As a little girl, I was afraid. My parents meant well but their alcohol and fighting framed my emotions. Then I began to take dance lessons. Movement class kept my heart soft and became a refuge for my mind, body and spirit. At that time, I didn’t know how to articulate the interior experiences that flowed out of me but I do now. Through dance, I began to worship God with all of me activated. And that faith embodiment became a refuge that channeled healthy choices. Let’s fast-forward 50 years. It’s the 21 st century and the cultural dance environment has morphed into 2 distinct options for children: healthy versus unhealthy dance. I first began to notice distortion in dance over 12 years ago. A young woman invited me to a university dance concert. I knew her as a little girl and I went to support her. But the concert was troubling. There was a lot of sexualized dance accompanied by a lot of hooting and hollering during 2 hours of dance presentations. I bought a ticket for the same event the next year and the objectified choreography was even worse. Then I began to notice more changes in dance, especially for children under 12. When I attended dance recitals to support the young dancers in the Christian dance ministry I direct, I began to see more and more sexual movement and less and less creative art. But let me clarify. I love dance and I’m happy to say that there are lots of healthy dance educators. My romance with dance led me to receive a BA in modern dance many years ago and to encourage my two granddaughters to enroll in a wonderful dance studio staffed with committed dance educators and live pianists who engage children with plenty of age-appropriate creativity. On the other hand, I have described unhealthy dance studio options that twist movement into sexual objectification. That’s why I need your help. I’m inviting you to be part of a newly formed national DA:NCE team to protect children from an unsafe dance environment. There’s no membership fee, only protection for children who cannot speak for themselves. You can be on my team because most of you know a child or are aware of a child under 12 in dance who participates someplace in your community, at your church, in your neighborhood, your school, or in your family. And if that's true, I'd like to present you with research that shows the differences between healthy dance and unhealthy dance. Last month my website released several materials to provide the tools to be on the DA:NCE team. A short video showing the problem of sexualization in children’s dance. Choose between a PG or R rated research-based 30 minute video that has been designed to bring awareness and education in dance so that children are not exploited. Team strategy provides children with healthy dance options; it does not normalize unhealthy, sexual dance movements for our youngest citizens. In case any team member would like to speak out on this topic, I also have a free slide share powerpoint that anyone in the country can use online to give a presentation to build awareness around healthy versus unhealthy dance in their local town. One more encouragement. Join YPAD (ypad4change.org). It's a national organization that is working to certify dance studios with healthy movement criteria. Yea YPAD! Go, go, go… So DA:NCE team members, let’s network! All you have to do is to share this information with your local circle of friends, neighbors and family members. And oh yes…please share the 4 minute video on Facebook and use the presentations to offer community talks to the many others in this country who love children and want them growing up in a protected and nurturing culture. Remember this truth. Sexualized dance for children disfigures age-appropriate movement options. It distorts the beauty of healthy dance that worked so powerfully in my childhood. I want every child in this country and in the world to experience age-appropriate movement as I did. In the dance studio, I was safe. I could create and express my feelings through healthy movement without judgment. Dance class integrated my mind, body and spirit with joy and started me on the road to become comfortable with me. And I want every child’s personality to embrace that same truth. That’s what led me to create DA:NCE, to design online resources, and to write this blog. Join me! Let’s go team… The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dance Ministry Archives - Soul to Sole Choreography

A Premise for Catching my Breath

Every time I see people ‘dance/move’ in appropriate, God-honoring ways, it catches my breath because it’s worship. Of course, underlying that opinion is a premise I have. Everybody is a dancer because everybody moves in lifestyle choreography. That doesn’t discount the value of trained, technical dancers. It just means that the dance family is larger than any of us expect it to be. It’s rare to see the culture evaluate that premise but I’d like to encourage you to do just that. Even if you didn’t attend the worship workshop on scripture choreography a few weeks ago and create within that context, think about what kind of lifestyle dances you choreograph. Is your morning movement crafted with anger or peace? [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:26:28-08:00October 18th, 2017|

Welcome to Scripture Choreography!

One of the easiest and most effective ways to combine movement & dance ministry with trained and untrained dancers is scripture choreography; it high-lights favorite scripture verses and then uses them as the foundation for choreography accompanied by words. Not only do we hear specific verses as they are read, but we SEE them come to life; this movement expression often captivates the hearts of onlookers (as well as the participants themselves). The technique is a win for embodied faith. How does this happen? For many years, I have used a focused scripture verse to either end or begin dance rehearsal with the group that I am leading; that’s what makes it so specific and so special. It’s always a [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:27:54-08:00September 15th, 2017|

Choices: Age-Appropriate Children’s Dance Produces Positive Results with DA:NCE

Hi all- Dance is a wonderful art form. Let's cheer-lead the positives in dance with 3 articles that can show how all of us can enjoy the positive benefits of children's dance: Learn about how movement helps children deal with stress: http://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/children-s-traditional-dance-performance-was-perfect-cure-for-exam-stress-1-8556239. Then read a second article: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/patients-at-st-josephs-childrens-hospital-in-tampa-get-a-prom-of-their-very-own-300461131.html to hear about the healing components of dance from a hospital perspective. Last, enjoy another wonderful article about story-telling through dance: http://www.mi-reporter.com/life/island-youth-ballet-presents-excerpts-from-cinderella/ May I remind you that there are many terrific dance studios and many wonderful dance educators who know how to work with children and teach dance in transforming and positive ways but parents need to understand that dance studios have a variety of philosophies. So adults, reflect and make a wise choice(like you need to [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:30:50-08:00June 20th, 2017|

