What is Prophetic Dance?
“Someone once asked me a question: “What is the difference between trained dancers and prophetic dancers?””
First of all I want to break down the misconception that prophetic dance equals spontaneous (non-choreographed) dance.
Prophecy is primarily about hearing the heartbeat of God and expressing it. Being in tune with the Holy Spirit as He shows us the heart of the Father and teaches us to communicate it to others. In the same way as we can ‘interpret’ the heart of God with our words, we can do the same with movements.
When people do random improvised dance without any connection with God, it’s far from prophetic dance. It’s their own heart and soul being expressed, which in it’s best can be beautiful, and in it’s worst a chaotic mess…but the spontaneity in dance does not make it prophetic.
At the same time there’s a misconception that choreographed dance can’t be prophetic, which is not true either. When someone choreographs a piece from the place of connection with God’s heart, it can carry and release a powerful prophetic anointing.
One of the things that makes me feel upset is when people hear the words “dance ministry” and they immediately associate it with dance that’s done poorly, at a skill level that is sort of embarrassing.
I believe God wants us to be people of excellence in every area. In order to “make His praise glorious” (Psalm 66:2), we need to be willing to grow and develop our craft. I always encourage my dancers to take technique classes and push themselves to grow creatively, artistically, and in their dance technique. But excellence is so much more than just developing our skills. We need excellence of heart, excellence of attitude, and excellence in hosting and carrying the presence of God and communicating His heart to others.
I like the definition Wikipedia gives the word excellence: “Excellence is a talent or quality, which is unusually good and so surpasses ordinary standards”. As people of God, we are not called to be ordinary, but to surpass all ordinary standards. We are called to live supernatural lives and carry the breath of Heaven in everything we do. The excellence that comes from the presence of God in us should be visible and tangible to people around us.
When looking for dancers for ministry teams, I look for people who have excellence written all over them.
They have an excellent attitude; they are teachable and willing to serve a bigger vision than themselves. They are people who are willing to grow in every area—I don’t require anyone to be on a professional level in dance technique, but I do want everyone to be willing to grow and develop their skills.
They are people who are running hard after God, but I’m not talking about striving or perfectionism. Those are counterfeits of excellence, caused by religion and legalism. True excellence comes from God’s presence and from His love. The Bible doesn’t actually use the word excellence, but 1 Corinthians introduces the famous chapter on love with the words: “And now I will show you the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31b). This most excellent way is love.
Real excellence is always rooted in love. If we want to operate in true excellence, we need to always stay motivated by love. This applies not only while operating in the spiritual gifts, like this passage is referring to, but in every area of our lives.
When we talk about prophetic dance, operating in love is the foundation of it all, because we can’t communicate God’s heart without understanding His character.
God is love. It’s not only what He does, but who He is. So, we have to be continually filled with His love, if we are going to be expressing His heart to others. According to the New Testament prophecy is meant for “strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” (1 Cor.14:3)
All prophecy should also glorify Jesus, just like it says in the book of Revelation: “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10b) When we get more deeply rooted and grounded in Christ, we start maturing also in the prophetic. As we fall more in love with Jesus, feeling His heart and hearing His voice becomes natural for us.
If you are interested in reading more about the Biblical foundation for prophetic dance, there’s a whole chapter on this topic in my book, Encountering God Through Dance. Just like in other areas, we need to practice moving in the prophetic in order to learn and grow. In my second book, Dance Pastor, there are some examples of the exercises I have been using for the dancers to grow in the prophetic—in hearing God’s heart and communicating it.
