Topic: Movement - Dance
John Wesley’s recommendations for a "more excellent way," discussed in the post for 30 October 2018, [1] took on new significance when the quest for contact with the Holy Spirit moved beyond Phoebe Palmer’s sense of well being to speaking in tongues. [2]
He had begun by telling his readers the reason "the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost" mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28 were no longer reported was the church had become conventionalized by Constantine. The only way to bring their return was to follow the better method of living alluded to in 1 Corinthians 12:31. [3]
While Holiness and Pentecostal groups differed in what was acceptable evidence for a spiritual gift, they both created lists that defined acceptable behavior. Everything condemned by Wesley became taboo. By the time Earl Paulk was growing up in the Spurling-Tomlinson Church of God, the list had been expanded to exclude participation in high school sports. [4]
Celibacy was not proposed by Wesley, but his rules made courtship difficult. Play parties emerged as an alternative form of the old round dances mentioned in the post for 4 October 2018. Their primary characteristics were the music was sung by the dancers, and the steps did not include the physical contact of the waist swing. [5]
Benjamin Botkin believed they arose in isolated areas where musicians were scarce, and that the concerns of Protestant evangelists were secondary. [6] He noted, some ministers accepted them, and others did not, [7] but they universally withered when the population of an area increased. [8] He also noted that, like the slaves mentioned in the post for 4 October 2018, the clergy accepted dances if they were taught in gym classes as exercises. [9]
Religious leaders like Lynn Rohrbough began suggesting play parties for youth group meetings in the 1930s, [10] but they failed to capture the interest of most. They were been kept alive by folk-dance revivalists.
Dean Ottinger adapted Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" for a dance that was intended to introduce Sufi philosophy, but used the movements of a singing game. The participants at a workshop sponsored by the Community United Church of Christ in Boulder, Colorado, in 2006 didn’t mix when they formed a circle. Men stood on one side, and women on the other, with couples interspersed.
The steps were simple. They held hands and took a wide step to the left with a pause, followed by another step to the left. After repeating that to the right, they took several steps into the center with their hands crossed over their chests. They stepped back and took up hands in a circle to repeat the combination.
The singing was equally simple. They repeated two verses of Hopkins’ song following directions called out by Ottinger. He stood in the center beating a drum head. Dick Levison also stood in the center where he strummed a guitar to set the pace. The pace never changed.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: dancers
Vocal Director: Dean Ottinger
Instrumental Accompaniment: none
Rhythm Accompaniment: Dick Levison, guitar; Dean Ottinger, drum head
Credits
None given
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: needed time, come by here
Vocabulary
Pronoun: none
Term for Deity: Jesus
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: open-ended
Verse Repetition Pattern: repetitions of two verses called out by Ottinger
Ending: none
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: one syllable to one note; a couple iterations were hummed.
Vocal-Rhythm Dynamics: a steel-stringed guitar was strummed to create the basic rhythm
Notes on Performance
Occasion: workshop
Location: Community United Church of Christ, Boulder, Colorado
Microphones: none
Clothing: casual
Notes on Performers
Dances of Universal Peace was organized as a Sufi dance order in San Francisco by Samuel L. Lewis, a protégée of Ruth St. Denis. [11] His followers created a formal organization in 1982 that certified leaders and dance circles. [12]
The Community United Church of Christ maintained a sanctioned dance circle. [13] It was affiliated with the descendent denomination of the Puritan’s Congregational Church, but indicated it had become "a progressive, Christian fellowship of spiritual seekers who believe there are many paths to God." [14] Its pastor was ordained as "a liberal Southern Baptist pastor in 1979," but left the ministry to work with the National Education Association. Lee Berg returned to the ministry for the UCC in 2012. [15]
Ottinger became interested in Sufism when he was a student at the University of Kansas around 1976. He then embarked on more serious study, taking the name Allaudin Ottinger and obtaining the rank of a murshid, or spiritual teacher. He settled in his native Kansas City. [16]
Levison, the guitar player, took the name Habib.
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by madzub on 23 January 2006.
End Notes
1. John Wesley. "Sermon XL." The Arminian Magazine 10:341-346:July 1787 and 10:398-406:August 1787. See the post for 30 October 2018 for details on its availability.
2. For more on Palmer and the men who introduced speaking in tongues, see the post for 7 December 2017.
3. Wesley, July. 341.
4. Paulk was discussed in the post for 14 October 2018. "According to his biography, Earl Jr. went out for football a number of times. He would make the team, only to quit when his father discovered what he had done. Finally, he was allowed to participate in the ‘low profile’ sport of track and field. His father, however, became very displeased when Earl Jr. received considerable public notoriety for his abilities. Earl Senior’s concern was that the publicity would reflect poorly upon the denomination." (Scott Thumma. "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: Megachurches in Modern American Society." PhD dissertation. Emory University, 1996. Chapter 2, 15.)
5. B. A. Botkin. The American Play-Party Song. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1963 edition. 23.
6. Botkin. 19 and 26.
7. Botkin. 21.
8. Botkin. 19-20.
9. Botkin. 22.
10. Camp Songs. 58, 483-484, 522-523.
11. St. Denis was discussed in the post for 14 October 2018.
12. "Sufi Ruhaniat International." Dances of Universal Peace website. Neil Douglas-Klotz and Tasnim Fernandez organized the international network in 1982. (Wikipedia. "Dances of Universal Peace.")
13. "All Ongoing Dance Circles."
14. "About Community United Church of Christ." Its website
15. "Interim Pastor." Church website
16. "Murshid Allaudin Ottinger." Ruhaniat website.
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