Hands to work and hearts to God

Dance Magazine, May, 1995 by Pamela Hurley Diamond

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a group of people known as Shakers became one of the most widespread religious sects in America. Victims of persecution, first in England, then America, they chose to form their own communities apart from the world in order to live their lives in harmony on these shores. Although there are only a few members alive today, Shakers have left their mark on this country. They made enormous contributions to the industrial and cultural development of America. In religious communities they are primarily remembered for their incorporation of dance into their worship services. Dancing was an integral part of their religion and grew to become a part of their daily lives as well. Over the years the structure changed and the steps and the music evolved, but the Shakers' belief in dance remained constant. The legacy left by this hardworking, peace-loving people continues to be felt today.

In 1774 nine Shakers traveled from England to New York to escape persecution. The small group included the sect's leader, Ann Lee Stanley, a woman given to prophetic visions; known to history as Mother Ann Lee, she shaped the early tenets of the faith. In those days, according to June Sprigg in By Shaker Hands, members "moved by the spirit were often seized with shaking and whirling in their religious fervor." The conservative faction of the English church had found the Shakers' behavior impossible to understand and refused to accept them, so Mother Ann followed her vision that the American colonies could offer the Shakers freedom to live in peace.

Sojourn in the New World did not bring the hoped-for respite; persecution increased in intensity as the sect easily won over converts from other religions. Many Shakers were accused of being English spies in the colonial period. Some colonists claimed that Mother Ann was a witch. Despite such hostile opposition, her spirit prevailed, and she and her disciples continued to spread their faith through New England. Because of the many hardships and physical injuries she sustained during her travels as a missionary, Mother Ann did not live long after the Shakers arrived in America. Her successor, Joseph Meacham, strove to carry on her leadership. He chose Lucy Wright, a convert from Massachusetts, to lead the sect with him. Under Father Joseph and Mother Lucy, the Shaker order became solidified, and the beliefs of the sect evolved into a working way of life.

These beliefs were so revolutionary that eventually the Shakers withdrew into their own communities and lived almost completely apart from the world. As Sprigg states in Inner Light, The Shaker Legacy, the "sacrifice of self-interest for the sake of community" was at the center of Mother Ann's belief in a more perfect society. Celibacy and communalism were important tenets. The Shakers believed in the equality of both the sexes and races.

This faith in equality was manifested in the worship service. The congregation did not sit silently in church while one man did all the preaching. They expressed their love of God, writes Sprigg in By Shaker Hands, by "rising together and joining in singing and dancing." By this action Shakers represented an extreme in religious beliefs for their time. The use of dance in worship was more typical of pre-Christian and early Christian religions. In nineteenth-century America, religious opposition to dance in any form was the norm. Although this attitude varied according to region and denomination, most clergy saw dancing as one of many evils that threatened morality and chastity.

Because of the scandals that their dancing caused, Shakers felt compelled to defend themselves. J.G. Davies in A Shaker Dance Service Reconstructed explains how they justified the use of dance in worship:

1. "The physical motions add a greater dimension to the expression of prayer.

2. "Since Shaker dancing is due to the direct operation of the Holy Spirit, it is a gift of God and His gifts are to be used, not neglected.

3. "Worship should not be passive but active, and this means that not only the tongue and the vocal cords but the whole of one's body should be dedicated to the praise of God.

4. "Congregational dancing both expresses and renders more profound that unity or cooperation that should characterize God's people. Such dancing allows for the recognition and consecration of natural aptitudes and skills and it affirms the equality of the sexes."

The communal dances that were adopted were believed to have been divinely inspired, and much of their original dancing was based upon individual expression. In By Shaker Hands, Sprigg observed, "Every member moved to feel the presence of God in his own spontaneous way, whether whirling like a dervish or shaking mightily." Under Meacham the dancing changed to a more organized and structured form as the need was felt to impose some order on the proceedings. "What was originally an involuntary emotion is now repeated as a voluntary duty," claimed Meacham.