( I am honoured to post, with her permission, this brilliant essay by Gorean Campus, Chief Dance Instructor Snow Mistwood - if you are at all interested in Gorean Dance, I highly recommend you read this....
Krista, FG Gorean Campus )
~~~
When I recall all the dancer quotes from the Books, this one quote resonates with me in my journey as a Gorean dancer.
"Tuka, Tuka!" called men. Men clapped their hands. The slave danced. Much it seemed to me, though there might be two hundred men about the circle, she danced for her Master. Once he even indicated that she should move more about which, instantly, commanded, she did.
"Tuka, Tuka!" even called some of the other slaves about the edges of the circle, sitting and kneeling there, unable to take their eyes from her, clapping, too. Teiber's Tuka it seemed, was popular even with the other slaves, of which she was such a superb specimen. I watched her moving about the circle.
"Aii!" cried men, as she would pause a moment to dance before them. I had little doubt she might once have been a tavern dancer. Such dancers must present themselves in such a fashion before customers. This gives the customer an opportunity to assess them, and to keep them in mind, if he wishes, for later use in an alcove.
"Aii," cried another fellow. I speculated that she would not have languished for attention in the alcoves. "She is superb," said the fellow next to me.
"Yes," I said. She was working her way about the circle. It was interesting to me that a Master would dare to display such a slave publicly. I gathered that he was quite confident of his capacity to keep her. He must then, I suspected, be excellent with the sword.
~ Magicians of Gor, pgs. 52-56 ~
There is little doubt she once was a tavern dancer and as such, dancers must present themselves in such a fashion before customers... Yup! That’s me!
For those who might not know of Snow, I have been a kajira since the fall of 2009 and dance has always been a part of my SL Gorean life.
At first, I didn’t believe I was good enough to dance publicly and had great apprehension when it came to entering public dance events. Instead, I would please my Owners and their guests with impromptu dance at their home and then I began to entertain in the northern halls of my previous Owner’s homelands.
Moving south, I became known as an impromptu tavern dancer long before entering my first dance competition with a pre-written dance. To me, dancing impromptu is an extension of my roleplay as a Gorean slave, which brings me much enjoyment.
We all understand that on a single command a slave may be directed to dance to please the Free. Where might this dancing occur?
Anywhere!!! In a Gorean tavern belled slave girls would be found dancing their beauty among the many tables, or in the dance pit, or directly before a Master after a paga serve, or in a dimly lit corner of an alcove.
To get started in tavern dance, impromptu dancers need only a few lovely animations, rich in desirable qualities, to showcase their sensuality. It is important to know your animations intimately and practice with them regularly. Observe how a shoulder snaps or knee caves so you may describe the movement succulently.
As I have collected many animations over the years, I have learned to categorize my favorite impromptu tavern dance animations into four main groupings:
Tight spaces where I am either slave dancing between tavern tables or in a small pit or in a large pit with other dancers; these animations constrain leg movement but body movement is still very sensual. Lately, my tight space favorites have been Abranimations sexy podium series and Henmations nightclub series.
Large spaces are when I have the entire dance pit to myself and not directly dancing before a Master. I look for smooth flowing animations that will make prim hair float in a spin. Favorites that work nicely include A&M Sensuals, the My Rumba series from MyAnimations, and newly discovered Latina series from Glamour.
Table dancing is so devilishly sexy and allows for a dancer to entertain an entire table of Masters and Jarls or just a special someone. Again, with space being limited some of my animations for tight space might work depending on table size but not wishing to take a chance and fall off at table *chuckles*
I have raided my VISTA AO for a few smexie motions that lend well to moving upon a table.
These include VAHGSt01; VAHGSt04; VAHGSt06; VAHGSt12; VAHGSt13; VAHGSt17; VAHOTST18; VAHOTST19; VAHOTST45; VAHOTST47; VAHOTST52; VAPDDANCE04; VAHOTCROUCH; VAHGCr; VAHOTSITG11; VAHOTSITG12; VAHGSitG01; VAHOTSITG02 and I also use SlowBellyDance1 by Abranimations.
