The appropriateness of dance within a liturgical context hinges on the essence of the Mass itself. References stressing the primarily sacrificial nature of the Mass are also abundant in Canon Law, and both the Second Vatican and Tridentine Council documents. We see, then, that Holy Mass is not primarily communal, but indeed is the summation and unity of communion and sacrifice. They are one and the same sacrifice, continued now sacramentally. Clearly, the answer can only be in the negative.
Dance has no such tradition or intrinsic connection to the essence of the Mass.
For a fallen man, suffering from the effects of the wound of concupiscence, to experience the aesthetic pleasure of graceful and beautiful women, even in prayerful and solemn adoration, in a religious dance before the Mass, is at the very least an opportunity for the occasion of sin. This fluidity of motion and beauty can have the unwanted effect of drawing the mind and heart to the world, instead of inspiring a prayerful and meditative spirit and lifting the mind and heart to God as preparation for the sacred mysteries. Understanding, then, the great beauty and discipline with which dance is performed, and understanding the sincerity of heart of those who are inspired and uplifted by this mode of worship, it is nonetheless apparent that in the West, religious dancing as a liturgical practice poses both a pastoral and theological difficulty. 1 Both Fr. Stravinskas' Catholic Encyclopedia and Fr.