Young Catholic Fuses Her Faith with Her Dancing Shoes

  

A dancer since she was five, Kristin Kissell has trained in ballet, jazz, tap, and modern dance, and received her bachelor’s degree in fine arts and dance from the University of Wyoming.

But it wasn’t until she happened upon a mention of liturgical dance in a Seattle church bulletin that the 26-year-old thought about combining her passion for dance with her faith. She began dancing with St. Patrick Catholic Church’s liturgical dance minster, Betsey Beckman, as well as at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, and her two worlds connected.

“I fell in love with it,” Kissell said. “I knew it was something I was called to do.”

Three years later, Kissell is still dancing at St. Patrick Church. Although she will soon be moving back to her hometown of Denver, Kissell knows she’ll continue this practice of prayer.

“Saying a prayer, to me, is using only part of our being,” she said. “Dancing a prayer is praying three times. It’s using your entire being—mind, body and spirit—to express one’s self. When dancing, everything seems to unify in praising God.”


Watch this video to learn more about Kissell’s ministry: