Praise dancing, dancing to gospel songs is what saved me from drowning in trying to make sense of our historic and current circumstances in American society, from drowning in self-doubt or bitterness, and from microaggressions from nonblack professors and students. It has saved me from losing my sanity whenever staying woke has exhausted my capabilities.
I have found a love in praise dancing that has become a repository site for much needed restoration and rejuvenation. My first year at Wesleyan I joined the Wesleyan Praise Dancers team, but after the seniors graduated, I had difficulty finding other females to dance in it. Therefore, during my sophomore and junior year, I danced alone. Despite dancing by myself, I was supported by my closest friends who have always appreciated the art form and who have told me how incredible it was. Often after performances, which were usually for cultural showcases (I decided to push the boundaries of praise dancing outside of traditional church venues because I saw it as something more), students of all different backgrounds, would come up to me sometimes with tears, sometimes speechless at just the feeling the dance was able to conjure in them. As I heard those responses, I knew that that was God, not me! He had the power to move in people and remind people of love and unity. Something that I do before each performance is pray over the seats when no one is there. I learned how to do that while stepping at my local church, Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, as a way of treating everyone's lived experience as special.
Furthermore, at the start of my senior year, two young ladies reached out to me about wanting to perform in Praise Dance. They have seen me perform and was so touched that they wanted to join the movement. Delighted, we danced for the student annual showcase in September and one of them danced with me in a student-run showcase in November (notably the Saturday the week of the elections). That week alone made our hearts extremely heavy. The atmosphere on campus and to an extent the nation, was (and still is) in a state of mourning. Many students could not physically and mentally do work, and one of my Asian-American residents was targeted twice via hate crime notes found in his room. Personally, I was on dorm duty that Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, yet also planned on praise dancing in a show that Saturday. Praise dancing saved me. It reminded me of my existence, that I always mattered despite the circumstances. My friend, Destiny and I danced to "Greater is Coming" by Jekayln Carr and it literally restored not just us, but members watching. I felt a hunger and I told God that people want more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNiYJ4wtIh4
I have found a love in praise dancing that has become a repository site for much needed restoration and rejuvenation. My first year at Wesleyan I joined the Wesleyan Praise Dancers team, but after the seniors graduated, I had difficulty finding other females to dance in it. Therefore, during my sophomore and junior year, I danced alone. Despite dancing by myself, I was supported by my closest friends who have always appreciated the art form and who have told me how incredible it was. Often after performances, which were usually for cultural showcases (I decided to push the boundaries of praise dancing outside of traditional church venues because I saw it as something more), students of all different backgrounds, would come up to me sometimes with tears, sometimes speechless at just the feeling the dance was able to conjure in them. As I heard those responses, I knew that that was God, not me! He had the power to move in people and remind people of love and unity. Something that I do before each performance is pray over the seats when no one is there. I learned how to do that while stepping at my local church, Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, as a way of treating everyone's lived experience as special.
Furthermore, at the start of my senior year, two young ladies reached out to me about wanting to perform in Praise Dance. They have seen me perform and was so touched that they wanted to join the movement. Delighted, we danced for the student annual showcase in September and one of them danced with me in a student-run showcase in November (notably the Saturday the week of the elections). That week alone made our hearts extremely heavy. The atmosphere on campus and to an extent the nation, was (and still is) in a state of mourning. Many students could not physically and mentally do work, and one of my Asian-American residents was targeted twice via hate crime notes found in his room. Personally, I was on dorm duty that Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, yet also planned on praise dancing in a show that Saturday. Praise dancing saved me. It reminded me of my existence, that I always mattered despite the circumstances. My friend, Destiny and I danced to "Greater is Coming" by Jekayln Carr and it literally restored not just us, but members watching. I felt a hunger and I told God that people want more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNiYJ4wtIh4
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