...love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Strength??

Strength of will is the primary meaning here. But I think we can also apply this in motion.

David danced before the Lord with all his might, and was criticised-- not by God, but by Michal, who was summarily judged!

There are numerous places for Dance in worship. Processionals, special dances, prophetic dance, teaching with dances. Dance is a language. If you can successfully communicate with it, then your options are wide open-- as long as you communicate purely, with a pure heart. The message and the means must be pure; to Christians, that should come as no surprise.

Liturgical dance has enjoyed a resurgence, which is a good thing. But not all of us are meant to formally join a liturgical dance troup, just as not all of us are meant to preach or teach. However, as Christians we are all called to worship, so it's possible that we are all called to dance-- informally.

In Psalm 150, and Psalm 149, it says to dance before the Lord. We are not only free to dance before the Lord, we are strongly encouraged, perhaps even commanded, to do so. So it's worth considering with an open mind.

How are we supposed to dance?

Back to the idea that dance is a language. When we enter the Kingdom of God, we purify our verbal language. Perhaps we first remove vulgarities and blasphemy, and then whatever else may hinder the Kingdom of God-- self-exaltation; judgemental and critical speech; discouraging speech; gossippy speech; speech having rage or lust or envy or malice or any other form of darkness. In the same way, our language of dance-- if we had one before we were saved-- probably needs purification. If we never had one, we simply need to learn a purified version.

If you want to think about movement, plain and simple, have a look at a years-old theory from a college modern dance class, about the classification of movement.

If you want a very scriptural place to start, consider this:
David Stood before the Lord
David Bowed before the Lord
David Prostrated himself before the Lord
David Raised his hands before the Lord
David Led a Procession before the Lord
David Leaped and Twirled before the Lord

(...and David was called "A man after God's own heart.")

So, just as we praise the Lord in English, we should be free to praise the Lord in dance-- with all our strength. Why Not? Raise your hands as long as you can hold them up. Jump (leap) as high as you (safely) can. Bow, turn, spin (Twirl), run or jump until you run out of breath, because Jesus gave his very life for us. He gave us his life that we might have true joy and so that the Father would have people to worship him in Spirit and truth. So Celebrate Jesus!

Regarding males: click here.

If you're thinking about starting a class for christian dancers, click here for some food for thought.

If you don't go to a church where dance is socially acceptable, then dance in your living room or your kitchen or your backyard. You pray at home and you sing at home, so why not cut loose and stomp your feet with holy joy in the privacy of your home too?

Learn to dance, whatever that means to you. Some Christians join an aerobics class and offer that to the Lord. Some Christians tapdance and some breakdance; some study ballet, and others cut loose and bop around. Whatever; your pure heart is what counts. Let the joy of the LORD pour out of you, from your heart to your toes to your fingertips.

Handout for the dance class at the Southern New England Conference Worship Through Dance