Can fantasy races have native dancing? I'm of the firm belief that female orcs practice bellydancing

They can leave their friends behind.

could work, but I still like the idea of a arabian orc warlord surrounded by his orcess concubines/assassins

>arabian
That's a Sihk, dumbass

to be fair, a ton of people don't even know that Sikhism is a thing.

I thought he was based on dervishes myself

Nope, that particular style of headdress, complete with tons of swords/weapons sticking in is iconic of Sihks.

As much as I enjoy the idea of buff orc ladies wearing oriantal belly dancer dresses, if I had to come up with something for a setting, it would have to be less magical.

>tfw the sorceress in Dark Alliance
>tfw used to dress her up and have her run around in tight leather armour

>Hobbits
Some sort of cutesy pseudo-Irish jig

>Elves
Ballet

>Humans
Everything from tango to the dab

>Dwarves
That weird Russian squatting dance

You know the one

>Orcs
Twerking and bump n’ grind

>>Orcs
>Twerking and bump n’ grind
I love how Orcs are just black people

That is fitting in more ways than one.

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Much more so than yet another 'Veeky Forums makes an X' thread, or another 'I have no friends but want to play DnD' thread.

Stahp!

5/7 Would fugg

If they have similar physiology, they can do the same as humans. Now, with more unconventional races...

You severely underestimate Veeky Forumss tendency to fall for easily identifiable bait and overestimate their willingness to discuss topics that aren't D&D/MtG.

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It's a pretty Sikh outfit yeah.

always fancied elves doing the river dance
youtube.com/watch?v=HgGAzBDE454

Imagine that but with use of levitation and shit. Well, I know Elves do swordancing because Elistatree

You can act real rude and totally removed, and I can act like an imbecile.

Have we ever seen a Gerudo dance in any of the games?

I remember the pool of water in the first dungeon and 10? year old me would have her run around naked in it.

"Native"

>5/7
Please return to reddit.

now that you mention, no I don't think we have.
Is the girl in Oracle of Seasons a gerudo? Cause she dances.

Yes, at least once. During the OoT party at the end, a line of them do something not unlike the can-can.

In Latin America (and francophone Louisiana), you have many african-derived but western influenced dancing styles. The brazilian martial art capoeira is a weaponization of this dance style.

Again, that seems very elvish to me. Especially the costumes and parades and combination of grace and physicality with beauty and sensuality. And capoeira is the real-life unarmed version of bladesinging.

Break dancing and various forms of 80s/90s solo rap/funk moves seem very halfling to me. In particular because they tend to co-exist within human communities and so are a creole of various cultures with their own unique traits and subculture. You could lump in goths and modern pop choreography and have the rich variety and constantly changing fashions that to me feel very halfling.

Hawaiians are famous for hula dancing. Although hip-gyrating in grass skirts seems very feminine to western eyes, it's actually originally a masculine art meant to show off core strength and therefore combat prowess. Not really a dwarf thing, and with elves it would be a little too on the nose. Orcs would be funny (especially if the players understand that you're drawing from serious history). But humans are probably best, as it's a mix of many things that suits all-arounders.

Communists are big into mass line dances, and the North Koreans and PRC still do it. Coordination but not much individual grace required. That could very easily be any lawful race including humans that stresses communal cooperation over individual achievement. Dwarves might be a fit, depending on the setting. To me, river dance is similar, though probably not dwarves.

Belly dancing fits for a variety of cultures. I can see pretty much any standard race except maybe dwarves getting into it.

In Mongolia and parts of Russia, contortionism is considered an art form. Not really dance, but I thought I'd mention it. Elves, I suppose? Maybe halflings?

cont...

>Dance styles other than those practiced in Europe and the West aren't given nearly enough attention in RPGs
To be fair, European and western dances have way too little exposure too.

I always figured elves would do those super pretentious medieval dances that european nobles practiced. Like that one scene from a knights tale.

And the less pretentious elves would do improv mock versions of those same dances, like the one heath ledger does when the chick helps him from that same scene

>'Veeky Forums makes an X' thread
These usually contain lots of good ideas. Why do you think they're bad?

Ballet is a natural fit for elves, I suppose. A little too on the nose, but it's on the nose for a reason.

Many cultures practice sword dancing, and they're all very different from one another. That's a thread in itself.

Belly dancing seems quintessentially human to me. Maybe halfling, too. It's sensual, athletic, varied, individualistic, and feminine. It's egyptian, originally, but also practiced by the gypsies (who have their own style and surprise surprise it has an Indian flavor to it). Keep in mind that the costume is derived from westerners seeking an exotic lingerie alternative and not really historical-- that hasn't kept the costume from spreading back to the middle east but obviously the revealing clothes aren't approved of.

Dances like the waltz and various other aristocratic complex moves seem appropriate for any aristocracy. Ditto for commoner dances of western europe and American square dancing, which seem gnomish to my eyes: rustic, fun, more about enthusiasm and accessibility than difficult or physically demanding styles.

Anyway, that's it. It's IMO something we need to pay more attention to, something to add to a world-builder's checklist.

True.

i always had the orcs pegged as morris dancers

I'd be surprised if many races didn't practice belly dancing. Thought they may not call it bellydance.

