Dance and the Grace of Discipline
Ballet teacher and choreographer Silas Farley
In the The Living Church Podcast hosted by Amber Noel (March 13, 2025), distinguished ballet teacher and choreographer Silas Farley reflects on how discipline in ballet parallels spiritual disciplines, asserting that both require consistent, intentional practice to achieve true freedom. In ballet, a dancer's freedom on stage is directly proportional to their commitment to rigorous training, technique, and discipline. Similarly, spiritual growth and deeper communion with God are cultivated through dedicated practices such as prayer, immersion in Scripture, and active participation in a faith community. Farley emphasizes that this dynamic of discipline leading to freedom is evident in both the physical realm of dance and the spiritual journey of faith. This is a brief excerpt from that podcast:
Advancing toward our goals as professional dancers required an embodied lifestyle of discipline. We learned to shape our feet and develop our bodies to possess strength, agility, flexibility, sensitivity to music, and awareness of other bodies in space. This preparation enabled us to navigate complex choreographic patterns and manage the interpersonal dynamics within a ballet company or school.
Similarly, we grew in our faith in Christ through spiritual disciplines. There was a clear analogy: as we grow in grace and knowledge of God, our communion and intimacy with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father deepen through practices such as intentional participation in church community, immersion in Scripture, and a lifestyle of prayerful communion with God.
These spiritual disciplines served as constant anchors and sources of nourishment for our personal growth, just as artistic disciplines like attending ballet classes and weight-training sessions shaped our dance abilities. The physical disciplines molded our dance, while the spiritual disciplines shaped our souls.
We became attuned to how this dynamic of discipline yields freedom. In ballet, a dancer's freedom is proportional to their commitment to discipline, technique, and training. When the curtain rises and the orchestra begins to play, dancers are liberated along prescribed pathways, within which they possess remarkable and genuine agency.
Lincoln Kirstein, the visionary arts patron who played a pivotal role in bringing ballet to America, observed that dance epitomizes the fusion of predetermination and personal agency. The choreography and its relationship to the music are meticulously set; any deviation could lead to collisions, falls, or disruptions in the design.
Yet, within these structured pathways, dancers have boundless opportunities to fully realize their physicality and emotional expression, engaging in dialogue with fellow dancers, musicians, and the audience. And by choosing in each moment to adhere to the prescribed pathways, dancers achieve a state of liberation and literally fly.
About Silas Farley
Silas Farley is a distinguished ballet teacher and choreographer, currently serving as the Armstrong Artist in Residence in Ballet at Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts. A former dancer with the New York City Ballet, Farley has held notable positions such as Dean of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute at The Colburn School in Los Angeles and Principal Guest Teacher at the School of American Ballet. In 2024, Farley premiered "Four Loves," a one-act ballet inspired by C.S. Lewis's exploration of the four types of love: storge (familial), philia (friendship), eros (romantic), and agape (divine). This work, set to a commissioned score by composer Kyle Werner, was performed by the Houston Ballet from September 19 to 29, 2024, at the Wortham Theater Center. Farley has taught and choreographed for esteemed institutions, including the School of American Ballet, Peabody Conservatory, the Kennedy Center, The Washington Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and New York City Ballet. His choreographic repertoire includes works presented at venues such as the School of American Ballet, The School at Jacob's Pillow, the New York Choreographic Institute, Columbia Ballet Collaborative at Columbia University, Works & Process at The Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Beyond his teaching and choreographic endeavors, Farley contributes to the ballet community as the writer and host of the New York City Ballet podcast, "Hear the Dance," and serves on the Board of The George Balanchine Foundation. His multifaceted career reflects a deep commitment to the art of ballet, encompassing performance, education, choreography, and scholarship. Farley is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, a faith that profoundly influences his life and work. He is married to fellow ballet dancer Cassia Wilson, and together they have a son named Asa.
