Whorling Dance
While much of the culture that Tieflings--namely of the Greymantle area--have been gradually claiming is at least partially co-opted from other groups, Whorl dancing is supposedly entirely of their own design.
Any music with a quick beat, though the speed of revolutions can be adjusted. A regular beat is preferred, but it is also possible to switch it up in a way that is either a familiar pattern (many of these have names) or a way that is regular so that the dancers can predict the changes. Many of the formal or named varieties of the dance center on these shifts.
Only requires a single pair of dancers, but it can become a group activity with partner-switching and circle variations.
Clothing that is easy to move in, without pieces that could get snagged or tangled, preferably meant to look good while spinning. Footwear geared toward fast footsteps and pivoting.
The Game
Anyone truly familiar with the dance will tell you that eye contact is the real first step. Whether meeting with a familiar partner at the beginning of a song or seeking a stranger in the middle of a wild, whirling partner-switch, locking eyes and quickly honing in is vital before taking anyone's hand. There is no slow beginning to this dance, so one must make sure that their partner is willing and engaged, that you both will be stepping on the same beat, and that body language is already being read. It is said that this dance is good for practicing social awareness, because both parties must be more-or-less reading each other's minds. The first advice one receives while learning the dance is that you will fail if you try to dance with only your eyes or your mind. Instinct and insight are how you get good at whorling. Partners take each other's hands and immediatelly swing into the speed that they will be dancing at, spinning around an invisible axis between them. If both hands are initially taken, one is soon dropped so that one hand is free to gesture with. It is polite to wait two full revolutions before beginning to throw in extra moves, but that guideline is often left behind--usually while partner-switching in the middle of a wild or generally skillful crowd, or between two familiar partners who want to try and trip each other up early. Pulling heavily on your partner, forcing them to counterbalance, also generally isn't advised unless it is needed for high speeds or more advanced moves. Once spinning and engaged, dancers begin signaling for what moves they will be doing--mostly with the arm that is not being used to hold onto their partner--and it is the job of the other person to respond and keep up. Which dancer is doing the signaling goes back and forth, but a signal is not necessarily thrown on every revolution. Sometimes moves are traded back and forth very quickly, sometimes a regular rhythm of turns is formed, and sometimes it becomes a game of watching for much more unpredictable signals. This makes for a range of very different dance experiences, ranging from cooperative demonstrations of skill to much more competitive games. The signals are dance moves themselves, meant to blend seamlessly like any other flourish, and part of the goal of the partner responding to the signal is to match it closely enough to make it impossible for observers to tell who is signaling and who is responding. Examples of simple moves that everyone learns are: dropping an arm to signal going low to the ground for a revolution, raising an arm to signal spinning in toward the center, and a dancer hugging an arm in toward the chest to warn that they will be spinning in to dance in close bodily proximity to their partner until either one of them signals that they will be returning to the usual spinning. More advanced moves include reaching forward with the free hand to grab and switch the direction of the spin, ducking under each other's arms, briefly letting go for twirling or switching of momentum, etc. While whorl dancing doesn't really have the same plotted-out moves as other folk dances, there are variations that have intricate arrangement of dancer pairs, songs with known cues for partner-switches or certain moves, and professional performances with choreography. Though the dance can become a competitive game, especially between very familiar partners, it is generally considered something of a collaborative challenge. The goal is to test one's partner more than completely trick or throw them off (as large fumbles can end the dance entirely), as well as challenge one's own ability to watch and react quickly. The connection and subtle communication between dancers is as much a part of the activity as the actual dancing is, and when someone does "win" by their partner missing something before they do, the fumble is supposed to be slight enough that observers might find it hard to keep score. Someone watching a typical whorling dance will see two people who appear to read each other's minds, spinning around with an impressive rhythm of moves running between them, occasionally grinning or laughing for reasons that are impossible to know.
