Merlla McLaughlin
Transformations of Myth Through Time
Bruce Siggson, Instructor
Rough Draft
November 16, 1997
Copyright 1997 Merlla Mc Laughlin
Wherever a dancer stands is holy ground. -- Martha Graham
Sensing the Sacred by Dancing the Divine
Throughout the ages of human history and prehistory,
humankind
has sought meaning in its physical and spiritual existence.
Who
am I? Why am I here? Am I flesh and bone, or am I the energy
that
animates it? Ancient artifacts suggest even the earliest
humans
found meaning and significance in the human form. For
example,
speculations abound on the possible importance of small,
round-
bodied female figurines dating from around 18,000 B.C. found
from
Western Europe all across Eurasia to the borders of
present-day
China. (Campbell, 12-14) That some of them were found in what
we
would consider now as altar situations seems to suggest
that
worship and ritual were in place even then. Perhaps they
formed
the ancient foundations for millennia of religions, sacred
practices, and the use of ritual to access the divine. But in
the
modern era, as we explore the surface of Mars and face the
growing likelihood that other universes exist than our own,
how
can one still find significance in the human form? What,
indeed,
does the body have to do with the spirit, or with the sacred?
And
is there any method, short of years of devoted yoga practice,
of
using it to unify with the highest energy of the cosmos, to
momentarily lose the personality or the ego, and join with
all
Being-ness?
Maybe we have forgotten something our species once lived
every
day. Maybe, by reviewing a bit of our richly textured past,
we
can get a clearer picture of why the way we move our bodies
today
carries significance. Then, when we arrive again at the
present
day, we will have a better means to examine the obstacles and
the
opportunities of union with the sacred by moving the body
in
dance.
In our current age, to dance a problem to seek its resolution
may
seem strange, but how much stranger is it to imagine a group
of
early hunters, fearful that they may not survive an
impending
hunt, putting their fears and their hopes into physical
movement,
into dance? Yet that is what they did, conquering the
threatening
evil by transcending the personality with a state of
ecstasy
(Navaretta, 1). By dancing, they discovered the state of
trance
which connected them with a sense of journeying in spirit.
(Eliade 451) In that sense, it could be argued that dance was
the
first religious practice (Kent and Tucker 72).
Within the scope of history, many dances are still practiced
in
India and Indonesia which sprang from Hinduism and Buddhism.
One
of these is the dance of Hanuman, the heroic Hindu monkey
general. He is one of many archetypal characters whose re-
creations are depicted across the globe, representations of
loyalty, courage, honesty, and healing (Ginn 60). Another is
the
tribal chief and high priest of a region in Malaita,
Solomon
Islands. Semi-divine, his highest role is to watch over the
transition from death to ancestral spirit, considered the
male
spiritual equivalent to childbirth (Ginn 82). Many of the
Hindu
and Buddhist deities and mythical characters are frequently
depicted dancing . Shiva, the male deity of
undifferentiated
consciousness, dances (Campbell 163), as do Vairochana,
Akshobhya, and the female Dakinis (Campbell 183). Many of
the
divine and human characters of the Hindu epic story
Mahabharata
are brought to life in dance and costume (Ginn 173). A
meticulously trained group of dancers are needed to portray
the
dances of the Bharat Nhatyam, which are both demanding and
subtle. It formerly was performed in the temples of India
by
ceremonial dancers (Navaretta 6). Says author Victoria
Ginn,
Drawn from myth, history, religion, the inner sanctums of
the
spirit, contemporary figures and events, these characters
are
both dancers personifying, and in some instances actually
embodying, aspects of perfection--spiritual and physical
beauty,
grace, strength, truth--and serve as vivid representations of
the
human aspiration to the divine. (Ginn 60)
Not all characters remembered in dance are heroic, however.
Some
contain the negative aspects of personality, such as Thosakan
in
Central Thailand, the local incarnation of demonic power. As
the
hero, Rama, conquers him, Rama realizes that Thosakan is only
a
part of himself (Ginn 157). This resolution of dualities,
the
hero and the villain, the light and the dark, the good and
the
evil, are essential in unifying the self in dance (Bryant),
just
as it is in yoga (Campbell 163).