Dancing a serve is just plain fun! Especially in a northern hall serving high-spirited Jarls. Why not kick high up on toes and spin, weaving through tables and wooden posts with a pitcher of ale clenched in hand. The more formal southern serve may also be adapted into a sensual dance, moving to and from the kitchen and puttering around in the kitchen being playful with other girls.
This type of dancing does take practice in knowing exactly how your animations will move you. My favorite northern hall animations are the *IrishStep series from A&M and for a southern serve dance, the Sabredance series from Henmations are just lovely.
Unless I am inviting other dancers to dance with me, rarely do I use a dance HUD while dancing impromptu. Many times I will just open the animations across my screen as it makes it much more spontaneous in responding to a Master’s command. Before dancing, I do try to hide behind a curtain or run to the kitchen to cache my animations so the transition between animations is smooth for those watching.
Once I have all the technology at my fingertips, the tavern becomes my world and the Masters and serving kajiri, the roleplayers that I interact with. I use finely tuned dance protocols as I don’t wish to over-step another’s roleplay and I must pay attention to all that is posted in local chat.
As I dance impromptu my emotes vary in length and posting times based on the scene. It takes a bit of finesse to have that perfectly placed emote without appearing to hog the scene.
To be that sensual dancer, I need to be acutely aware of my surroundings. It is that joyous preoccupation I have with what I smell, touch, hear, taste and see. This helps creates my own style and highlights my uniqueness as a slave, allowing others to note and respond to me if they wish as I dance.
It is not about me but how I react with my surroundings to create that backdrop for the Free’s roleplay. I think of myself as that character actor in background lending to the scene. Then there are those scenes that play out and I actually do become the eye candy in someone’s roleplay. This is so much fun when it happens but try not to force it, allow the scene to evolve naturally.
In a way I find impromptu dance much easier than pre-written as I have that opportunity to react in roleplay with others around me and as a dancer there is no scene to set, no story I need to tell or quote to base my dance on. I am dancing in the here and now; my dance meanders as roleplay progresses.
Crafting impromptu dance emotes spontaneously is a skill that develops over time and as with all things, the more you practice the skill, the more natural and seamless it will become. For myself, I have developed my own protocols for dancing impromptu which, most of the time, keep me relaxed and not lurching for something to emote as I dance.
About a year and half ago Master Nevar and Maia asked me to share how I tavern dance in a course for the School of Gorean Dance. After thinking about how to go about teaching impromptu tavern dancing to others, the one course actually evolved into four courses with a graduation and has now moved to the Sea Sleen Tavern at the Gorean Campus.
Very little time is spent emoting in my classes as I believe the dancer needs to be immersed in authentic roleplay for the skills taught in class to develop. Many Gorean sims offer tavern nights for slaves to practice serves as well as impromptu tavern dancing. Do take advantage of these opportunities.
While in class, I require all dancers to be moving as I wish them be watching how their avatars move when put into an animation. This observation helps the mind generate descriptive phrases that add details to emotes.
Many dancers who have taken my tavern dance series have said that the skills taught can be applied both to impromptu and pre-written Gorean dancing. *smiles*
The Gorean Campus offers the Impromptu Tavern Dance Series several times a year and the next series will begin on Sunday, November 15 at 3PM SLT. We hope you can join us!
Sunday, November 15, 2015 at 3PM slt - Part 1: Movement ~ Wiggle that ass!
Sunday, November 22, 2015 at 3PM slt - Part 2: The Tavern ~ Sights and sounds!
Sunday, November 29, 2015 at 3PM slt - Part 3: Lick Your Lips ~ Table Dancing!
Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 3PM slt - Part 4: Off-the-Cuff ~ Dance a Serve!
Sunday, December 13, 2015 at 3PM slt - Part 5: Putting it all together ~ Dance Impromptu! (Graduation!)
Happy dancing always ~ Hope you enjoy!
Respectfully,
Snow (Snow Mistwood)
with permission from her Master, Koardan of Port Haifia &
Campus Admin Lady Janette
{P.S. we invite you to our SL Gorean dance event, "SHOW US YOUR BEST DANCE" Snow has promised, to dance in this exhibition... Saturday December 5th @ 1PM (slt - pacific time) Gorean Campus Arena in SecondLife - see you there! Krista}
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