Restored To Glory Dance Ministry

[Dave]

Restored To Glory Dance Ministry is directed by Ann Stevenson, author of "Restoring The Dance, Seeking God's Order". As well as the book, she also sells dance videos and audio teachings.

[DeanZF]

Have you actually read either of her books? I'd be interested in your take on them. I've read the one. Proofed the manuscript, actually.

[Dave]

Dean,

Have you actually read either of her books? I'd be interested in your take on them. I've read the one. Proofed the manuscript, actually.

I'm not aware that she's written two books - there's no mention of a second on her web site. I'm sorry if my original post gave a misleading impression.



I've got Restoring the Dance: Seeking God's Order and read it a few years ago. I've just quickly flicked through it to refresh my memory, and generally it's very encouraging, with one exception that I'll mention in a moment. (This is not meant to be a proper review - in order to do that I'd have to re-read fully both this book and some others to give a basis for comparison).



The basic premise of the book is that dance was created by God for His service, but this truth has been lost over the centuries. God is currently reversing this and restoring dance to its rightful place. Those who are part of this process need to take care, study the Bible, and seek His will. I like this approach.



She does not appear to favour any particular form of dance and discusses, with many scriptural references, the different roles for dance in the Kingdom. Good stuff again. I was particularly pleased that she is in favour of training and encourages skillful dancing (page 72), seeing this as pleasing to the Lord.



The major concern I had upon my first reading, and still have today, is her views on "worldly dance". These are expressed in chapter 5, but also appear in passing elsewhere. The depraved picture she paints of the secular dance world is not one that I (or anyone I know) would recognise, other than to a minor extent. In addition, I'm not sure that it is consistent to use the products of that world (eg dance techniques such as ballet, modern, and jazz, costuming styles, teaching methods, etc) whilst also advocating total separation from it. For these reasons, I don't agree with her conclusions in this area, and I'm not sure that they are necessarily required by her starting position. I can write about this at more length if anyone would find it helpful.



Ann Stevenson is obviously a lady with immense vision and gifting. Her book is not a practical one, but a careful discussion of God's plans and purposes for dance. We need this given the general lack of understanding about dance found throughout the church. It's probably a bit "deeper" and more carefully written than many books on dance, containing many insights that you won't find elsewhere. Her reasoning is Biblical and refined through the fire of years of experience in dance ministry. As such, I can highly recommend it



OK, your turn now! How did you find the book?



(Also, BTW, is the marketplace the right location for this sort of discussion? If not, you should be able to split this thread and move this part to a better home).

[HelenaZF]

Awesome video of Anne that gives you a peak into her worship style



On the website the gallery of her worship production pictures is worth a look.