History
Popular rumor says that the dance is based on old, magical, Infernal rituals, which were adapted into much more mundane dancing when Tieflings began to gather and settle in the Greymantle region. Whether this tale is true or not, the dance did at least originate in that region--either in Lockhinge City itself or brought in from the surrounding Greymantle communities during the city's early days. The fact that the basics of the dance is relatively simple to learn and is heavily based in play is undoubtedly the result of a harried people coming together and struggling to find levity in difficult circumstances. The dance is easy to explain, only requires simple music, allows for much creativity as it is elaborated upon by individuals, and encourages social connection with its interactive aspects.Execution
Requirements:Anyone truly familiar with the dance will tell you that eye contact is the real first step. Whether meeting with a familiar partner at the beginning of a song or seeking a stranger in the middle of a wild, whirling partner-switch, locking eyes and quickly honing in is vital before taking anyone's hand. There is no slow beginning to this dance, so one must make sure that their partner is willing and engaged, that you both will be stepping on the same beat, and that body language is already being read. It is said that this dance is good for practicing social awareness, because both parties must be more-or-less reading each other's minds. The first advice one receives while learning the dance is that you will fail if you try to dance with only your eyes or your mind. Instinct and insight are how you get good at whorling. Partners take each other's hands and immediatelly swing into the speed that they will be dancing at, spinning around an invisible axis between them. If both hands are initially taken, one is soon dropped so that one hand is free to gesture with. It is polite to wait two full revolutions before beginning to throw in extra moves, but that guideline is often left behind--usually while partner-switching in the middle of a wild or generally skillful crowd, or between two familiar partners who want to try and trip each other up early. Pulling heavily on your partner, forcing them to counterbalance, also generally isn't advised unless it is needed for high speeds or more advanced moves. Once spinning and engaged, dancers begin signaling for what moves they will be doing--mostly with the arm that is not being used to hold onto their partner--and it is the job of the other person to respond and keep up. Which dancer is doing the signaling goes back and forth, but a signal is not necessarily thrown on every revolution. Sometimes moves are traded back and forth very quickly, sometimes a regular rhythm of turns is formed, and sometimes it becomes a game of watching for much more unpredictable signals. This makes for a range of very different dance experiences, ranging from cooperative demonstrations of skill to much more competitive games. The signals are dance moves themselves, meant to blend seamlessly like any other flourish, and part of the goal of the partner responding to the signal is to match it closely enough to make it impossible for observers to tell who is signaling and who is responding. Examples of simple moves that everyone learns are: dropping an arm to signal going low to the ground for a revolution, raising an arm to signal spinning in toward the center, and a dancer hugging an arm in toward the chest to warn that they will be spinning in to dance in close bodily proximity to their partner until either one of them signals that they will be returning to the usual spinning. More advanced moves include reaching forward with the free hand to grab and switch the direction of the spin, ducking under each other's arms, briefly letting go for twirling or switching of momentum, etc. While whorl dancing doesn't really have the same plotted-out moves as other folk dances, there are variations that have intricate arrangement of dancer pairs, songs with known cues for partner-switches or certain moves, and professional performances with choreography. Though the dance can become a competitive game, especially between very familiar partners, it is generally considered something of a collaborative challenge. The goal is to test one's partner more than completely trick or throw them off (as large fumbles can end the dance entirely), as well as challenge one's own ability to watch and react quickly. The connection and subtle communication between dancers is as much a part of the activity as the actual dancing is, and when someone does "win" by their partner missing something before they do, the fumble is supposed to be slight enough that observers might find it hard to keep score. Someone watching a typical whorling dance will see two people who appear to read each other's minds, spinning around with an impressive rhythm of moves running between them, occasionally grinning or laughing for reasons that are impossible to know.
Cultural Significance
It is sometimes difficult to draw lines between what is considered identifiably "Tiefling" with what is considered "Lockhinge," and where those influences originally come from. Fashion, decoration, food, music, furniture and living style, and at least some dancing undoubtedly owe their creation to cultures older than the amalgamation that has been forming in Lockhinge, and it wil always be a topic of discussion when those things belong as much to Tieflings as it does wherever they first came from. However, the whorling dance itself, ignoring some of the embelishments and trappings, is one of the few things that doesn't have a known path leading back to something else. If the Tieflings have nothing else as entirely their own, they at least have this. Whorl dancing is always a part of any Teifling cultural performance, and one of the first thing that visiting or newly-relocated Tieflings are encouraged to learn. The largest occurance of whorl dancing unsurprisingly takes place in Lockhinge City, coinciding with the largest gathering of Tieflings from across the kingdom for the yearly Monster Parade. On the momentous fourth day of the week-long holiday, a famous bonfire celebration takes place on the outskirts of the city, with hundreds of dancers (most of them being Tieflings) partying long into the night. Whether dancing solo, in pairs, or in larger groups, circles/spinning is a significant feature of Tiefling dancing, and the question remains whether this is due to the supposed ritual origin of the whorling dance--some innate Infernal trait working its way to the surface in all of their dancing practices--or if the other dances have simply borrowed motion from the whorling dance, which almost certainly came first. The fact that collisions between dancers seems strangely rare (the common joke being that non-Tieflings are the only ones who ever crash or fall), doesn't help to dispell the myth of supposed Infernal power behind the dance.
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