Dance Ministry Ethics #5: Inspiration or Imitation
October 26 – 30, 2009 is Dance Ministry Ethics Week here on Paneh’s site. Each day a new topic will be featured for discussion. The scenarios presented are based on real events however no actual names will be used.
This is the last day in the series. I want to thank everyone who has participated up to this point. You’ve all brought out some great points and I’ve enjoyed reading the different thoughts on all topics covered. The topic for day 5 is Inspiration or Imitation.
There seems to be a trend of movement artists being inspired by choreography they see presented by other ministries, or on video channels such as YouTube. Some or all of this choreography is then injected into their ministry piece. The amount of changes that have been made vary as well as rather permission was granted or credit given. All three of those will probably factor into rather or not this behavior is deemed ethically acceptable.
When dance ministry is witnessed, it leaves a lasting impression with those who were able to receive it. There is a direct link between our senses and our memory. With dance ministry we see and hear so our brain subconsciously stores that information. If you’ve ever seen a praise dance to a particular song, then everytime you hear that song in the future you may remember the dance witnessed because your brain has created a correlation between what was heard and what was seen.
Consequently, when creating choreography based off of a song seen ministered before, often times it is difficult to separate what was previously witnessed from the new.
Sometimes dancers are so moved by the power of God through a particular ministry that they desire to recreate the atmosphere so others may experience the type of breakthrough they may have experienced. They were inspired (or influenced) by what they experienced and desire for others to experience the same.
I’ve discussed this before on Facebook and the responses usually fit into the categories below
- Using someone else’s choreography is NOT OK
- Using someone else’s choreography is OK with permission
- Using someone else’s choreography is OK as long as I give credit
- Using someone else’s choreography is OK as long as it’s modified
- Using someone else’s choreography is OK…God is the originator and creator of all things. We are mandated to share the gospel
This does not just apply to choreography, but other forms of intellectual property as well. A few years ago, the entire mission & vision statement for Paneh Praise Dance & Mime Ministry was copied word for word to another dance ministry site. I contacted the individual and it turns out is was a teenager excited about launching his own ministry. I was able to assist him to create his own vision with the help of his parents and ministry leader. This also happens among those that would be categorized as seasoned ministers.
Should this be a concern? All ideas and inspiration are ultimately from God
Is choreography "intellectual property"?
God is the originator…so do we "own" choreography? In other words, do we have a right to say if someone else can present it or not?
I’ll share more of my personal thoughts on the topic in the comments. But for now…
It’s your turn!
Do you believe it is OK to use someone else’s choreography?
Would you be concerned if choreography the Lord allowed you to create was presented by someone else?
Vote in the poll below! NOTE: With this poll, you can choose more than one answer
Share your own stories / testimonies, insights and questions below!
Posted by Lakita Fane
Lakita Fane serves as the founder of Paneh Praise Dance & Mime Ministry. Find out more about her or follow her on Twitter (@Paneh).
Subscribe to our RSS feed (What is RSS?)so you’ll always have the latest information.
Join our FREE newsletter to receive monthly emails with additional articles, upcoming events, promotions, discounts and resources.
Darlene Moton says:
October 30, 2009 at 10:28 am
I really believe that God makes all things. So if god makes all things our dance and when we make up our dances belongs to to God. He gave us our gifts to share with all. I remeber going to a workshop and a praise dance director said she would be upset if someone stole her dance. I was kind of shocked when she said it, so I told her, your dance is not yours God gave it to you. It is to reach all people. So if another dance ministry can minister to their congregation using someone elses moves and someone recieves something from it then it is from God for all.
I think that many people who look at this from a natural perspective miss the point. God gives us gifts and talents. The Lord is able to speak to every one of us and expects us to obey His Word. When we rely on the revelation of others, we can miss God in our own lives. What are the Spiritual implications of relying on others and not God?
I have personally had people copy the REVELATION that the Lord showed me through movement. I am not talking about a few dance moves, I am talking about an entire concept. (No, I was not asked beforehand). The danger in this is that we can cause people to stumble if someone thinks that another dance ministry or I have “stolen” something from another ministry. We should not let our good be evil spoken of.
