Welcome to The Dancing Word!

Do you have a sense that body and spirit are connected? Would you like to explore and celebrate this connection? Welcome to The Dancing Word, the website of Betsey Beckman. Here, I offer resources, images, classes, prayer videos and publications to foster connections between body and spirit, tradition and creativity, scripture, dance and life. As you navigate this website, click on About to learn more about my background in the fields of dance, liturgy, InterPlay, therapy and spiritual direction. Click on Calendar to view upcoming performances, classes and workshop opportunities. Click on Abbey of the Arts  to learn about my ongoing collaborations with Christine Valters Paintner and the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks!

Click on Ministry to learn about the Liturgical Dance/Movement Ministry I direct at St. Patrick’s Church. Click on Spiritual Direction  to learn more about Dancing Spiritual Direction, a practice in which I meet with individuals, engaging the art of dance as a tool for self-discovery and prayer. Click on Portfolio to view articles and video clips of performances and visit Store for a range of publications on spirituality and embodiment, including DVDs, CDs and books for inspiration and support.  And for keeping most up to date, please click on our link to Facebook, where you can “like” The Dancing Word page. There you will find photos and videos from all my most recent dancing adventures!

Shrines of Spain Pilgrimage

May 9 -20, 2022

Visits to: Madrid, Avila, Salamanca, Burgos, Loyola, Pamplona, Xavier, Montserrat, Manresa, Barcelona

I am pleased to join Fr. Michael Sparough, Fr. James Strzok, SJ,Erin Maiorca on a journey to sacred sites in Spain commemorating 500th Anniversary of the Conversion of St. Ignatius Loyola.

Fr. Michael, Fr. Jim and Erin from the Bellarmine staff will lead us in exploring the wisdom of St. Ignatius. Betsey will enhance our prayer through her gifts of dance and storytelling.

Click here to learn more and download the flyer.

Our 2021 DVD Release: Monk in the World – Moving with Mystery

We are delighted to announce that the new Monk in the World: Moving with Mystery DVD is available for pre-order. The Monk Manifesto is a set of 8 principles for contemplative, creative, and compassionate living. It is the Rule of Life for the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks community at Abbey of the Arts. We embrace the practices of Silence and Solitude, Hospitality, Community, Kinship with Creation, Work, Sabbath, Conversion, and Creative Joy. This DVD includes 14 prayer dances for every-body that embody the practices of the Monk Manifesto written by Christine Valters Paintner.

Our 2019 DVD release: The Soul’s Slow Ripening: Dancing the Sacred on a Celtic Path!

We are so excited to have collaborated with Abbey of the Arts once again for our resource exploring Celtic spirituality! Created to accompany Christine Valters Paintner’s book – “The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred,” this collection of 12 dances is designed to help you explore each Celtic practice through a simple dance prayer. Dance along with Betsey and the Celtic saints! Filmed in soulful, wild and thin places in Scotland, Ireland and the Pacific Northwest.

To purchase DVD, CD, or book click here.

Visit The Dancing Word Store for More DVDs, CDs, and resources.