Elven Dance
Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 7:55 pm
Something I have always been adimant about on this mud is elven rp. Elves are so unique in their mannerism and beliefs and I chose to play an elf of a long dead empire and continue to try to find resources for it. I came upon this in my search and do believe that is can be taken in all sences not just Cormanthyr elves as styles of dance differ by race not location.
Given the length and complexities of elven ballads (which could last for up
to 15 hours at a stretch), it's important to note that elven dance music
differs greatly from what one might normally find in an elf bard's
repetoire. Note that no horned instruments are used for the music of
"proper" elven dancing, though some trends during the time of Myth Drannor
saw elves and halflings and humans change this and create hybrid dances and
music that shared facets of each of their cultures.
The dance theatre, when not perfomring something similar to opera and dance
theater combined, often has slow, dramatic interpretive dances involving
one to five dancers and numerous veils and decorations. Much of this dance
seems quite modern to us, all participants keeping eyes closed and moving
rythmically with the music (predominantly drums and deep toned harps).
The most common participatory dances in Myth Drannor & Cormanthor were akin
to the minuet--very structured and patterned, the dancers often pacing out
in the pattern of elven letters on the floor. Foremost among the rules of
this dance are these: All dancers are barefoot and must endure much of the
dance on their toes, and they cannot touch their partners anywhere save
their fingertips (and this is the hardest skill for humans to grasp,
learning how to lead with the merest touch).
Dance obviously will vary among the nobility of elves and the common folk
and other races of MD. Most courtly dances will mimic those you might see
in period pictures and/or from the 17th century. Among the commoners and
mixed races, something akin to the waltz is the most common dance during
MD's time; some elves truly enjoy the far more physical and tactile nature
of human dances, though they are puzzled by halfling dances (imagine the
Virginia Reel with a few varied handstands and cartwheels among it, and
you're close to how they dance...), rarely giving them a try.
Gypsy/Romani style dances about the firelight are very much an
anything-goes sort of dance, though there are some patterns involved in
some steps and playing finger cymbals. This is the type of dance never seen
among the nobles or leaders, usually learned from the green elves and the
allies out among the forest instead of a common city dance.
Finally, romantic dances among two people? Well, that's really entirely up
to them, isn't it......?
Steven Schend
Doctor of Elven Anthropology and Sociology