the Art of Dancing - a manual

Post date: May 16, 2011 6:1:4 AM

By Simbo Rumblebelly 

Hullo Dancers!   Here is a little manual on how to dance. It is assumed you have already visited a dance master at a festival, and have a basic knowledge of some of the more common dance moves.   This guide is mainly to teach you how to dance in time with your fellow dancers!   General Dancing Tips

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Practise the moves on your own - In particular, watch how the dance starts, and how it ends, before repeating again and again.

Anticipation is the key; you need to anticipate when the dance is about to end, so you can be ready to join at the next cycle.

Some dance moves involve a lot of swinging of the arms, whereas others involve the feet. Some also involve alot of moving about, rather than staying on the same spot. Identifying this in each dance helps you know when to start.

If you are out-of-step without your fellow dancer, you don't actually have to stop dancing before trying again. Just wait until the right moment and just start dancing again.

Most of all: Practise, practise, practise!

Specific Dances

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Some information on the specific dances taught by the dance masters.

Hobbit Dance 1 - During the dance, the dancer will raise their left arm up, and spin in a full circle. When their left arm is facing the front (three-quarters of the way through the spin) then you start dancing.

Hobbit Dance 2 - A tricky dance, as it is fast, and repeats quickly! But effectively the dancer is doing a dance in the shape. They dance forward, left, right, back, and then repeat. As they are stepping from back to the front, then you should join in the dance. It can take a few attempts to get right.

Man Dance 1 - In this dance, the lad sways about a bit, turns, and wiggles his fingers. He then gives a little clap, and repeat. The dance should be started just after the clapping. This dance also works best in a pair; a lad and a lass. The lad should stand on the lasses left, facing the front. If you start at the same time, the lad should end up wiggling his fingers first; the lass then wiggles hers in reply.

Man Dance 2 - The trick is to watch the feet. First the dancer sways left, swings their feet two times, and sway backs to the right. Next they sway left again and swing their feet FOUR times. Then they return to the right. As they get ready to sway left again, that is when you should begin!

Dwarf Dance 1 - This is a simple dance where the dancer sways from left to right. First they sway a bit to the left, then far to the right, and then left again. Join the dance in the middle of swaying from right to left.

Dwarf Dance 2 - A tricky dance this, but the trick is to watch the hands! You start by bringing your hands together, followed by the a little jig. You sway quickly to the left, and then back to the right again, and then it repeats. So, when the hands come together behind the back, you go!

((OOC Hints

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If you find yourself starting over and over again, try adding some extra details to the dance emote to try and disguise this, and add a bit of flavour, such as "/dance_hobbit jigs faster".

Avoid doing emotes with actions whilst dancing, as these can cause you stop dancing.

Also avoid saying things that could cause emotes automatically. For example, asking a question will cause you to stop.(If you need to ask a question, try putting a full-stop after the question mark at the end, such as "Do you have any pie?.")

When you target a player, the target circle will appear around them. For the dances, which involve a lot of moving left-to-right, or backwards-and-forwards, you can tell when the dance is about to begin again, as the dancer will return to the centre of the target circle.  ))

Some information about the artist:

Master Simbo is a famous poet around the Shire. When not preoccupied with collecting and eating pies, Master Simbo works on expanding his collection of self-written poems. He is a regular visitor of the Green Dragon, where on fridaynights he may be found willing to recite some of his work. Master Simbo is also a gifted musician and actor. He also is the initiator and promoter of synchronised dancing, giving classes and performances with his Dancing Troupe.

Getting ready for synchronised dancing.