Tag Archives: ring dance

Who were the Shepherds in the Christmas Story?

The Christmas story from Luke 2 reads in part: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the [...]

“The Cosmic Ring-Dance of the Angels” by Frederick M. Huchel

Some of you may remember my paper The Genesis of the Round Dance that I posted early in the life of TempleStudy.com.  It was a paper I wrote for a BYU Dance Department Symposium a few years ago that addressed the ancient ubiquitous practice of ring dancing, particularly as connected with religious worship and prayer.  [...]

The Genesis of the Round Dance

Round dances, through all ages of time and all locations of the world, display striking similarities in structure and theme. This is strong evidence that they share a common origin. These dances are usually quite religious in nature and I propose that round dances, like other widespread yet similar ritual motifs found scattered across the [...]

The Genesis of the Round Dance – Part 6

(Continued from Part 5) Dancing in Worship If this round dancing in the prayer circle seems peculiar, recall Lehi’s vision at the beginning of The Book of Mormon, where he sees God on his throne “surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God”. Nibley comments: Surrounding concourses are [...]

The Genesis of the Round Dance – Part 5

(Continued from Part 4) Religion and Dance Many scholars have described dance in terms of religion. Kraus describes it among the ancients as being used “as a means of communication with the forces of nature – for becoming one with the gods,” and as “a major form of religious ritual . . . a means [...]

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