Biblical Performance CriticismOrality, Rhetoric, Memory, Delivery, Translation, Drama

Islands, Islanders, and Scriptures
11/25/2014
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: 502 B (Level 5 (Cobalt)) - Hilton Bayfront (HB)

Theme: Dancing Scriptures
Presenters will perform and reflect on a selection of biblical texts (Gen 1, Gen 22, 2 Sam 6, Mark 6). How might we see, feel and read one of those texts again? The presenters will tease out how embodying texts through dance supplements the usual readings of scriptures, and explore how we might welcome dancing (which fuels relational island cultures) into the halls of biblical criticism.

Nathaniel Murrell, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Presiding (5 min)
Don Tamihere, Te Rau Theological College
Reading The Creation Story (Gen 1:1-2:4) as Haka Taparahi (Maori Posture Dance) (30 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Jacob Sharon, Luther College
Dancing Voices, Embodied Interpretations: Experiencing Gen 22:1-20 through the Medium of a Choreographic Exegesis (30 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Fiona C. Black, Mount Allison University
“Ain’t Nobody Goin’ Take It From Me!” Dancing with David and the Shulamite as Frames for Junkanoo and Bahamian Identity (30 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Melanie A. Howard, Princeton Theological Seminary
Boogie with the Bible: Movement as an Interpretive Lens for Mark 6:14-29 and Beyond (30 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Vaitusi Nofoaiga, University of Auckland
Reading the Dance of Herodias' Daughter (Mark 6:14-29) as 'sasa' (a Samoan Dance) (30 min)
Discussion (5 min)