Dance

Dance is important to all cultures across Efre Ousel. There are three types of dance: performative, communal, and ritual. A dance performance is solely for the entertainment of a watching audience. A skilled professional will dance to musical accompaniment. This display of grace and power is similar to ballet without any point technique, and also has a narrative quality. Communal dancing is pervasive at all levels of society—from the sophisticated court dance to a raucous tavern dance, where patrons will push the tables to one side of the room and stomp their feet to the music.

Ritual dancing is done in private, sometimes in the wilderness, away from prying eyes. It is a dance to invoke the will of the gods. The dance is highly personalized to each god and each supplicant. For example, a dance to Aegir may take place on the beach at the water’s edge or only when it is raining. A dance to Olar might involve rhythmically swinging a weapon. A dance to Sarna’vot would probably include throwing gold coins into the air. These dances are not part of a typical worship. Instead, a person dances before the gods, when they have an important need that is beyond their control. Only the gods can make it right.

The dance is a last ditch effort to turn around a hopeless situation.