through dance. Dancer/choreographer Wanda Maxwell said she is presently fulfilling her life-long dream to minister through dance.

"Worshipping the Lord through dance is my way of expressing myself,'' she explained. "Some people sing, I dance.'' Ms Maxwell, a former Jackson School of Dance student, said church dance was different from regular dancing since it focused more on feelings.

"Church dance is more of a feeling than just movement,'' she said. "once the dancers get the steps down, they have to start feeling the music and the words of the song.'' Ms Maxwell said she become involved in religious dance six years ago.

"I got saved in 1990 when my mom passed away,'' she recalled. "The Lord wanted me to take the dance back into the church.

After she finished performing with the Follies, she said she began her crusade to blend the church with dance.

"Last January I asked a couple of girls who were interested in dance,'' she said. "I choreographed something for Women's Day last year and it went well.'' Next week Ms Maxwell will stage the musical `Saint in Motion' which will depict the birth of Jesus Christ through dance.

"I knew I wanted to do something and since Christmas was coming up, I decided to do the story of Christ through dance,'' she said. "Judith Gardner narrates while we dance out the story. Between each dance there will be a song by the St. Paul's AME Inspirational Choir that's appropriate to the theme.'' The show will take place at St. Paul's Centennial Hall on November 22 and 23 at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are available from St. Paul's AME Church and the Christian Bookstore.

Ms Maxwell said funds from the performances would go towards the church's building fund and the choir's travelling fund.

"I see dance becoming a new avenue,'' she said. "Since our first concert we have performed at many church concerts and functions all over the Island.

"We have had a lot of positive feedback,'' she added. "The older lot may have been a bit nervous about us, but once they see us and see what it's all about they accept it.'' In the future, Ms Maxwell said she would like to organise a non-denominational dance group since the present troupe is only open to St. Paul's members.