Dancer Archive
Thread: advice needed on interacting with fellow entertainers
Else-Whira wrote:
I think it's a couple of things... 1) People often times really don't pay attention to spatial. They look up occaisionally or maybe even wait for a tell before they acknowledge spatial.
It sucks that this is the way things are, but no one seems to be interested in actively changing the sterotype.
I do my best through role play both here on the various forums and in game, but I am only human. I can't always type fast enough or drop from a heated conversation to appear instantly ATK whenever someone enters the cantina.
Well I know it's not easy to keep track especially in a place where there's a lot of conversation, emoting, etc.. But I'm hoping I don't have to send a tell to fellow entertainers simply to say hello. I'm kind of old school I guess and miss the days when people walked into the cantina and were greeted in some fashion. The cantinas felt friendly and warm rather than just some dank building where you had to go if you just needed to drown your sorrows in a Jawa beer.
So other than by example, how can we change the atmosphere? I'm not expecting each and every entertainer to give me a wave the moment I appear in the doorway. But if I stand on the steps with a black mind bar for 10 minutes, I'd hope that someone would say hello or laugh or something. They are clearly noticing when I start dancing since I get the invite window before I can hit my first flourish. I just have no idea what happened to the idea of entertainers being friendly. It's no wonder so many combat patrons treat us as NPC's when so many of us are "acting" like we are.
cheers,
Ikewe, Master Dancer Shadowfire
In other words we entertain by example. What I find is that one in 5 will respond and become an active member of our group and enjoy what we do. The other 4 I simply don't worry about because I know they will either hit master and drop the class or never master. So do what you do best and seek out the new entertainers who find it fun, those are the ones that will ultimately help us bring the class back to life.
bawler14 wrote:
Ultimately, they are several types of ATKentertainers in a given cantina...
1. Those who come to spend time with peers. ("Social Butterfly" These individuals don't cater to patrons, but are rather there to have a good time, especially with their fellow entertainers.)
2. Those who come to entertain patrons. ("Pure Business" These individualswill launch into conversation with any patron, in hopes of better tips, but often regard other entertainers as competition rather then peers.)
3. Those who come to spend time in the cantina atmosphere. ("Lurker" These entertainers are often shy. They'd often rather observe chat, then take an active part in it.)
Well, you forgot another category... which is an offshoot of the social butterfly and where I fall into: the Friendly Playboy! 
I just love to hang out in cantinas and smile at all the cuties, socialize, flirt with any female specimen with nice shapely legs, inviting cleavage, sensual moves, pretty eyes and a s3xy smile... it's all in jest and good roleplay of course as I always try to remain tasteful, funand respectful. To me, it's the best part of being a performer. 
leekoehler wrote:
I'm often the group leader in the cantina I frequent and when a master dancer or musican that I'm not familiar with comes in I'm not quite sure what do to. I don't want to greet the entertainer as if they were a customer. If they start dancing, I usually ask them if they want an invite before inviting, but sometimes I'm busy and don't have time for pleasantries so I just invite them. If an ent is friendly, well then i'm always friendly back. I don't think this is a new trend, I remember being wary of master dancer the very first time I saw one, back back in the day.
GAH! Wary?? Goodness why ever would you be wary? I tend to greet other entertainers with something slightly different depending upon how well I know them. Sometimes it's just a wave or a smile other times it's a cheer. I want them to feel welcomed to the cantina just as the patrons do. It can be very dejecting to walk into a room of fellow entertainers and not get so much as a wave. When we just get that invite window it seems like the only reason you are glad to have us there is so we can boost the xp. And while that may indeed be the case, it sure would be nice if it didn't feel that way
cheers,
Ikewe, Master Dancer Shadowfire
I probably would not have made so many friends along my journey to master. Now when I greet new entertainers coming into the cantina, I approach it with this perspective too. I just assume they are shy until I know otherwise and welcome them into group, intitate greetings and conversations, etc. This works very well for me and I have made new friends on a regular basis that I believe otherwise would not have talked to me at all. 
New entertainers are very reluctant to start a talk with a Master Dancer/Musician. Once you start talking to them, and they get the feeling you don't see them as something less or even something that ruins your own performance, it can be alot of fun.
The best times I have as a dancer are when I'm doing the Cantina Crawls or just "jamming" with the few people I have come to know as the "true entertainers" on Bria. If I'm not grouped with them, then I just group up with my pets and dance with them. I also prefer the out of the way cantinas, where there might be just me dancing and very few patrons showing up... it's more personal and people will often respect you a lot more.
Edit: I realized a couple of other people mentioned the shy thing too, not just Devil
Message Edited by Buttonmasher on 01-06-2005 11:27 PM
Message Edited by Buttonmasher on 01-06-2005 11:28 PM
Schardour wrote:
Buttonmasher wrote:
I don't really have any entertainer friends (my fault for not getting out there!) and no one in my guild is an entertainer. My guild thinks I'm funny when I say, "let's go dancing!" as a suggestion for a guild event
Add "Eira" to your friends list, along with a few of the others that play on Ahazi. We're really a friendly group of people, so you can approach us at any time
Thank you, I will do that!
I do have one question: Which cantina(s) are popular for non-AFKers? I've been to the Bestine cantina, and actually ended up being the onlyentertainer until my brother had a couple of his guildies come in and dance with me. It was a blast! We had so many people come in, mostly just to hang out and have fun. But I don't know if any other Ahazi cantinas are good spots to get a good group together, or where most entertainers hang out.
I'd rather speak in spatial, so I like to grab a small hunting group in the evenings instead.