Questions

In my last post I tried to answer some of my own questions to participate and understand better what it would be like to answer questions on dance and spirituality. Granted its from my perspective and based on the experiences and learning I've had in my life but I found it was something I was passionate about and thus something I felt at ease answering. Now my question is how will I find someone with that willingness in Ghana. African dance has roots in spiritual and religious traditions and the literature I've read makes me confident that there will be people in Wiamoase who are willing to share. But how will I know when I've met them that they will be a good key informant?

I hope by asking my informal questions listed below in different social situations will help me decipher who is a good candidate or not. I was told by a professor of folklore the other day that African people love to talk. They love to share stories and will probably be very willing. That was a comforting thought and I hope this questions guide me to know who to ask to interview more formally.

Do you Dance?

Can you describe a dance experience you’ve had?

Can you describe the people you dance with?

Where do you Dance?

Do you go to Church?

Do you dance at Church?

How did you learn how to dance?

Have you ever taught someone to dance?

Do you ever dance solo? In a group?

When do you dance?

How often do you dance?

Why do you dance?

What is the purpose or significance of a particular dance?

What is the purpose or significance of dance in your life?

Do you ever speak with others about the significance of dance? When? How often? With who?

How does dance affect your life?

Does dance have a spiritual impact on your life?

Once I have decided upon my key informants here are some possible semi-structured and more formal interview questions. I may or may not use these ones because it will depend on the individual and their answers to the informal questions, but these questions are meant to show how I could go deeper and more specific with my inquiry.

Can you describe how you feel during a particular dance?

What does spirituality mean to you?

Define spirituality.

Define dance.

Can you identify a spiritual experience you’ve had while dancing?

Is dance always a spiritual experience?

Are specific conditions required for a spiritual experience within dance?

What is it about dance that you feel is personally spiritual to you?

What are the technical aspects of dance that connect with you spiritually?

What are you connecting too spiritually?

What is required to dance at a religious ceremony?

Do you believe everyone can connect spiritually to dance or is that role only for certain individuals?

Does dance impact your health?

Does religion or spirituality impact your health?

Does dance impact your sense of community unity?

Does religion or spirituality impact your community unity?

Does dance impact your identity?

Does religion and spirituality impact your community unity?

Do dance and spirituality together impact you health? Community unity? Identity?

Where do you believe Man came from?

Where do you believe men go after death?

What do your dances say about your village?

Are your ancestors connected to your dancing? Spirituality?

My Spiritual Perceptions of Dance

I've been thinking about the risks and challenges involved with the topic of my research which is spirituality. I want to interview and dance with individuals to find out what it is about African dance that they feel is personally spiritual to them. I want to know if they have to be in a religious worship service that involves dance to feel spiritual or if its the technical aspects and the movement of the body that creates a spiritual connection. I want to know what they are connecting to spiritually? Is it God? Is it their ancestors? Are there specific conditions required for a dance experience to be qualified as religious dance or a spiritual experience?

I am finding that these questions are sort of hard for me to even answer myself and I've been dancing for 16 years. I want to ask these questions to myself and see what kind of answers I personally come up with though so that I can see how feasible it would be to ask someone in Ghana these questions. I will answer these questions about my own contemporary/modern dance genre experience.
QUESTIONS

1. What is it about dance that you feel is personally spiritual to you?
2. What are the technical aspects of dance that connect with you spiritually?
3. What are you connecting to spiritually?
4. Are specific conditions required for a spiritual experience within dance?

ANSWERS

1. The body being the instrument for art and expression is spiritual to me. Our bodies are gifts from God and are what make us human and mortal. They are the medium in which we are able to experience trials and progress so that we might live with Heavenly Father again in eternal bliss. In glorifying God and doing my best to follow his commandments I do as the 13th article of faith says, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy [I] seek after these things." I want to come closer to my Heavenly Father and I build a stronger relationship with Him when I partake of uplifting and praiseworthy activities in my life. Dancing can influence so many for good, its emotion and beauty can change lives and inspire change. I have felt those experiences in my life. As I dance I feel I am worshipping God. I am doing my best to show Him that I am grateful for the gifts I have been given and that I am diligent in trying to stand, or dance, in holy places. Wherever I am dancing that place becomes a holy one. A place I can open my heart and feel the spirit. Many times it is when I am using my body and dancing that I can feel God's love for me the strongest. Everything has a spiritual nature, but the arts and dance are two examples I can clearly see the spiritual connection. As I create and choreograph my own movement I feel I participating in another of God's great gifts and that is the power to create. To organize, make beautiful, and produce new material is a quality of God that we can share with Him. (Hmm....actually answering this question wasn't as hard as I thought...but I dance at BYU, a religious institution where thoughts like these are encouraged and discussed. Is there anyone out there who dances but not as seriously as I do who has some thoughts they want to try and share?)
2. The body, music, SYMBOLISM: stretching and opening of the heart space are symbolic of meekness and growth, bounded movement contrasted with free flow is the struggle and epiphany of spiritual growth, weight bearing symbolizes our dependence on others and especially on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, high endurance locomotor movement is a practice in endurance, adagio is a principle of patience and timing.
3. Spiritually I am connecting with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, other people as well as myself, even my ancestors, and other dancers who have danced in the space or company previous to my participation.
4. An open mind and a willing heart, just like other spiritual experiences that do not involve dance. So I do believe that you have to allow spiritual connections to occur, it is possible to dance and not feel spiritually connected.