2 Corinthians 6:3
“We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.”
Because I understand that each of us have been given differing gifts, I am compelled to teach others to seek God for themselves to know what to do with what He has given them. Even in preaching the Gospel, we reference Scriptures so that others will know that we are not claiming to be the authors ourselves. (Yes, God inspired the writers of the Scriptures, and He also inspires us).
Yes, God owns it all- BUT He gives us talents and then sees what we did with what He has given us, not someone else. As is customary for me, I look at the Bible to formulate my stance so that I am not led by my personal feelings.
Jeremiah 23:30
“Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor.”
1 Peter 4:10
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
Whatever YOUR gift is, minister it with liberality. He thought enough about each of us to bless us so that we can bless others. Dance ministry is no different. I pray that we see with our spiritual eyes, and not what seems to be on the surface.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5
“And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Ministers we must be responsible.
There is a difference between public domain and copyright protected works.
According to the us government, choreography is intellectual property,
protected by copyright laws like. literature, visual art photography,music,lyrics,
dramatic works for screen and stage, audio and visual recordings.
When our pastor preaches in our Churches that sermon is his/her intellectual property,
even his/ her written study notes for the sermon is protected by copyright laws.
Choreography has the same protection and we should act accordingly.
The hymn A Mighty fortress is our God “, by Martin Luther is in the public domain.
That means it may be use without permission. Even though the song is in
public Domain it would be proper to give Mr. Luther credit for the song when useing the work.
However ; the song and music”How great is our God by Chris Tomlin is protected by copyright laws.
It is Mr. Tomlin’s intellectual property. Thefore; one must obtain permission from him to use it.
Let me include that tittles can not be copyrighted. The King James version of the Bible is in public domain. However the NIV is not.
Now, getting back to choreography for worship dance. If you see choreography of others that you want to use.
Just ask them. They may say yes, with no requirements. They may require a certain way to credit the peace or even a fee.
They have every right. If we use other’s choreography without permission or giving credit,
we are stealing intellectual property even if it is for ministry.
In college if you use someones work in a paper and do not give proper credit.
you can be dismissed. I do not think that getting permission to use others
choreography takes away from ministry objectives. Note this example,
If I want to use a sermon taught Billy Graham or Bishop T.D.
in a blog post it does not take away from the Gospel to give credit or get permission from their ministries.
The same is true for worship dance choreography.
We must stay above reproach in this area. In the past ministries have been scandalilzed in the media because of this very issue.
Check out the link below from the gov for more information.
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl119.html
http://www.dancehere.com/copyrighting-choreography/
Preach Jocelyn!
Too long have we condoned “stealing” in Jesus name. We must also obey the laws of the land (that do not conflict with Christian beliefs). Teach Teacher!
i like reading what everyone has to say, jocelyn i hope you put this in your next book!
i believe that all Diving inspiration comes from God. in the secular world, everything is inspirired from something else, writers are influenced by other writers, filmakers are influenced by other filmakers. in the dance world there are particular styles of dance, methods of teaching and technique that has a particular influence. if you study a technique long enough, you will see the influence in a particular company’s movements or concepts. i recently took an telecourse with the NLDN (National Liturgical Dance Network) and in the history portion we learned that Alvin Ailey has had the greatest influence on liturgical dance, even though his dances are not liturgical. but because of the influence of the Baptist church in his early life, (Revelations) caused people to use modern/ballet in the black churches. it is not the only influence, but is documented as the greatest (PBS Free to dance). thanks, Rev. Eye for this insight.
it is one thing to be INSPIRED by someone else, and to outright copy them. it happened to me, and it made me feel uncomfortable. it was done right in my face, in the church where i was sitting on Easter Sunday. i can understand the feeling of frustration, it is really lazy to do this, because (1) you don’t know what was in the person’s heart when they choreographed it (2) second-hand revelation is never as good as the original. however, there are dancers who put out videos that can be used as choreography, you can buy them online. when i see people doing them, it still does not work unless the people doing the dance really understand what they are dancing about, and not just copying.
think about this: there are plays that are performed, the theatre company pays royalties to do other’s plays, but the script cannot be altered and there are stipulations on how the work can be published. the writer must be respected.
in the spiirtual realm, dance is a message in movement. preached messages are messages in words. preachers are inspired by other preachers, but if they preach another’s message word-for-word, it is a weak message.
i don’t believe that we “own” anything, and we can be inspired by someone else. but we don’t have to copy them, we can get our own work and it will be effective.
