While exploring Joseph Campbell’s works, I came across his book titled The ‘Ecstasy of Being: Mythology and Dance‘.

The first question that popped into my mind was, ‘Why did he write a book on this topic?’ This led me to research further.

To Campbell, dance was more than just movement; it was a transformative experience for humans to engage with the cosmos and embody archetypes. It was a spiritual and mythological language. To him, dance was the oldest and most universal form of myth-making.

You can check out all of his works with this link: Joseph Campbell

Campbell’s Views on the Symbolic History of Dancing

1- Dance as a Form of Mythological Expression

Campbell saw dance as one of the earliest forms of storytelling, predating written language.

It served as a way to reenact mythological and archetypal stories, connecting dancers to the divine.

He often referenced shamanic dances, where movement was used to enter trance states and communicate with the spirit world.

2- Dancing as a Sacred Ritual

Dance was central to religious ceremonies in many cultures, acting as a bridge between the human and the divine.

He cited examples like the Hopi Kachina dances, the Shiva Nataraja (the cosmic dance of destruction and creation), and Dionysian ecstatic dances in Greece.

For Campbell, dance was a ritual of transformation, allowing individuals to transcend personal identity and merge with cosmic forces.

3- The Ecstatic & Trance-Inducing Power of Dance

He connected dance to the Dionysian tradition, where people lost themselves in rhythm and motion, experiencing moments of divine ecstasy.

This idea is present in many traditions, from Sufi whirling dervishes to African tribal dances and Native American ghost dances.

Such dances allowed participants to move beyond the ego and into the collective unconscious, aligning with Carl Jung’s ideas.

4- Symbolism of the Cosmic Dance

Campbell often referred to Shiva Nataraja, the Hindu god whose dance represents the eternal cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction.

He believed this symbol reflected the rhythmic nature of the cosmos—just as dance moves through phases, so does life, death, and rebirth.

He linked this to quantum physics and the idea that all of reality is in constant motion, just like a dance.

5- The Hero’s Journey & Dance

Campbell sometimes connected dance to his monomyth (hero’s journey), particularly in initiation rites.

In many cultures, a young person must undergo ritual dance trials to prove their readiness for adulthood (e.g., Maasai warrior dances, Australian Aboriginal initiation rituals).

These dances symbolized the death of the old self and the birth of the new, echoing the hero’s transformation in mythology.