Dancer Archive
Thread: Jedi Dancer
Recently, I had heard that there was no precedent for having a Dancing Jedi in the SW Universe. Of course, this is a terribly dangerous claim to make, as the SW Universe is extremely broad and encompasses a wide range of media. It is doubly dangerous when the SW fan universe is filled with people who enjoy such challenges.
So, reading one of the recent SW novels ("The Approaching Storm" by Alan Dean Foster, not exactly an obscure name in the SW world), I find a large section of the book devoted to the story of four Jedi, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee who are forced to perform for a nomadic tribe to gain their trust.
"In the chill, still air of early night, Barriss's lightsaber blazed. She held it aloft, glowing perpendicularly, its soft hum rising above the approving murmurs of the watching Yiwa. . . .And then Barriss began to move. Slowly at first, darting left to right and back and back again, then north to south, her footprints laid out a design in the sand that marked the four points of the compass. The Yiwa saw right away what she was honoring with her movements. As a nomadic people, they were particularly appreciative. . . .Then when it seemed she could move no faster, she began to twirl the lightsaber. Spectators gasped softly, and there sounded the first hisses and whistles of genuine admiration. It was a revelation to Anakin, who until now had never thought of the conventional Jedi lightsaber as anything but a weapon. That outside the fencing arena it could also be a thing of beauty had never occurred to him. But in Barriss's hands it was transformed from a lethal tool into an instrument of effulgent splendor. [Ed. So maybe dancing with a weapon in your hand is more about effulgent splendor than not falling 
]
Spinning radidly now as she continued to skip between the four points if the compass, the beam of spectral energy fooled the eyes into seeing a solid ring of light abover her head. She bean to swing the lightsaber, creating a lambent disk first on her right side, then on her left. Leaping from north to south, she brought her knees up to her chest and passed the beam beneath her feet, drawing sharp inhalations of surprise and awe from her audience. . . .
The potential deadliness of the dance added greatly to te suspense, and to the brilliance of the performance." (pp. 147-8)
Not only do we need Jedi dancing skills, we need new flourishes!
Luminara, Anakin and Obi Wan each perform different types of entertainment for their nomadic hosts (you'll have to read the book to see if they are successul or not!)
The point, however, is that there is a precedent for Jedi as dancers and, more to the point, in the SW universe the tools of the Jedi are flexible, beautiful, and artistic, not merely devices for killing. Swordfighting has always been compared to dance and choreograpy as well. It is not a stretch to think that dance is related to the way of the Jedi any more than crafting or negotiation would be.
Does anyone else have references to dancing Jedi?
Doug
That's simply awesome!
Did any of the three happen to use a musical instrument? That would make me even more happy
.
Sciponus, no there are no instruments, but Anakin winds up singing. Ok, I wont spoil anymore of it.
Message Edited by Shaizann on 09-23-2004 02:18 PM
.Almost makes me want to go to the village.
But not quite
.
How did you get Blue Glowie? I thought that was for retired correspondents?
Not that I agree. That's just the reason they'll give you.
She was doing footloose and still had to hold a lightsaber to keep from falling. If she was high enough level, she wouldn't have needed the lightsaber.
That SHOULD leave it out....