Dancing With Purpose, The Praise Assembly of God Dance Teams
story by CINDY REID photos by JOHN WOLLWERTH
Dancing with the purpose to praise God may be a new concept for some. Most of us think of dancing as something people do for fun at weddings or perhaps something to be appreciated at the ballet. But for some dance is a way to worship God, a way to praise God in the context of their faith. At the Praise Assembly of God, led by Pastor Jamie Gardner, for the past five years, the dance teams have been working hard to bring their faith through dance to the church’s worship services. Dance Team Leader Angela Brooks says, “It is a great change of pace for the congregation and it’s really just a different form of worship. We are called to use all our talents to worship Him and iit is exciting to see the students use everything they’ve got to worship our creator.”
Dance Team Leader
Angela Brooks is the founder of the Dance Team and also the Elementary Minister at Praise Assembly of God. She says “My position is running the elementary department, which means I teach the lessons, disciple the kids, put programs together, train the volunteers, fundraise for missions and basically do anything that needs to be done for our elementary age students.”
Angela brings a wealth of dance expertise, she says “I have been dancing since I was four years old, with Darla’s Dance Studio and The Dance Academy. I was a member of the competition team through middle and high school. “She says her love of dance continued into college, graduating from Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio with an Associate of Arts, specializing in Dance.”
Angela’s husband is City of Beaufort Police Officer Ben Brooks, and they have three sons. (Ian age twelve, Payton age ten and Colton age six). They moved here from Ohio five years ago. Angela,” We would come down to visit my father-in-law here and after every trip, it got harder and harder to go back to Ohio. Finally, we decided to make a big life change and make the move here. We love it here.”
When her family first joined the Praise Assembly of God congregation Angela looked for a volunteer opportunity that would utilize her talents and so she took on starting the dance teams. “I thought it would be a great place for me and it was!”
Dance Routine
For the past five years Angela, assisted by Taylor Mahala, has been working with the team every week. Angela says, “We start with a devotion, which focuses us on why we are here. Then prayer, then warm up and stretching, then choreography for the song we are working on.”
The team picks a song with the Worship Team that they can work on together. They let the Pastor know when they are ready and the dancers are added to the Sunday service. They have dance team costumes of black pants and colorful tunics. Some favorite worship songs they have created routines for are “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury performed by the Senior Team and “Joy” by King and Country performed by the Kidz Team. Angela says, “We stress that the Dance Team is about God. He has given us the challenge of using our bodies and lifting God up, that’s our focus when we get up and dance.”
Community
Currently, the dance teams perform at several community events outside the church. Angela says, “Every year we go out and minister at Beaufort’s ‘Night on the Town’ in December. The children get nervous but they love it. We have done the talent show at the Beaufort Water Festival and are interested in additional opportunities in the community. I would say that more community outreach would be what our future would hold.”
The Dancers
The dancers and their families are members of the congregation and there are two dance teams, the Kidz Team for children 7-12 years old, and the Seniors for age 13 years and up. Kidz Team: Annabelle Wollwerth, TaNiyah Griffin, Jaslene Jones, Jeremiah Griffin, Bella Lawrence, Riley Yoder, Victoria Henry, Shyann Wells, Madisyn Phagan, Elijah Tillman (not pictured), Laney Lowther, Syleia Sanders, Brooklyn Sowell, Angel Henderson. Senior Team: Taylor Mahala, Abby Wollwerth, Sarah Reynard, Brittany Oliver. Angela says the dancers who have been with her the longest are Annabelle Wollweth, TaNiyah Griffin, Jaslene Jones, Abby Wollwerth, Taylor Mahala and Sarah Reynard.
There is so much more to it than learning the music and choreography. Angela says, “The students are building a team, a support system, so they can see that together we can create something beautiful to worship our creator with. They really work hard and I am so proud of them all.”
