Dancer Archive
Thread: /bandflourish and organizing dancing
Today in the cantina in Coronet I was bored (as dancing in a hodge-podge group can make me) and so I started to experiment with making dances with another dancer in sync(sp?), anyways, Let me say it was an eye opening experience.
We discovered that it is really hard to sync up a macro so we finally fell back on alternating /bandflourish's. I know that to most Dancers/Musicians /bandflourish is like a dirty word and many get upset/angry if it is used in a group setting for reasons related to xp gain. But the visual effect is imho worth the extra action cost, If you line up the dancers and have them /bandflourish away it looks amazing, I didn't try using /startband but I am hoping that it works for dancers as well.
What I think this means for dancers: Once you reach Master dancer you are obviously not going to be worried about the xp your earning and having a giant clump of dancers dancing in a mish-mash of styles soon loses any charm, BUT I think if you organize the dancers having a recognizable dance routine you can make dancing interesting even if you have now new skills to earn.
Imagine dividing the dancers into a chorus (who would band flourish) and having one front dancer, or watching a choreographed dance with many dancers located all over could make it really entertaining to watch.
If you have musicians in the group also it adds a whole new facet because you can creates steps to different songs & their flourishing also creates a lot more possibilities.
Right now dancing is fun, but I think it could be truly amazing. I doubt there are many who would want to spend the time and effort working on this, but I know for sure I am one. I don't know, maybe it sounds a lot cooler in my head then on paper.
But if you are one of those dancers who thinks this sounds like it could be interesting post in here please!!! Or if you don't give me input as to why.
I currently am on Flurry as Elleb Orit and I'm not Master Dancer yet but I would consider myself about halfway there.
If you think this is interesting AND you are on Flurry send me a tell or mail ingame and so we can discuss this further.
Gah! this is turned into a long post sorry, but I just want to thank Aetia for letting me try some stuff out with her in the cantina today.
I personally think it is definetly worth the effort and even before master it is worth it. You can take turns in the group doing the flourishes so everyone gets a shot at the exp. Yes it is less than what you can make on your own, but I personally am not in a race with anyone to get to master. I'm playing the game and having a blast and I'll get there when I get there.
Min'Tora Ehi
This is one of the best ways to make choreographed performances of a group work! When everyone is performing the same dance, and bf is used to synch them, the effects can be breathtaking.
I was lucky enough to be part of a show recently, with Tamboran and another playing his Ballad (words inclusive), and three dancers completing BF formal. We stationed ourselves before hand, and even without enough rehearsal time, it was gorgeous! As time goes on, it will get even better 
I don't think it's a dirty word at all, I think it's a much larger problem for musicians, too. Many use macros that try to BF, and it takes exp away from those who do not know what is doing it, or how to stop it.
But its great to hear that other dancers see how great bf can be and don't dislike using it. Too bad non eof you are on Flurry.
This also ties into the Comeda del Arte thread I saw, because that is exactly what I aim to do on Flurry. The Devs gave us the theatres, I think we should use them! Anyway, I'm going to start trying to recruit dancers to form a troupe that will create dance routines and such, I hope its a success and Any tip or Ideas you have would be much appreciated.
I personally LOVE the BF option. you are all right in saying that it makes the dancers seem more like a dance troupe than just a giant rave in the front of a cantina. Most cantinas i've been in look like any typical dance club IRL. The band playing it up and all the patrons dancing to their own tune.
I have also found that when i group with a few dancers at my same skill level and we are all in synch that the tips seem to be more forthcoming. I attribute that to the fact that it looks like we are truly putting on a show instead of just gyrating in front of a band.
The theater in Tyrena is great! i don't know what the others look like. (hope they aren't as generic as the cantinas) the stage is much larger than the area in front of the bar and to have a group of dancers in front of a band on stage would look truly great! I have tried to get people to come to the theater to heal but everyone is hardheaded about going to the cantina. I think that not enough players know that they can be healed in the theater as well as the cantina. I saw it in another post that someone suggested leaving a droid or another person in the cantina instructing players to head on over to the theater. i'll have to try that.
if there are any entertainers in the Tyrena/Coronet area in the Sunrunner Galaxyplease look me up! there is a solid group of entertainers there that all know each other and that makes the time dancing the hours away sooo much more enjoyable!
Juliana Aristhax
Dancer/Medic
Sunrunner
There are two circumstances dancers find themselves in: One is when they're trying to skill up, and the other is when they are actually performing.
There's nothing wrong with /bandflo in a random cantina pick-up group, and in fact it is a good way to feel out the animations before you're actually on a stage. But most non-Masters are also concerned about gaining XP, and for them it's not something to do all the time.
Once I reached Master, however,I found myself dancing less and enjoying it more I have a small group of performers I normally work with (we three dancers call ourselves the "Sirens"), and we use some very tightly-controlled synchronization in our act:
1. Start the performance in elegant formal wear. Dance for a few /bandflos in exotic2.
2. Execute Smokebombs simultaneously, and before the smoke clears, switch costumes. Presto - the next thing the audience sees is a new look.
3. Use /changedance to string the 4 versions of Exotic together or to switch from Exotic to Popular2 or Lyrical2 when the band changes songs. This is an under-used command and I have macros set up for /changedance Exotic2 ; /changedance exotic3, etc. The only trick is to watch your animation and try to make it seamless rather than jerky. This comes with practice.
4. NEVER use the 4th through 8th flourishes for exotic, they are not part of the exotic line. Most of our dances, in fact, only have 3 or4 flourishes. The rest are generics left over from our basic and rhythmic lines. Nothing looks worse than a group of synchronized dancers moving sensuously to exotic and then suddenly start shimmying like idiots.
5. Be in the same group as the band - this way you know ahead of time what the next song will be and can time your change of pace with them.
6. Buy, rent, or seduce a Master Medic! With the right buffs you can Spotlight and Dazzle all night long without losing Action.
7. Be judicious with special lighting. It's great for accenting the end of a nice move or a change in dance steps, but used all the time it loses its effect.
These ideas have worked out really well for me. Once you've worked with the same group of dancers enough, it just isn't the same going back to a strange pickup group.
Sinda I agree with you on every point!
Love the quote!
Juliana Aristhax
Dancer/Medic
Sunrunner
It can be fun. I'd love to see a Choreographer actually be able to choreograph a dance routine and be able to lead her/his dancers through a series of moves.
When my entertainer character first started out, a few friends and I had great fun synchronizing moves. It looked great when it would come off.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that want to level, so synchronizing moves is not their thing. Can't say that I blame them though.
Last week (my first week in game), I met up with another dancer and we used /bandflourish some. It was a blast! We had a lot of fun trying to organize ourselves and laughing at each other falling down. Unfortunately, connectivity problems have kept her away lately. I'm hoping that as the game & characters progress that more players will feel less of an urgency about xp.
A'ril, if you see this..we miss you!
I think this is an intriguing subject and worth some time.
For reasons that have been mentioned I don't think cantinas are the place for it but think the Theatres would be great. Single events with prepartion. In that case the choice of the dance becomes imaterial as long as it is in the range of the participants.
I'd also put in a plug for plays and musicals and songs and concerts. The healing function of the Cantina is important but more is possible. The game is a canvass. The skills are our paints. Paint.