The Shakers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries put forth a number of arguments in defence of dance in worship:

1.  It is a gift of the Holy Spirit and is not to be neglected.

2.  It is in accordance with the OT precedent.

3.  It is a ‘natural impulse of joy’ suitable for the last days in which we live.

4.  Jere 31:13 foretold that this form of worship would be restored to the people of God when the eschaton came.

5.  We are like the prodigal son whose return to his father’s house was celebrated with music and dancing, Lk 15:25.

6.  Worship should not be passive but active and this means that not only the tongue and the vocal chords but the whole body should be dedicated to the praise of God.

7.  Congregational dancing both expresses and renders more profound that unity which should characterise God’s people.

8.  Such dancing allows for the recognition and consecration of natural aptitudes and it affirms the equality of the sexes.

9.  The movements enable the worshippers to enter into the spirit of the sentiment expressed in the songs.

10. Christians, being pilgrims towards the heavenly Jerusalem, may by means of a processional dance recall both theliberation from the bondage of Egypt and the way of the cross and join with the heavenly hosts in a triumphant campaignagainst the forces of evil.

(J.G. Davies, A New Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship, art. ‘Liturgical Dance)