Panel: TALES OF POSTSECULAR PERFORMANCE



761.4 - DANCING BIBLICAL TEXTS - A PERFORMATIVE EXEGESIS

AUTHORS:
Hikota R.C. (The Margaret Beaufort Institute, Cambridge ~ Cambridge ~ United Kingdom)
Text:
Biblical texts are a specific form of theology. They capture experiences of faith in specific contexts and preserve them in narrative form. But the biblical text is also a performance because it can and must be read and interpreted in order to be a text. But is it enough to simply read and recontextualize it—that is, to comprehend it cognitively and verbally as the written word? Or could the content of the text be explored and interpreted in other ways? The method of "bibliodance" ("dancing the Bible") is one such method for exploring biblical texts in a different way. The text is not only viewed and discussed cognitively and verbally, but also improvised through dance. "Bibliodance" engages in a unique form of exegesis that is highly cognitive and rational, yet at the same time socially interactive, affective, effective. The content of the text interacts with the forms of the group performance. The performative practice reveals facets of a postsecular epistemology by combining dance-based reaction with faith-based reflections. This paper presents the method of "Bibliodance" using an example from network work and discusses the epistemological and theological quality of the method.