Dances that embody the "feminine" teach the dancer and the observers inside and outside the faith tradition about women's experiences, expressions, and understandings within their respective faith traditions. As such, in this dissertation I step into the shoes of four select dance traditions and learn what their dance teaches about women's experiences in their faith tradition. I have chosen four dances that embody the feminine: 1) Bharatanatyam; 2) kabuki onnagata; 3) women in the Mevlevi Order; and 4) Israeli folk dance. Bharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance stemming from the devadasi system; kabuki onnagata are Japanese male enactors of "female-likeness"; the Mevlevi Order of America allows women to train as "whirling dervishes"; and Gurit Kadman created folk dances for Jewish women and men.

I begin with a contemporary formal analysis of each dance form. After the formal analysis, each section of my analysis utilizes Gerardus van der Leeuw's phenomenological method; my analysis of these four dances is threefold. First, I examine the socio-historical traditions of each dance by asking how the dance teaches the dancer. This question leads me into the second section where I explore when and where the dances are performed and how their performances teach audiences within their faith tradition. Third, I discuss how these four dances teach audiences outside of their respective faith traditions; in this chapter, Paul Knitter's method of global responsibility joins with van der Leeuw for a more constructive approach that leads me to propose particular lessons or virtues that each dance form teaches. I conclude that each dance teaches dancers, faithful observers, and outside audiences about the experiences, expressions, and understandings of women within their respective faith traditions.