What Mama Wears: Another side of Me

Something that I don't often discuss here on the blog is my faith - it's not a secret - I obviously talk about what I've worn to church, or what we've done with our church family throughout the week. That said, however, there is an aspect of my faith that actually is very important to me, and involves clothes as well (so win win for me!) - And it is our Liturgical Dance Ministry. Our group, which is named Anointed Joy, is a huge part of my life, and a great passion for me.

My good friend Andrea and I are often partnered together - we're similar heights!

These tunics have been with us almost since the very beginning of our dance ministry. It adds colour and flow to our movements.

We choreograph and prepare worship offerings through dance that are part of our services throughout the year. We've also done a few dance workshops, and taken part in some major conference ministries. Our dance group has been active for almost 15 years now, and I'm proud to say that I've been a part of it from the beginning.

A small group of dancers very early in our dance ministry. Believe it or not, that's a young (17? 18 maybe?) Tea right there front and centre!

We also use our dancewear to highlight certain aspects of movement. This was to "Hands" - hence the white gloves.

Bright colours and short sleeves for an outdoor service on our church's front lawn. My friend Andrea is on your left and my Mom is on your right.

Now - part of being a dancer is what we wear when we give a dance offering. We're very particular in that we like to have ourselves presented in a way that is both professional and makes us feel comfortable dancing in front of our congregation. We also need to wear things that emphasize the movement - it can be a delicate balance but I think we've managed well, and I wanted to share a few of our dancewear outfits with you.

In the winter, long sleeves are a must. We like to try and match our colours to the season or the time of the church year. Red works equally well at Christmas as it does on Remembrance day.

Long split tunics work well to both hide the belly (okay, maybe I'm the only one worried about that) as well as emphasize our steps

A silvery grey sweater (with a lace back) which flows around the waistline is a nice addition to our dance closet.

I hope that by looking at this you can see that anyone can be a dancer, regardless of their size (and that's not limited to liturgical/church/worship dance either) and feel graceful and beautiful while they do it. I am by far the largest dancer in our group, but when we dance I feel no different than any of the other dancers. Though it is a small part, our dancewear goes a long way to make me fell that way.

We try and find items that are flattering on all of our dancers, from plus size, like myself, to petite like our dance leader.

This was for a dance called oceans. We wanted the white, green, and blue to mimic the movement of water and waves.

So there you are - you know a little bit more about me, and you have had a chance to see some pictures of our dance group too!

Dancing at the National Presbyterian Women's Gathering in 2014. A more dramatic approach to dancewear went well with a storytelling dance.

Bonus: This is what I look like when my Littl'un decides to join our worship offering! He was so proud to stand up with his Mama and wave those flags!

Happy Monday!