Judges 21:23 - "And the Benjamites did so, and took their wives according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off; then they went and returned to their inheritance, and rebuilt the towns, and dwelt in them."

Psalm 87:7 - "Singers and dancers alike will say, ‘All my springs are in you.’ "

Dancing has formed a part of religious rites and has been associated with war and hunting, with marriage, birth, and other occasions, since the recorded history of man. It grew out of three basic human reactions: 1. the desire to imitate the movements of beasts, birds, even the sun and moon; 2. the desire to express emotions by gestures; 3. gregarious impulses.

Throughout past ages dancing has been associated with worship. Closely related to religious praises was the sacramental dance in which worshipers sought to express through bodily movements praise or penitence, worship or prayer. Out of the primitive dances the esthetic dance of civilized ancient nations slowly developed. In these the primary concern of the dancers was to reveal grace, speed, and rhythm, often to appeal to the carnal nature of both participants and spectators. Vashti refused to expose herself because of this (Esther 1:12).

The Hebrews developed their own type of dancing, associated with worship. Basically, it was like modern religious shouting by individuals, or processions of exuberant groups. Three things characterized it: 1. sexes never intermingled in it, except where pagan influences had crept in; 2. usually dancing was done by women, with one leading, as in the case of Miriam; 3. dancing usually took place out of doors.

Hebrew contains six verbs to describe the actions of dance:

1. sahok - usually translated as sporting or playing and conveys the expression of joy in dancing.
2. rakod - original meaning was "to leap like a lamb"
3. karkar - suggests a round dance and may refer to turning on the heel in one sport
4. hol - to writhe or to turn
5. pesah - refers to a limping dance
6. hag - means "holiday," possibly from the word hug meaning "circle" or "dancing in a circle"

For ages, dancing has been accompanied by clapping of the hands, and percussion and other noise-making instruments seem to be native to it. In some cases, antiphonal singing accompanied the dancing. The Romans introduced the Greek dance to Palestine. At first the Primitive Christian churches allowed the dance, but it soon caused degeneracy, and was forbidden.

Today we have dancers of just about every tradition, and many churches are using the dance as re-interpretations of the biblical message. Also, considering the athletic nature of many of the dances, it is not at all off base to say that the modern gymnast can also be considered as a counterpart of the ancient dancer. Certainly the fluidity of movement and the grace inherent in gymnastics would allow this.