Abstract
The interaction between dance and religion has become a research area of considerable growth and innovation. However, Catholic theologians do not participate in this research area, and choreographers hesitate to work with Christian rituals. Yet, during the twentieth century there have been precedents of "liturgical dance". Especially in Belgium, liturgical dance was rooted in a fruitful collaboration between artistic modern dance and the Catholic Church. Today, this liturgical dance practice has been virtually erased from the collective memory. So far, studies have not explained these peculiar changes. Moreover, no liturgical dance practices exist in Belgium, despite contemporary dance's interest in ritualistic performances and reenactments. The project proposes to utilize this unique opportunity to initiate a dialogue between dance studies and liturgical theology. It will use the artistic method of choreographic reenactment to research liturgical dance as a contemporary artistic and liturgical-theological phenomenon. To perform this practice-as-research, the project will address the historical changes and renegotiate the objections against liturgical dance, raised by Catholic Church authorities with special attention to the topics of "sacramentality", "inculturation" and "active participation". These reenactments will offer new insight in these three crucial topics, resulting in a pioneering study in "dance theology" as a theoretical and practical branch of theology.
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