his sons wore when entering into the
temple to minister unto the Lord. Exodus 28:2, God told Moses that the garments were for beauty and glory.
He called them "Holy". The pieces of the priestly garments are: breastplate, an ephod, a robe, broidered coat (coat of ephod),
a mitre (turban), girdle (sash) and linen breeches.
Breastplate: covers the
heart
Ephod: speaks of
priestly ministry; the overlays or ephods we wear today are symbolic of this biblical piece
Robe: usually made
of linen, is a basic item all priests and under priests wore. Linen stands for "righteous". The ankle length skirts we wear
to dance before the Lord today is a symbolic of this piece.
Coat
of Ephod: speaks of the fruit of the spirit. At the end of the coat of the ephod were pomegranate fruit and belts. This represents
the fruit (pomegranate) and speaking in tongues (noise of the bells).
Turban: speaks of
taking on the mind of Christ; the headbands and headpieces we wear today are a type of this biblical piece
Sash: speaks of
putting on the belt of truth, Ephesians 6:10, referring to the armor of God; the sequin or cloth belts we wear today
speaks of this biblical piece
Linen
Breeches: speaks of Christ; it's the only piece that the priest had to step into; all the other pieces came over the head.
The Lord told Aaron to wear linen breeches to cover his nakedness when he ministered before the Lord in the tabernacle.
Praise Dancers
are very important to a ministry/church. If you're called to minister dance make sure it's in line with the word of God. Make
sure you're leading by example and remember, "You're a weapon of warfare and mighty through God to tear down the strongholds
of the enemy's camp!" I pray for you as you enter the temple
of God, walking, leaping and praising our awesome Savior, Jesus Christ!
Luke 6:23 Rejoice
ye in that day and leap for joy; for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the liken manner did their fathers unto
the prophets.
John 4:23-24
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the
kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.
The Other Side
Saints, Can
we talk? The downside to ministering praise dance is usually (1) the praise and worship team don’t acknowledge
you (2) the choir members don’t speak to you (3) the Pastor gives everyone credit in the ministry except you (4)
the members don’t know you exist, they pay attention to the choir and praise/worship team or whomever the pastor acknowledges.
Why is this?
Well, I think most people don’t believe in dancing in church. The reason for this is because people have taken the holy
dance out of context. We have crossed the lines, mixing worldly dance with the holy dance. Some
of us are dancing in church like we do at the club! We're throwing our hips, the youth are doing the latest hip-hop moves,
and we're putting more worldly moves in our dance than necessary. I want you to ask yourself these questions, think about
it before you answer.
*When David
danced, how do you imagine him dancing? *If Jesus were to praise his Father, would he dance the electric
slide? The ricky bobby? How about the cabbage patch? Or the stanky leg? Or walk it like a dog? Or drop it like it's hot! *Or do you
think the Lord would appreciate it if you threw up the east coast, west coast sign?
Explain to
me how God gets the glory? Explain to me how this is acceptable in His sight! Let's be for real! I fail to see how my
precious Lord would receive glory from it. Well, you might say, what if it comes from the heart? Well, the word says light
and darkness doesn’t mix! The word says you cannot serve two masters! If God approved of this, all of us would go to
heaven; we wouldn’t have anything to give up. We could live the same lives and wake up in heaven! Jesus died on the
cross for our sins that we may have eternal life. He died on the cross so we'll have a chance to straighten up our mess and
live eternally in heaven with Him.
What do I
say about not being acknowledged by the body of Christ? I say, who cares? God called you to dance, not the people! You're
ministering dance unto the Lord for His blessings, not the body of Christ. David didn't care who looked on while he praised
God, so why should you? Of course we want the Pastor to say "Give the Praise Dancers a hand of praise, they are a blessing
to us", instead of him always saying, "How about that choir?" or How about the "Praise and Worship Team?" Yes, you're a part
of praise and worship, yes you spend hundreds of dollars to pay for your dance attire, yes, you get up early like they do
to be there on time, but it's o.k. When one person from the body of Christ take the time out to tell you how you blessed
them in dance is the most wonderful feeling in the world! Your prayers should be that someone is delivered; someone will
let go and let God because you encouraged them through your holy dance. That's all the acknowledgement you need. If God
is for you, who can be against you!
Sign Language for the Praise Dancer is slightly different from Sign Language for the hearing impaired. We use our hands,
body and facial gestures differently. Most importantly some sign language is the same as signing such as the sign: name, cry, praise,
heaven, holy, etc. It’s important for the dancer to learn sign language and be creative when using it in the dance.
Billowing is absolutely a must have in your dance ministry. It’s as beautiful
as the streamers and scarves. It should also be five yards or longer, the longer the billow cloth, the prettier it is.
It’s more effective when being used to worship the Lord in dance. You can make letters with the billow cloth, dance
with it, etc. You should be creative when using it.
Banners are beautiful. They usually contain the wording of
the song you’re ministering to. It’s a wonderful way to express what you’re saying by actually seeing the
beautiful work of the banner. The banners can be used for both praise and worship, but of course most beautiful when
used during worship. Listed below are a few vendors who sell banners. Go to the internet and Google "praise banners".
