Thread: Presenting the 4th Annual Great Elven Ball

It all started with a naive attempt to dedicate a Ball to the elven roleplayers several years ago. An event to set aside all disagreements and be united in a lighthearted dancing event, also a celebration for our kin anniversary. Without much expectation we gave it a go...

Some of you might remember the First Grand Elven Ball back in November 2008 :







It was a nice event! One of the first of its kind. You did all honor us by joining to our humble event in such numbers and as a result, we made it an annual event next year, properly titled as The 2nd Annual Grand Elven Ball, in October 2009 as many of you remember :

Second event is still considered to be the best in the kinship in the terms of spontaneousness, improvisation and the quality of music. The attendance were greater than the first and overwhelming for us. We had but no option to work harder for the 3rd, October 2010 :








Third event in my opinion was very rich in artistic taste. Since we were more experienced in such events, we knew a bit better what the audience were capable of if directed properly in a synchronized dancing event. Costumes, quality of dancing, roleplaying and the general sense of a ''Ball'' was much more genuine than the first two. We had to work harder to surpass the Third Ball

And now.... The show must go on.





The Fourth Annual Grand Elven Ball awaits you. Please as you have done kindly in the last 4 years, consider that this event is aimed to be an elven themed event and every non-elf you bring would make it seem less elven. If you are not particularly invited with your Dunedain, Men, Your Dwarves or Hobbits and if you have a proper elven alt, it would be very helpful to attend with them instead of your mighty humans, dwarf lords or hobbitses. Still its up to you! (if you want to explain your presence to Veryacano at the gate and to his cold Hammerites)

We do kindly await your arrival and yours at the event. Some of you have received in game Invitations and even in some cases, Personally inviting Order of Harp Envoys, and some have not. To clarify things, we want to declare that this is still and open event with some racial limitations and any elf who wish to come to see the biggest and largest synchronised dancing display won't be turned down.

Again due practical difficulties we had to return to our ancient kinhall for such an occasion (as it would be very demanding to do the Fourth sequel of a successful string of events in Rivendell where lack of dancing platform and housing rights would certainly be problematic) and we'll return to Rivendell after a week of Falathlorn pilgrimage following the event.

See you all there!

Will certainly be there with my Elven Lady

Look forward to it

Bumping again to remind all elves that almost a week left to the Elven Ball! While the festival is going on it might be in order to learn the latest dance figures.

For those who have learned how to perform the correct steps, we'd like to add one or two little hints on the dancing, positioning and timing.

Guide to Elven Dance in Diagonal Positioning.

Without finishing this course you can't be a real elf :P All elves must know how to dance elegantly!

Now our dance is /dance_elf2 its not a default dance so you have to learn it from the dance teacher in Duillond. Once in every 20 min she teaches it. If you haven't go and learn then come back.

If your char knows how to dance but you dont? Welcome back, here we are to teach it

Lesson 1 : Positioning

There are numerous openings for this dance but we'll learn just one of them. In this particular elf dance, Lord and Lady starts in the same line and then slowly turning to each other face to face. Lord must know the perfect spot for the good dance.

This I call it perfect because when the dance starts you'll notice that the characters will be moving diagonally. from SE to NW direction. Here's a little map about where the Lord is going to step on during his dance,



And here's the lady's path of movement :

In order to achieve a smooth dance without letting the characters to go into a collision course, and in order to avoid the lord to step on lady's fragile feet with his heavy boots we need that perfect spot. its a 1-1.5 char size away than the ladys left hand. step on there and let the lady start dancing.

Lesson 2 : Timing.

Anyone can do the same prelearned movements in the game but in order to make it a real courtly dance you need some skill in syncronisation. Your only reference point in doing that is your partner lady of course. Target her so you'll see a yellow ring appears on where she stands. Thats your reference point. Allow the lady to start the dance and you see she goes several steps forward and then returning back to her ordinary position. Ready your emote on the say slot as /dance_elf2 and when she collects her both feet inside the circle, hit the button. You'll start the next loop together syncronised!

Lesson 3 : Correcting mistakes

We can do mistakes in timing and positioning and theres no need to continue the mistake deliberately. Lady does the same movement on and on, so you don't need to be an eyesore for everyone. inform the lady to keep going, then STEP BACKWARDS once and interrupt your chars dance. Regain your perfect spot. Wait for the perfect timing and type /dance_elf2 to the command prompt. When the lady goes back to her circle, hit the button and voila, you are sync dancing this time.

Here you started the sync dance, and both chars went forward simultaneously. Your char passes through your partners left and going to her right. As does your partner to your char.





Then they go even more forward, causing a gap between each other. On the stage, by their syncronisation only the couple looks like dancing at this point.





Your char reaches the farthest point by touching your partner's circle on the SE point. If your char does that, the spot you have chosen is indeed perfect.





Then the characters start returning back to their original positions.

But this time due to your perfect positioning, characters complete their courses passing by each others behinds, making it look like a real waltz!





and in the end they will return back to their original positions. Simple as that!




Now try it yourself!

Really looking forward to this event!

Vanimar always make a huge effort so this should be a really enjoyable time for all attending!

Don't forget that,

Its Tonight!

at 20:30 CET / 19:30 UK
at Falathlorn Homesteads, Lant Veren Neighborhood, 5 Waterbank.

Such a wonderful event it was!
A big thanks to you Anglachelm and your fellow Vanimarians and of course to the band!
Choice of songs were wonderful, the organisation and job of the Dance-Master was smooth as warm butter gliding in the pan!
I had a lot of fun and Belkhala had hers too! ^ ^




I love Vorongwë's look on this one! So marvelous! xD

First up, very nice, well-organised ball. Adunie were great providing all the music of the evening.