Movieguide Article: A Bipartisan Issue

Hi all- Good stuff going on! I told you that I would let you know when movieguide published my article re: DA:NCE. Take a peek! And yes, readers presented me with some thoughtful responses to my article. Look below to read a few of them: Jadon · My mom watches Dance Moms and Bring It and those shows and the inappropriate costumes and choreography that the girls wear and do plus the fakeness and staged unhealthy conflict makes me feel uncomfortable. This is the direction dance for young girls is going and it kinda upsets me, especially since the shows just influence people further. I remember when I was taking dance classes in 2009 when I was 12 and our practice and recital wear were [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:31:55-08:00May 20th, 2017|

Washington(and Cuba and Birmingham) Update

Hola! I’m back from a wonderful trip that I took to Washington DC concerning DA:NCE (and then on to Cuba and Birmingham Alabama-look at the pictures below where I went to see the Cuban Ballet and later observed a ballet class that my grand daughter was in). On March 20, 2017, I attended a meeting at the Capitol Building Auditorium called ‘The Freedom from Sexploitation Agenda.’ There, speakers defined the public health issue of sexual exploitation that has changed the cultural landscape. I also attended meetings with Arina Grossu Director, Center for Human Dignity of the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America with intern Chaney Mullins, Melissa Henson Program Director of Parents TV Council, President Patrick Trueman and and Executive Director Dawn Hawkins [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:33:13-08:00April 21st, 2017|

‘La La Land’ to Genesis?

‘La La Land’ is a great reason to understand why dance ministry can be successful in the church as well as the way that it has been welcomed in film." ‘La La Land’ shows that you actually don’t have to have professional dancers with brilliant technique for a dance pairing to work. What is dancing but full body, kinetic expression exploding outward for everyone to see?”[LA Times dance critic Laura Bleiberg in an article she wrote on 1.17.17 called ‘All You Need is Dance’]. Movement speaks with power when the right tools access the organic[soul to sole] foundation of what is created. That’s why I feel awed when I see both trained and untrained dancers choreographed to portray the Gospel. [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:33:59-08:00February 28th, 2017|

‘La La Land’ Lights Up the Heart

There's lots of positive buzz about the use of dance in ‘La La Land’. Choreographer Mandy Moore got it right. The joy of movement pulls us into the story. That's a happy dance for lots of reasons. So let me ask you some questions. Why did that happen? Was it because of a high level of technique and dance experience from the dancers, or was it because the choreography was clearly defined with dance movement that intersected within the technical range of its stars? As a dance educator, I believe that the success of ‘La La Land’ was achieved because of choreographic clarity combined with a strategic access into the organic movement base of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Dance [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:34:54-08:00February 3rd, 2017|

Immanuel, God with me: A Christmas & New Year’s Reflection

Matt 1:23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which means, "God with us." I am thankful that God has been with me this past year. He’s there, with his finger on my heart. Working on the Christmas dance at our church has renewed my hope as I look to Jesus in all kinds of circumstances. Sitting before the fireplace one evening in December, I had a moment of reflection. Immanuel came that first Christmas but most people did not see him. They were busy with dance ministry, business challenges, family dynamics, and the ever-changing political landscape. I can relate. I excel at missing the point of Christmas. But [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:35:46-08:00December 28th, 2016|

DA:NCE to Y.P.A.D. Membership

In October I wrote you about joining the DA:NCE team, a team of people who love the art of dance and who love children. This winning team spreads movement education and awareness to protect young children from hyper-sexualization in dance through a grass-roots effort. The cultural reality of the sexual objectification of our youngest citizens actually bleeds into a larger picture. We live in a pornified culture that experts label a public health issue. Last month’s blog gave internet links to materials that I released at the NCOSE(National Center on Sexual Exploitation) Conference in Houston Texas providing awareness on this important topic. If you haven’t already done so, check them out: 4 minute video: https://www.soultosolechoreography.org/dance-awareness-2/ Additional resources include an online [...]

By Mary Bawden|2020-02-13T20:19:42-08:00November 29th, 2016|

Join the DA:NCE Team

As a little girl, I was afraid. My parents meant well but their alcohol and fighting framed my emotions. Then I began to take dance lessons. Movement class kept my heart soft and became a refuge for my mind, body and spirit. At that time, I didn’t know how to articulate the interior experiences that flowed out of me but I do now. Through dance, I began to worship God with all of me activated. And that faith embodiment became a refuge that channeled healthy choices. Let’s fast-forward 50 years. It’s the 21st century and the cultural dance environment has morphed into 2 distinct options for children: healthy versus unhealthy dance. I first began to notice distortion in dance over [...]

By Mary Bawden|2018-02-07T10:37:21-08:00October 28th, 2016|