From Wholesome to Hypersexualized: The Dangerous Trend in Children’s Dance

Mary Bawden began choreographing dance within church services in 1994. In 2016, she founded DANCE (Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited) as she noticed a dangerous trend in children’s dance. In this episode of the Unconventional Ministry podcast I visit with dance educator and author Mary Bawden.

Click HERE to listen to the my podcast conversation with Mary Bawden

In 2016, she founded DANCE (Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited) in an effort to raise awareness and educate others to take action and stop the hypersexualization of children in dance choreography, costumes, and music. Mary Bawden received a BA in modern dance from the University of California Riverside, a MA in worship (emphasis in dance) from Hope International University in Fullerton CA, and a California secondary teaching credential.

Alongside her dance ministry, Mary has resources called Soul to Sole Choreography?a method to transform dance movement into prayer-in-motion.

The educational objectives of Dance Awareness include protecting children from exploitation through hypersexualization in adult costumes, choreography, and music, and to protect the art of dance. Click HERE for more Education Objectives.

If you experienced unhealthy dance lessons as a child, or if you have a story you’d like to share about hypersexualized children’s dance you’ve witnessed firsthand, share it with Mary Bawden now!?

There are many resources that are available! Here is a link to those resources for parents and concerned adults as well as resources for dance studios.

Many cultures around the world use dance in worship. Our friend in Egypt Magdoline Nadar explains it this way:

"Worship dance is not a known art form in our (Middle East) culture and because of this, I feel privileged to be able to communicate through it the goodness of the Lord, to freely express his praise through the body as a vessel to thank Him."

"For me Worship dance is the form and the way of which I feel I give my all to the Lord. my body, spirit and soul. It is a journey, a quest of freedom where The Holy Spirit shall reveal more about God's love when I submit myself and surrender to the fullest."

Firsttree.art is striving to integrate cultural and folkloric elements as dance, music, and more into its projects by cooperating, supporting and promoting local creatives, their startups and projects to realize their vision and impact their societies

"Dance is my painting brush, I use it passionately to draw my dreams. It is the power that keeps me go on. Art is a divine gift, should be cherished and shared with others, it reconnects us once again with our ORIGIN." Magdoline Nadar - Egypt

Produced by Firsttree.art; Directed by Essam Nagy; Edited & colored by Peter Samir; Audio mix by Ahmed Moustafa; Special thanks to Armen Mazloumian Glory; Kalta Jessica R. Mrad

This is a SAT-7 worship music video example of dance in worship of Kamal singing "Husana". It was aired on SAT-7 ARABIC with English subtitles! Click HERE to learn more of SAT-7