The seeking of this unity brings an air of sanctity to dance.
But
in western civilization, and in the United States in
particular,
dance has been considered almost wholly secular, participated
in
for pure enjoyment or for courtship, or presented as spectacle
to
be passively watched. However, a few people have managed to
pull
along the threads of dance dedicated to the divine, tied
through
the generations, linking us with a past too ancient for
explanation.
In the early- to mid-1900 s choreographers Ruth St. Denis and
Ted
Shawn brought sacred dance into church services (Kent and
Tucker
72), also performing in India and returning to incorporate
Indian
dance in their own creations (Melwani 2). Samuel Lewis, the
first
American-born Sufi master, creator of the Dances of
Universal
Peace, said of St. Denis, Ruth St. Denis has the faculty of
drawing music and dance right out of the cosmos, out of the
heart
of God. She taught me this faculty." (ancestor.html) Formerly
a
member of the Denishawn Dance Company (Navaretta 8), Martha
Graham later explored religious tradition and mythology in
her
more than 200 works of choreography, which debuted from
1926
through 1990 (Horosko 172-185). A member of her company,
Jean
Erdman, married Joseph Campbell in 1938 and together they
founded
the Theater of the Open Eye in 1972 in New York City,
continuing
the spiritual exploration of dance and other performance
art
(NICampbell.html). Alvin Ailey created the
spiritually-oriented
Revelations, the signature piece for the Alvin Ailey Dance
Company. Nationwide, liturgical dance, which is performed in
a
church as part of the worship service, is used most popularly
in
re-creating the Nativity, but seems to be enjoying a widening
of
appeal and use (Kent and Tucker 73-74). Greater understanding
of
religious events or mythological characters may be possible
by
watching such performances than is possible by solely
studying
the words written about them. However, unless the people
watching
are as involved in the story as are the dancers themselves,
much
of the emotional and spiritual message is lost in the process
of
performance, as it seems to be human nature to judge, which is
an
intellectual activity, exclusive of emotion and spirit.
Using dance as any kind of performance removes the audience
from
the performers. It objectifies the message. That is
expected
with, let s say, Swan Lake, but sacred dance, by its very
character, must be experienced to be appreciated. It is an
offering of the naked self (by this I mean without the
clothing
of the ego, or the personality) to the source of the energy
from
which the spirit derives (Bryant). Additionally, it can
incorporate an elevating of the consciousness to embrace
the
divine. Sometimes there are physical or emotional obstacles
that
stand in the way of a person s feeling what they have to offer
is
good enough, or may even impede the ability to give anything
in
movement at all (Tallmadge 1). Visualizations can help to
not
only remove those obstacles, but to enhance the energy used
in
the dance. Another vital prerequisite to dancing honestly and
for
the benefit of the divine, is to determine intent or
motivation,
and to abide by it during the dance.
What is intent in dance? It is what Martha Graham described
as
an intensity of attention which animates [the dancer s]
whole
being...There is a sweeping line of intent that services
his
entire body. It is very like the act of listening. (Graham
1)
Others might call it focus, or motivation. It is how the
dancer
imbues the dance with significance. If the intent of the
dancer
is to entertain, that is its significance. If the intent of
the
dancer is to worship the creator, that is its significance.
If
the intent of the dancer is union with all that is divine,
that
is its significance.
Robin Bryant, a choreographer and dance instructor who
dedicates herself to teaching dance as a
healing art and acting as a spiritual emissary, says that
the
individual s surrender to the moment is a divine act. The
sacred
is when you can be genuine with yourself. That s when you
re
walking on holy ground, you find balance in who you are, and
you
don t deny any part of what you are, says Bryant. She refers
to
the heavenly self, which contains what most people think of
as
good, and the earthly self, which contains the shadow, the
unseen aspects of self which are often thought of as
negative.
Heaven and earth to me are one. Spirit is one thing, it s all
of
it. That union, which she seeks for herself and for her
students
through dance, seems to be the same sought in yoga
practice.