(OP)
>Depends on the setting.

In my setting, tieflings live in nomadic tribes across a small expanse of desert in a way similar to the berbers. They decorate their horns in gold, and are famed for their three styles of dancing: Sword dancing, belly dancing, and snake dancing.
Most of these dances depict their old empire that spanned the southern continent hundreds of years ago, and the four women who brought it wealth, beauty, culture, and strength.

I could use a prompt for setting/worldbuilding anyhow. Going to write in-setting, hope it's not too annoying.

"Our new peasants lack in grace and inventiveness, and their dancing differs little. Their social gatherings feature group dancing set to drums and simple instruments, and primarily involve the crowd dividing themselves into small group and moving in unison. Transitioning from one group to the next creates a chaotic whirl of unrefined motion. In contrast, our paired dances create the picture of refinement with practiced movements requiring memory and dexterity. You may as well compare orcs to elves. You would do well to avoid copying the peasantry in such respects." A newly-appointed human earl answering his sister's questions about the customs of the new family holdings.

"Right, so for this one you've got to watch the dwarf in the center ring, aye? Aye, he's the one deciding what you do next. He raises his arms, you raise your arms, he punches the dwarf next to him, you punch the dwarf next to you. And try to sing along when everyone else does! And ain't a dance if you aren't helping the band." -a dwarf dockhand instructs a human sailor on the etiquette of "rregh," communal dwarf dances common at parties.

"Child, the blade must become an extension of yourself. Of your balance. Flow from one position to the next without pause or tremble, or you will shame both you and I. You will have failed to learn, and I shall have failed to teach. Now, begin again. Balance on the point of your left toes, lift your other leg and raise the blade to meet your shin. Stretch farther...good. Now hold that pose for five seconds, then three spins, followed by an under-leg blade pass. End on both feet with a forward thrust. Three repetitions, go." -a high elven tutor reminds his pupil of the principles of bladesinging.

"RIGHT-STOMP, AIR-FIST. LEFT-STOMP, SQUAT. GUARD-ARMS, BREAK, FIST-POUND. ROAR!" -Uyrik tribeswoman teaching orc children traditional war-dance.

Nice idea!

Underrated

both of these sound cool as fuck.

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Square dancing is practiced by Modron cults.

A ton of people with internet access could correct their ignorance with very little effort.

Spiders are extremely Caribbean and Latin American in their dances.

youtube.com/watch?v=Yo2TUIEXJig

if only they would user, if only

>posting fake robo spido
youtube.com/watch?v=iUuvHPr4BGk

fuck, I could see worshipers of lloth forcing their male slaves dancing to YMCA
youtube.com/watch?v=iUuvHPr4BGk

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underrated.

I'm Sikh and tired of these puns.

>Indian Dance
muh maharaja
I remember seeing an Indian Dance troupe in uni that was absolutely breathtaking, but I've yet to find any videos that can compare.
Dance Fact: Classical Indian dance has five major styles – that represent the five classical elements. They also have several cool regional styles.
Earth Style: youtube.com/watch?v=zrWogEEvZMs
Fire Style:youtube.com/watch?v=SgiLOzFQh14
Fire Style group synchronized: youtube.com/watch?v=JWhA3ldZcyY

Here is the style of the northern traveling bards that is believed to be the ancestor of Flamenco. I think this is the most elvish style since it seems more fluid and graceful.
youtube.com/watch?v=z-3V6tdlvhY&app=desktop
I also think this kind of music would fit the elves somewhat. Specifically the mournful, wailing tones emphasizing their emotive, melancholy, somber attitudes. or maybe I'm just too influenced by LotR soundtracks

If anything, I imagine the elves as being a weird fusion of Ballet and Japanese Nihon Buyo. Both are capable of very slow, flow and graceful movements, but their methods are seemingly polar opposites.
youtube.com/watch?v=dRLpGEYvFCQ
youtube.com/watch?v=TV6aBLSqV_I&t=4s
m.youtube.com/watch?v=mdH3Vo6hVRg

Capoeira is an odd choice for elves because its not as fluid, but it does certainly celebrate high dexterity. Perhaps as a war-dance to intimidate enemies or for more primitive elves.
youtube.com/watch?v=Z8xxgFpK-NM

The coolest thing in Native American dance is Hoop Dancing, allowing them to create images and tell stories like a puppet-show/illusionist. Also lots of spinning, like whirling dervishes.
I can't help but imagine modifying it for combat, somehow using those hoops as shields would be really neat.
youtube.com/watch?v=5W2GOWvbj5M

Thus bringing us into the realm of dancing with props

We can dance in dangerous situations
youtube.com/watch?v=TonQH9DjJT8

Or we can dance with various toys now referred to as "Flow Arts", the prime example being Poi, which would come naturally to anyone who has ever used a sling. Or perhaps snake worshiping rope-dartists.
Or plain ole fire dancing
youtube.com/watch?v=af_HRIz328E
youtube.com/watch?v=y-Z4HNVcZqs
Or playing with magic
youtube.com/watch?v=NBoskq2if7E

You remind me of the guy who got me into the game. We did 2player and he always picked her, and never wore armor.

Post kirpan with timestamp or gtfo.