Clare Byrne

Human/Divine Choreography: Dance Ministry in the A.M.E. Church

Abstract

This study proposes that, just as Black sacred dance was a vital but under-recognized source in the formation of American concert modern dance in the early 20th century, modern/contemporary dance is now “back” doing under-studied work in worship in Black churches. Particularly in two women-pastored African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E) congregations viewed in this study (Greater Allen Cathedral, Queens, and Ebenezer, Fort Washington) dance ministers are forging a synthesis of humanly-designed choreography and divinely-inspired holy dance, or shout. Thus liturgical dance ministry forms a sort of hybrid renewal, recalling African and African diasporic traditions. Modern dance, which erupted in the early 20th century out of aesthetics of industrialization and women’s embodied suffragist demands, drew from multiple cultural strands, including, significantly, African-American and Caribbean-located ecstatic, sacred and vernacular dance. In turn, modern/contemporary dance’s expressive plastique has (re-)opened doors to ministered dance in many churches, Black and white — to varying degrees of acceptance.

Bio

Clare Byrne is a teacher, choreographer, and performer. Her artistic work in dance and music has explored intersections of movement, saints, and sacramentality, in re-workings of her culturally Catholic heritage. She has taught in the dance programs at Muhlenberg College, Long Island University, Manhattanville College, and the Department of Music & Dance at the University of Vermont. She holds a B.A. in Dance from Connecticut College, and an M.F.A. in Dance from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Byrne is currently a candidate for a master’s in religion and music at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, researching intersections of movement and music in the Black Church. She toured as a founding member of Nicholas Leichter Dance, and has been the recipient of many residencies and grants such as the Jerome Robbins Bogliasco Fellowship in Dance, a Joyce SoHo Space Grant Residency, and a Meet the Composer grant.