According to Joseph Campbell, in yoga, one seeks to yoke
the
ego consciousness to the source of consciousness, which
some
people personify as God or some particular deity (Campbell
129).
Martha Graham says that the soul, the motivation, and the
motor
force of the body, are all one and the same thing (Graham
2).
Bryant has worked with the chakra system of energy sites in
the
body. She imagines the seventh chakra, the crown chakra
located
at the top of the head, like a funnel that hooks the
individual
up to all the spiritual energy of the cosmos, when one is able
to
surpass the obstacles of the lower chakras.
When that happens, you re not in control anymore of who you
think you are. Your personality, indeed, is set aside, and
your
belief systems are set aside, she says.
While for some the obstacles to a spiritual union with the
holy
in dance are mostly intellectual, others may be emotional
or
physical. The physical troubles are generally the most
obvious.
Whether the impairment is damaged knee cartilage or the loss
of
use of limbs, the real limitation is fear. Alito Alessi is
director of Danceability, an annual Eugene, Oregon workshop
in
its eleventh year, which teams able-bodied dancers with
disabled
dancers. He says it requires dissolving preconceptions. When
you
don t rely on old habits, new things get to reveal themselves
to
you. You open one door, and then others begin to open, too,
says
Alessi (Tallmadge 1). Edward Kerns, who has participated in
several of Alessi s workshops, told of his earlier fears.
Mostly
I was afraid of my reactions to other people seeing me with
my
different limitations. Kerns is paralyzed from his chest
down
due to a spinal cord injury, with some use of his arms
(Tallmadge
1). Those with less apparent physical restrictions can be just
as
frightened. One grandmother, Ruth, who finally enrolled in
dance classes for herself after devoting most of her life
to
caring for and serving others, was not sure her body could
handle
it at first. More importantly, though, she wasn t sure she
should be doing it, because of her age and station in life as
a
bank employee, and because it didn t obviously benefit
anyone
else. However, she brought a maturity and persevering joy to
the
class which the other dancers could clearly see and feel.
Ruth's anxieties are typical of anyone whose life is not
dedicated to dancing on a professional level. In Women Who
Run
With the Wolves, the author tells a story of The Butterfly
Woman,
a character danced in gatherings of Zuni, Navajo, Hopi and
several other tribes. She blows away the preconceptions
visitors
have about what it means to be a butterfly woman. For she
is
large enough to have birthed the world. She represents the
female
fertilizing force. She can touch anyone, as she is old and
has
passed the age of all taboos (Estes 223-227). It would seem
she
also represents the feminine hero who has no need of
anxieties
with regard to her body and her position in life, unlike
most
women, and indeed, most people in the U.S. today. Body image
and
self image are issues which hold many back who would
otherwise
like to dance. There are fears of being judged, of being
rejected, and of being humiliated. For example, in some
families
the children grow up with frequent put-downs of their physique
or
their movement. Such comments, even subtle ones, can cause
lasting self image problems far into adulthood. For people
who
have experienced emotional traumas in connection with their
bodies, such as abuse, molestation, or rape, there can be
additional hurdles to climb over.
However, sometimes emotional pain arises during dance which
has
nothing to do with body image or with fears about
self-esteem.
For example, in one of Robin Bryant s classes she was
working
with the fifth chakra, the throat center, which represents
communication (among other things). She noticed a woman with
whom
she was well acquainted becoming teary-eyed several times
over
the course of the evening. Bryant did not intrude. Near the
conclusion of the class, the woman finally felt she could
share
her burden with everyone there. She told them that it was
the
fourth anniversary of her beloved husband s death from
cancer.
She still missed him, and told the class some of his
lovable
attributes. Bryant asked her permission for the class to
dance
those attributes for her, and she gladly agreed. Thus the
class
became a ritual space, wherein everyone participated in
creating
a sanctuary for the reenactment of a man s spirit in
genuine
movement.
Someone witnessing such a dance can support the dancers by
creating sacred space, by honoring the authenticity of the
dancers quest, and by suspending all judgment based upon
the
observer s personality or preconceptions of dance (Bryant).
