Year of Graduation

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MFA: Dance

Abstract

This study examines the historical relevance of theatre and dance alongside religious forms of worship, with a particular emphasis on their integration into Christian churches of the Middle Ages, in comparison to the current Western era. Beginning with their origin, this research examines the creation of theatre and dance in Ancient Greece as a means of connecting with spiritual deities, tracing their recorded transition into accepted acts of everyday worship by Christian leadership. At the same time, this research scrutinizes contemporary congregations’ lack of artistic incorporation, denouncing the rise of restricted worship in response to present-day condemnation of the female body and overall scarcity of physical means of expression in both Western culture and Christian spheres. Through the investigation of art’s historical use in a religious context, this study will reclaim the performative forms of theatre and dance as appropriate instruments of worship and innate responses to the individual pursuit of sacred connection to the Christian God, both internally and externally, within the church. The culmination of this research will manifest a creative response that aims to empower the performer in pursuit of divine purpose by employing the performing arts, dismantling the modern church’s oppression of worship through such mediums, and thus challenging the projection of sexualization onto the moving body of the Christian female, ultimately liberating the Christian believer as they remain in sacred motion.

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Performance Access Statement

If you wish to see the creative piece or performance that accompanied this thesis, please complete the Request Form, and you should receive a response from the Dance Department within two weeks.

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