Press Release Summary = The Development of Shaker Dance in the United States of America.
Press Release Body = SHAKER DANCE (affiliate blurb)
In 1774 Ann Lee (later to be known as Mother Ann) and eight other members of the \"United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing\" left England for New York to avoid persecution.
In the United States the church set up numerous communities. The members raised money for their communities through activities such as selling seeds and herbs, making spinning wheels, men and women's\' clothing and fancy wooden boxes. The furniture they produced has become world renowned. Communities often raised livestock and grew vegetables, fruit and grain crops. Hard work and the search for beauty expressed through simplicity dominated their lives.
Since the sect did not believe in marriage or sexual relations children had to come from outside the community. They also believed in pacifism, communal ownership of material possessions, and equality of all people and the confession of sins.
The members became known as Shakers due to their style of dance whilst worshipping. In the early days the dancing was inspirational with the worshippers shaking, leaping, twirling, leaping and falling to the ground as the Spirit moved them. The brothers and sisters did not dance together.
Later Mother Anne\'s successor Joseph Meacher was divinely instructed to change the form of the dance. He introduced the idea of \"laboring\". The dance now became structured with the worshipper \"laboring\" to concentrate inwards and work hard to express the Divine Spirit through choreographed dances. The proceedings were directed by an Elder.
Dances included the Square Order Shuffle, Quick Step Manner. Not infrequently these dances were revealed through dreams. Some of the dances appear to have been circle dances, others had Brethren and Sisters dancing backwards and forewords towards each other. Square Check Time was an intricately structured square dance learned in 1837 in a vision by Ann Maria Goff. In another dance the sisters would twirl like tops always in one direction and with closed eyes somewhat reminiscent of the whirling Sufi dances. After the dance there would be an interval to see if anyone had received \"a gift\" i.e. a divine revelation. One of the best known Shaker dance songs is \"Simple Gifts\". There was never any physical contact between the Sisters and Brethren.
Shaker dances mirrored their spiritual beliefs and feelings of community. They believed in celibacy so although men and women danced on the same occasion there was no touching or intermingling of the groups even though men and women were considered to be equal. Dancing was believed to be a divine gift of God. The Shakers also believed that worship should be active not passive.
Shaker communities flourished for two hundred years. Sadly the dances have died out though the songs have found a place in many denominations hymnals.
Web Site = http://www.dance-to-health-help-your-special-needs-child.com
2025