One
exercise calls for formation of a large circle on the dance
floor, everyone standing facing in. A method of spiritual
protection is called up, which may serve to protect the
dancers
from the unusual phenomenon some Taoist legends apparently
speak
of--possession by spirits (Eliade 450). Dancing in this
manner
intentionally opens the heart and the soul of the dancer, and
it
seems a reasonable precaution to put forth an energy field
to
protect that openness from predatory or lost spirits.
Everyone
imagines their auras as golden bright, just touching the person
s
aura standing beside them. Then, in quiet and with intent,
everyone breathes their auras larger and larger, breathing
love
into them, until the room is filled, the city is filled,
the
country is filled, the earth is filled to overflowing with
the
outpouring of love and light from the handful of dancers.
With
such visualizations, it is little wonder that the class
setting
feels like a safe space in which to explore movement and to
support others in doing so. Bryant believes that the
dancers
standing on the perimeter of the circle are just as crucial
as
those dancing inside it. This witnessing of authentic dance
has
been incorporated into a method of counseling and
psychotherapy
called Authentic Movement. The witness does not simply watch
the
dancer, but tries to be with the dancer emotionally as the
dance
develops, for a period of about fifteen minutes to half an
hour.
At the end of that time the dancer and the witness share
the
dancer s focus in words. The dancer s focus has to do with
what
is laying heavily on their spirit at the time (Earl). The
body
is the spirit, in motion, says Robin Bryant.
We all have bodies. We all have some ability to move. We
all
have intent. We all have spirits. Given all of that, who among
us
are not dancers? All that is left for each of us to decide is
how
we wish to dedicate our movement, what intent will shape
our
form, and with whom we will reveal our true selves in
speaking
this language.
Martha Graham says, Dance is an absolute. It is not
knowledge
about something, but is knowledge itself (Graham 2). The
spirit
strives to find meaning. The body craves to express itself
in
movement. A body seeking movement combined with a spirit
seeking
meaning, create sacred dance.
When I dance, the sun sails safely through the night.
When I dance, the future is formed by my feet.
When I dance, the stars move through the heavens . . .
When I dance, Venus shimmers the desert,
When I dance, dust becomes silver, stones are made of gold.
by Cosi Fabian from Hierodule
as quoted in Return of the Great Goddess, Burleigh Muten,
ed.
Works Cited
Bryant, Robin. Emissary, choreographer, dance instructor.
Personal interview. 8 Nov. 1997.
Campbell, Joseph. Transformations of Myth Through Time. New
York: Harper & Row, 1990.
Earl, Patty. Psychologist and Authentic Movement therapist.
Personal interview. 16 Oct. 1997.
Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy.
Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1964.
Estes, Clarissa Pinkola. Women Who Run With the Wolves. New
York: Ballantine Books, 1995.
Ginn, Victoria. The Spirited Earth: Dance, Myth and Ritual from
South Asia to the South Pacific. New
York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1990.
Graham, Martha. Dancer s Focus. Online article. Internet. 5
Nov. 1997.
http://www.netdanse.com/focuse.html
Horosko, Marian. Martha Graham: The Evolution of Her Dance
Theory and Training 1926-1991.
Chicago: a cappella books, 1991.
http://www.mysticfire.com/NICampbell.html Website on Joseph
Campbell. Online. Internet. 16 Nov.
1997.
http://www.teleport.com/~indup.resources/ancestor.html Website
on Murshid Samuel Lewis, the first
American-born Sufi master. Online. Internet. 15 Nov. 1997.
Kent, Linda and JoAnne Tucker. Liturgical Dance. Dance
Magazine. Dec. 1996: 72-74.
Melwani, Lavina. Colors of Dance. Online. Internet. 15 Nov.
1997.
http://www.littleindia.com/Apr97/dance1.html
Muten, Burleigh, ed. Return of the Great Goddess. Boston:
Shambhala Publications, 1994.
Navaretta, Mildred. dance. The 1996 Grolier Multimdedia
Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Grolier, 1995.
Tallmadge, Alice. Contacting Self-Expression. What s Happening.
5 March 1992.
