Dancer Archive
Thread: Are you listening?
Sinda wrote:I've even been in gig groups where novice dancers were worried about getting XP and tips! How do I explain to them that, one, they're being paid to be here (I make 10k to 25k for most dance gigs and I usually get plenty of tips without asking) and two, the point is to LOOK good, move to the music, and have fun for the night instead of thinking about XP? Do I want to come off as a bossy know-it-all by correcting them?
More than likely they will answer you with something like, "That's easy for you to say... you're already a Master!!"
There is kind of a problem here, and it is NOT just for dancers, but for everyone trying to run full tilt toward the end of their profession ("Mastery").
The people who enjoy just playing their character's role in the game (i.e. its profession) tend to be the people who will keep on doing and enjoying it long after they master -- because they like what they are doing. But they are also the people who tend not to grind and rush through skill boxes -- well, again, that's because they like what they are doing.
Meanwhile, the people who want to "get to the end" and "achieve the goal" (these are the achievers on the Bartle scale -- take the test if you haven't; link in my sig) are the kind of people who are in it to get somewhere, and seem, in general, not to really enjoy where they are so much as getting to the next plateau. The problem is that once you hit the final plateau, there's no place to go after it. This has led to almost every master dancer and master musician I know, turning to combat or crafting after mastering. Because they wanted so badly to get to the end that they didn't think about what they would do after they got there. Several of them, when I ask them why they don't play/dance any more, have said, "Well, I don't need the XP anymore so I just heal my own BF." These are the people who are just dancing to get XP, to level, to grind, to max out, to gain another box... but they don't stop to ask themselves why they need that box. A couple of them have even sold back their skill boxes so they would have skill points free to level something else. And I have no doubt when they master CH, or TKA, or what have you, they will get bored with that and try something else. Note, there is nothing wrong with this and lots of people enjoy maxing out and then switching professions, but this is the kind of mentality that leads to people not bothering to listen to music and not caring if they are dancing to it -- because what matters is XP gain, not the aesthetics of the profession.
On the other hand I am friends with a guy who hit Master musician last night. He brought his big honking Nalargon to the cantina and played Virtuoso, which was nice, but when I teased him and called him a show off (good naturedly, witha smile) he said, "Hey, I have been working on this for 2 months! No AFK macroing either! I think I have a right to show off a little." And he was right of course... Afterwards I said, "So are you going to keep playing music now or are we never going to see you in here again?" He answered, "You'll see me. I play music for fun, not XP. I just wanted Master so bad for the extra songs and instruments." This guy, I will see around. He has FUN playing music. I just wish more entertainers were like this.
Listening to the music and dancing the appropriate dance really does amount to "stopping to smell the roses" in this game. For me, at least, it's the fun part. It's a shame it isn't fun for so many others, apparently. Or maybe, they never stopped to think about whether it would be or not. So many other games are about gaining max XP at max speed, that I think a LOT of people (in all professions, not just ours) don't realize that this is an entirely different game that almost requires a whole new way of thinking about it, in order to play it and enjoy it fully. Maybe more people will begin to see this as they hit Master a few times... or maybe not. Time will tell.
C
However, I know one musician who insists it is a great weapon. He claims if you go to places like Lok and Dantooine, pull out a Slitherhorn, and do unflourished SW1, even the nastiest monsters will scream and run away. :-)
C
I've gotten into the habbit I'll startd doing bandflourishes to unflourished slitherhorns. They never disable them. It works quite well.
We haven't done tons of gigs but we generally go as musicians AND dancers. So the band and dancers are always coordinating, not just music to dance but special affects too.
I'm not a master dancer even though I've been dancing from the beginning, I think Tiaga might be the only one currently in the group who is, maybe Ewa. But no one started out that way. If you want to get xp you do public service, gigs are for being an entertainer and being entertaining.
However, keep this in mind:if you do a coordinated bandflourish in a group of 5 dancers doing basic2 at a party, if its a good party, with a band behind you, you still happen to get great xp. We had 5 dancers and 4 bandmembers and we were getting probably 75 or more xp for every tick on basic2 and over a hundred for higher dances. Yes it was a HUGE party. But I never made that in a cantina with 20 people in a band for a lower level dance.
I don't believe any dancer should do a real gig for someones party and be concerned about xp and money. Money should be professionally arranged beforehand and so a nonissue. Xp should not be considered for a gig unless its in the negotiations. If there is a band there that will also be entertaining listen to them, your guests will. Better yet communicate with them, thank them, appreciate them and coordinate with them. Looks better for everyone involved.
You do not need to be a master but you should know your stuff, have the moves down, listen to the band and know what fits and be coordinated. And smile...
My personal opinion is that, outside of the cantina grind scene, you really ought to be matching your dance to the music...or they should be matching the music to your dance. Many of the customers listen to the music and if they see you dancing exotic to a fast beat tune, it does not look right.
I also believe bands should not play the same song for 6 hours and should take regular breaks like a real band, but that's a different topic.
I so very much wish I could join a band that gigs out and does some of the things you speak of, Sinda. I'm beyond jealous. At this point I feel lucky to have a few friends that I can play with that are interested in outfits and coordination. If I'm ever actually hired for a gig, I might just weep with joy.
- Javier, Bria
I just wanted to say for all those that can't /listen first it's never worked for me so I always use the radial but if your's is full just right click on their name in the group member box and you should have the option to watch or listen from there. It's more fool proof than stopping dancing and /listen a few hundred times till it works. *smile*. Now I say should up there because I have not used the option but my group member did once when she needed to watch me dance and couldn't use the radial because of all her healing options. Hope that helps someone.
If we have a muscian in our group I listen... seems only right. I even maintain through SW1. I wish I could pattern my dance style to the music better. Sometimes I can, and then there are times which I have to decide which is more important, the experience or the look. Experience usually wins out.
I will probably change when I get a bit higher in Dance.
OOC:
I always listen to the music, though I usually turn it pretty low since some of it gets annoying to listen to (I pretty much just want to know when the song changes).
As for public cantinas, I don't always do a dance that goes with the music for a couple of reasons.
#1 If you're in a cantina that gets a lot of entertainers, they are almost always playing a low-level song - all of which are fast, and I get bored doing the same fast dances all the time.
#2 Currently, you have to do high level dances to gain good experience, and while I'm a hardcore roleplayer, I really really want new dances, so I want to gain experience quickly at least once in a while.
As far private gigs, I would definitely coordinate dances with the music.
~Player of Nare Ese
Kettemoor