After Ballet Magnificat! instructor Tracey Thompson guided the 10 young ballerinas at Westwood Ballet through several chassés, pliés and pirouettes, she watched in awe as they danced before the Lord.
While the girls finished their dance to “God Speaking” by Mandisa, fifth season “American Idol” finalist turned Christian artist, Thompson looked at Westwood Ballet director Cindy Best with tears in her eyes and said, “We have the best jobs, don’t we? We just get to worship the Lord all day.”
Best wiped her eyes and replied, “Yes, we sure do.”
Worshiping God through dance is the main purpose of Westwood Ballet, a six-year-old ministry of Westwood Baptist Church, Forestdale, in Birmingham Baptist Association. It was also the driving force behind Thompson’s workshop June 12–14 at Westwood Baptist, sponsored by Ballet Magnificat!, a Jackson, Miss., arts organization devoted to presenting the good news of Jesus Christ to the entire world.
Thompson and three of Ballet Magnificat’s advanced dancers instructed Westwood Ballet’s students on ballet technique, pointe and choreography. Although these sound like the goals of a secular ballet studio, Best said Westwood Ballet’s ultimate goal in mastering them is quite different. “Our program isn’t about being a prima ballerina but about learning to worship God through dance,” she said.
Thompson agreed. “We do have to train, sweat and work hard, but in the end, it’s not for personal attention. It’s just for the Lord.”
Thompson started dancing at age 6, but she didn’t understand the worship aspect of dancing until she became a Christian at age 29. With her new love of Christ came a new focus on her love for dance.
“When I got saved, I started reading my Bible,” Thompson said. “Dancing is all in the Bible. David danced before the Ark. Mary danced with a tambourine and praised God. When you look at the Bible, that is how they worshiped God. I realized you could do that for the Lord.”
With this new realization, she began teaching students to use ballet as an act of worship. Thompson prays before each class and choreographs dances to Christian songs, instructing her girls to use their dancing ability not for man’s applause but for God’s glory.
She noted that for many dancers, performance can be vain in a way with a “Look-at-me, look-at-what-I-can-do” attitude, but “as a Christian, the focus is not on us. It’s on God.”
Westwood’s students were learning this concept at the workshop, which ended with a recital showcasing the dance to “God Speaking.”
Summarizing her experience at the workshop, 10-year-old Westwood student Ally Davis said, “I’m praising God by dancing to Him.”
Westwood Ballet will hold an open house Aug. 2, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.. For more information about the event or Westwood Ballet, contact Best at 205-798-0900 or arts@wbclive.com.
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