This handout is a bit large as there are so many things to go over here. The first section will go over the music and instruments as you can not dance without them. Then we will go over each dance(there are many) lastly we will go over the process of writing a dance, Then on to the assignments J

MUSICThere really isnt any written music on Gor, lyrics are usually just passed down from one to another, this is simular to story-tellers, Musicians and singer castes wear aqua and red. Music is a very important part of composing a dance.

The instruments

bits of metal on wires cymbals : (various sorts)

czehar : eight stringed: rather like a large flat oblong box; it is held across the lap when sitting cross-legged and is played with a horn pick, similar to a Japanese koto

flute : (the players keep them polished) gourds filled with pebbles

herlit-bone whistle : a whistle made from the bone of the herlit used by the Kaiila tribe in the performance of the great dance.

kalika : six stringed: flat bridged, strings adjusted with small wooden cranks, resembles an urth guitar or banjo, though the sound box is hemispheric, the neck is rather long.. and is plucked..

kaska : small hand drum

lyre : (Master Andreas of the caste of poets had a lyre beneath His robes ) notched stick (played by sliding a polished tem-wood stick across the surface)

Red Hunter's drum : large, heavy, handled and disklike. The frame, made of wood with a cover of Tabuk hide, is struck on the frame with a stick, giving the drum an odd resonance sound slave bells mounted on hand rings

tabor : small hand drum; it's drumhead is made of verrskin. The tension is adjusted by tightening or loosening small pegs around it's perimeter

tambourine

trumpets

zills : finger cymbals

Types of Dances

The belt dance is performed with a Warrior. She now writhed on the furs at his feet, moving as though being struck with a whip. The belt dance is a dance developed and made famous by Port Kar dancing girls. The dance receives its name from the fact that the girl's head is not suppose to rise above the Warrior's belt, but only purists concern themselves with such niceties; wherever the dance is performed, however, it is imperative that the girl never rise to her feet.

Chain Dance

There are a few ways to dance this but I will put the most common here. The chain to which the collar was attached was a good deal longer than that of the Sirik, containing perhaps twenty feet of length. The Master Usually Holds one end as you dance, you usually start by pulling away from Master eventually you feel drawn to Him.

Dance of the 6 Thongs

The girl has 6 leather thongs attached to her body: (ankles,wrists, belly, and neck) She dances as a girl who is captured. She will show her defiance and bewilderment at not being able to move freely, the dance growing more frenzied until she is subdued by the Masters that hold her. The girl is thenpresented to one Master, who asks her if she is slave, to which she will proudly say that she is.

"Raiders of Gor" p. 228

Love Dance of a Newly Collared Slave

The Love Dance of the Newly Collared Slave Girl has many variations, in the different cities of Gor, but the common theme is that the girl dances her joy that she will soon lie in the arms of a strong master.

Need Dance

This dance is used to show Master your need of Him, it is to be sensual and seductive. And should tell the story of a girl who wishes her Master to slave rape her.

Placatory Dance

There are many forms of placatory dances which are performed by female slaves. Some of these tend to have rather fixed forms, sanctioned by custom and tradition, such as the stately 'Contrition Dance' of Turia. Some sort of placatory dance is usually taught to the girl in slave training." "Most placatory dances, however, are not fixed-form dances, but are 'free' dances, in which the slave, exquisitely alert to the nuances of the situation, the particular master, the nature of his displeasure, the gravity of her offense, and such, improvises, to reassure him of the authenticity of her contrition and the genuineness of her desire to do better."

"Dancer of Gor" p. 332

Pole Dance

In this dance the pole represents the Master, the girl dances and caresses the Pole as if it was Master.

Sa-eela

This is a another need/lure dance, although it does have a bit of a twist, it is meant to be the story of a neglected slave girl.

Seduction Dance

This dance is an alluring dance, a girl uses it to seduce either the one she is begging a kolar from, or to show her Master her need.

Serving (Scarf or Veil) Dance

Performed using ribbons or scarves as a form of enticement for the Master. The girl will offer to serve the Master in a most exciting manner. She typically wears a costume of scarves or uses a ribbon to arouse both herself and the Master. Falling to her knees, she may offer a lustful serve of ka-la-na.