@dancer 246:
I was blessed by your post!
Wow. I was just discussing this earlier today. Someone was asking me to do a mime workshop and they mentioned a video they saw on you tube and they wanted to do that particular piece in that particular fashion. They are just beginning to start their mime ministry and had some questions. I shared with her that I recommended making it “their own” and offered to choreograph it for them at the workshop so that it could be inspired by God and not just a replication of the same thing. I have attended workshops where the choreography was “off the chain”, but when or if I decide to minister that particular song at the church where I am dance director or at the christian arts center, I will change the choreography. Sometimes the students get upset if we don’t do it exactly how we do it at the workshop. But I always tell them that is what God have to them we have to minister what God gives us. I think replication is ok if permission is given but let us be used by God so he can create a new dance in us. We must be open to the Holy Spirit and minister what He wants to say to our particlar community or church.
Great discussion! Thank you Jocelyn for reminding us of the “laws of the land” and Rekesha for the WORD!
God owns everything, but we are the STEWARDS. So when HE downloads choreography to someone, that person is “leased ownership”.
For example, if you lease a car, you don’t own it…the bank does. However, you are responsible for it and no one is allowed to take it without your permission.
We serve an OMNISCIENT GOD!
Known to God are all his works from the beginning of the world. – Acts 15:18
Therefore He has choreography that He can divinely craft for YOU. That takes away the need to use what He has given to other people.
Another example – God gives us VISION that is crafted specifically for who we are. My eyeglasses correct my vision to 20/20 but if someone else puts them on they will not be able to see clearly.
Finally, @Dancer246, you brought out a good point about technique. Here is my analogy for that: Technique is to choreography as words are to a story.
In other words, it is the building blocks we use to create the finished “product”. We can use the same English dictionary and create an infinite amount of books.
Rather you agree, disagree, or agree to disagree…let’s reason to show common courtesy to the “originator” by asking permission. Some people do not mind and it that case it is OK, but it is always better to ask than offend.
Blessings!
What an interesting discussion! I’ve never even given much thought to all this being part of a dance ministry. This is eye-opening to say the least.
Stopped by to say hi. Enjoy your Sunday!
Wow…I can say that I'm one of those people who is guilty of watching someone's choreography and teaching it to my group. I never thought of it as stealing. I never told anyone i made it up, i tell them where i got it from. I have to tell the truth…right now i feel very discouraged. I love to watch youtube and see the different dances to use. But i dont want anyone offended because of that so i guess i have a lot to think about…
Hey Nitasha!
No need to be discouraged. Be encouraged that if you pray to the Lord for choreography (I do) that He can give you a message too! When we know better, we do better. You will be amazed at how the Lord will reveal Himself to you if you just ask Him. Build your vocabulary. Study. Work as a group. Having this conversation is great to open our all of our eyes. It's ok to feel convicted or repentant, but condenmed? NO! Thanks for sharing!
@Nitasha: Please do not be discouraged! In fact, I commend your candidness.
As you can see from the variety of replies here, some people do not mind if you "borrow" choreography and others would take offense. In order to avoid offending, it is always best to ask and respect the answer. << — That is my practical answer.
Spiritually speaking, I would encourage everyone to seek the Lord for divine choreography. He may give it to you in a dream or through a passage of Scripture. Reference my previous comment for more information.
I also agree with what Rekesha said about building your vocabulary. Some ways to do that include:
- Attending classes, workshops, seminars
- Dance Instructional books* and videos
* I will be giving away one copy of Min. Jocelyn Richard's Ebook – Phenomenal Choreography for Worship. Enter simply by leaving a comment here:
http://panehpraise.com/2009/11/give-phenomenal-choreography-worship-ebook/
(Contest ends 11/20/09)