"Tribesman of Gor" p. 13

Stalking Dance of the Panther girls

"The girls then, following her, began to dance..." "How starved must be the lonely, hating panther women of the forests, so gross is their hostility, so fierce their hatred, and yet need, of men. They twisted, screaming now, clawing at the moons. I would scarcely have guessed at the primitive hungers evident in each movement of those barbaric, feline bodies. They would be masters of men. Proud, magnificent creatures. And yet by biology, by their beauty, by their aroused inwardness, could not, in fact, own but only, in their true fulfillment, belong, be taken, be conquered...." "The drum was now very heady, swift. The dance of the panther girls became more wild, more frenzied. Vicious, sinuous, clawing, lithe, these savage beauties, in their skins and gold, with their knives, their light spears, weapons darting, danced. They were terrible, and beautiful, in the streaming, flooding light of the looming, primitive moons of perilous Gor. I could hear their cries of rage and need, hear their heels striking in the earth, their hands slapping at their thighs. I saw the teeth of some, white, bared, at the moons, their eyes blazing. The hair of all was unbound. Several had already, oblivious of the presence of the men of Tyros, torn away their skins to the waist, others completely. On some I could hear the movement of the necklaces of sleen teeth tied about their necks, the shivering and ringing of slender golden bangles on their tanned ankles. In their dance they danced among the staked-out bodies of the men of Marlenus, and about the great Ubar himself. Their weapons leapt at the bound men, but never did the blows fall..." "The dance would soon strike its climax. It could continue little longer. The women would go mad with their need to strike and rape."

"Hunters of Gor" p. 197

Submission Dance

Performed for the girl's true Master, each dance is different and unique, as is each Freeperson. It can be done in many ways, from the kajira allowing her hands to roam her own body in throbbing lust for her Master, to the girl writhing in desire and submitting at His feet.

"Dancer of Gor" p. 190

Tether Dance

"I jerked the tether at her throat.'This is a tether,' Isaid. 'It is to be well incorporated in your dance. You are a tethered slave. Do not forget it. You may fight the tether, you may love it. It may confine your body, you may use it to caress your body, an invitation to your master, a surrogate symbol of his domination of you. You need not dance always on your feet. A woman can dance beautifully on her knees,moving as little as a hand, or on her back, or belly or side. In all things do not forget you are a slave.'"

Tile Dance

The tile dance is commonly performed on red tiles, usually beneath the slave ring of the master's couch. The girl performs the dance on her back, her stomach and sides. Usually her neck is chained to the slave ring. The dance signifies the restlessness, the misery, of a love-starved slave girl.

Tuchuk slave love dance

The rather savage and wild dance of the slaves of the Wagon People done with much savagery and seduction.

"Nomads of Gor Book" p. 98

Whip Dance

In the whip dance, though there are various versions of it, depending on the locality, the girl is almost never struck with the whip, unless, of course, she does not perform well. When the whip is cracked, however, the girl will commonly react as though she has been struck. this, conjoined with the music, and her beauty, and the obvious symbolism of her beauty beneath total male descipline, can be extremely, powerfully erotic. In an elegant, civilized context, one of beauty and music, it makes clear and bespeaks the raw and essential primitives of the ancient, genetic, biological sexual realtionship of men and women.... "

"Rogue of Gor" p. 191

Tips for writing dances:

Try to keep your dances to 11-14 poses. Dances that are too long will lose the story.

Dances are also to show emotion, remember this when composing a dance.

Each pose should be 3-5 lines long, you may want to test the dance to make sure you are not over flowing the buffer

The timing of each pose is important, girl recommends 45-60 seconds.

Remember that those who are reading these dances are not mind readers. Be clear and concise in what you are trying to express.

Now onto the structure of your dance. Outline what your dance will be such as below:

Firstly lay out the dance, lets use a pole dance as your dance.

After you write the outline fill it in add the descriptives.

/me supple feet glide over the tiles as she moves to the pole, her turquoise chalwar’s glimmer softly about her hips as they sway, delicate green orbs open wide, fear dances upon her face, supple arms stretching high over raven curls as she reaches for the chains of the pole.

Now some final thoughts on writing a dance.

Always dance from your heart, feel the dance flow from you.

After your dance is written go over it and make sure that it sounds real, would a dancer be able to do what you have described.

Now read it again to yourself and makes sure it flows from stanza to stanza

And lastly get your sisters opinion and advice, some of a girls best changes to her dances came from sisterly advice J

Suggested Assignment

Write 30 lines using the 30 words from number 4.