I'd like to make one comment however, clarify for me if I'm completely wrong here. It's something I've been thinking over after the event. I felt some of the song lyrics were rather tactless and could have caused offence to non-Noldor Elves present. For example, the Bohemian Rhapsody parody (which I must say, was a very entertaining and creative take on the original and had me smiling - don't get me wrong!) about Feanor and taking the Silmaril; wouldn't that be a rather offensive topic for non-Feanorians and Teleri? I did notice certain Elves "taking fresh air", during that performance. Coincidence, or would they have been offended in-character, I wonder. I really felt the song choices should have been more thought-out, moreso if you're welcoming a varied group of Eldar to your ball.

Other than that issue, it was a fun event and I thank Anglachelm and the rest of Vanimar for their efforts.

Wahay!

It was such a nice evening, though I couldn't dance as much as I would like to, enjoyed watching the dancers from afar most of the time *winks to Miri*

Andunie did a proper good job, and deserving much of the thanks. And since they were not even on our own timezones they had to show some extra effort and sacrificed their afternoons to be with us in the EU evening. (I believe Miste sacrificed his late night too) So I heartily thank to all musicians performed last night. *clap*

Tanes, glad you liked it. About Bohemian Rhapsody, I believe the famous Queen song's Tolkien version is already famous in Spanish, so Miste kindly translated it to English for a closing performance and thats about it. As the song itself (like the ball) was aimed to create more fun than a subtle Noldor-Sindar message, I see little harm. Normally no elf would dance to a Fingolfin / Morgoth tale or song either, but I believe as readers we can have fun over blending it with RL songs in a relaxed environment one such as a ball.

I once more wish thank to all that has attented, and hope you had fun!
Expecting more screenies if you have any!

Originally Posted by Anglachelm

Wahay!

I once more wish thank to all that has attented, and hope you had fun!
Expecting more screenies if you have any!

I just wanted to add a big thankyou from those of the Warband of Imladris who managed to attend last night to those of House Vanimar and the others who brought the event to life.

I now have an IC reason to go out and learn "dancing_elf" on Khalis so next time he wont have to just stand and watch. The roleplay doing that should be fun.

Thanksyou again to all those involved.

Thanks Vanimar for a lovely evening. Enjoyed it very much! Screenshotting was a bit more difficult while being a member of the band, though Duiss still managed to dance a few times! Would have posted earlier but RL got in the way. Hope you enjoy.









And a few more:
http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/e...view=slideshow

everything was Beautiful!

NIce Ball yes, for me the best was the First.

Youuuuu took me for the first dace.... I still blush" ¬¬

It had its fun with bohemian Rhapsody, OOC, IC hmm ok but.... ok

It was a really nice event, Cheers for it!

Thank you all for coming and enjoying the evening. It was a honor to have you all as guests.

Just a small thing about Noldorian Rhapsody's inclusion: it was left for the end intentionally as an encore (to have it ooc), but as the ball reached almost three hours length and we internally decided to shrink it, I missed to signal it as ooc - encore. There were a couple more ooc songs ready as encores, but were quite long and we left them out for another day. My fault at signalling it. Here in the Spanish Tolkien Society Noldorian Rhapsody is quite a classic, as Anglachelm hinted, and I wanted to share it with the english speaking community, translating the song as I have done with several others from our repertoire.

As for lyrics choice for variety, the singed songs were:

- A dance at the court - generic
- Dawn at Lorien - Silvan themed
- Lindië's song (4:00) - Mirkwood song
- Hammerfall - Vanimar's order of the hammer hymn (Noldor)
- Time stands still - Noldor
- Nimrodel - Lorien and Edhellond, so sindar / silvan themed,
- Noldorian Rhapsody - OOC parody

Amarilli we usually sing it as an hymn for Imladris, coupled with the poem Ah Elbereth Gilthoniel, but I was requested to keep singed songs to a low number to allow RP during the ball. So, where variety for all elven houses is involved, the lyrics were quite thought, and all major branches were represented.

Finally, for the songs themselves, I'd like to properly credit them. Again, I wanted to do it along the ball, but with dance preparations and speeches it would have made the performance an eternal thing. Here are the credits of the songs:

Originally Posted by Credits

I Welcome to the Grand Elven Ball

1.- Coppelia Mazurka - by Leo Delibes
2.- Amarilli (Aerlinn in Edhil o Imladris*) - Caccini
3.- A dance at the court* - Spanish song, lyrics by Victor Suay "Hamfast"
4.- Anitra's Dance - by Edvard Grieg

II Elven Winds

1.- Dawn at Lorien* - Dijurido (Cowboy Bebop), lyrics by Morwen
2.- Behind the waterfall - No lyrics
3.- Lindië's song* - Skellig by Lorrena McKennitt, lyrics by Narnaron Lassedhel
4.- Aqua harp - by Astleigh Mondegreen

III Times of war (14:27)

1.- Hero - by HalFyre
2.- Hammerfall* - by Vestri
3.- Time stands still - by Blind Guardian
4.- Hymn of the Arrow - by Vestri

IV Grand Ball

1.- Gorec - by Melnitsa
2.- Nimrodel* - by Nimmidiel
3.- Dveri Tamerlana - by Melnitsa

V Encores

1.- Noldorian Rhapsody** - by Queen, lyrics by Narnaron Lassedhel
2.- Unity - by Phedelene

* Songs marked with asterisk come from the Wandering Bards repertoire (a Tolkienist band within the Spanish Tolkien Society my wife and me sing with); the original versions in spanish are available in http://www.oromar.net

** Can be found on goear: http://orcotalan.blogspot.com/2008/0...n-rapsody.html

My screenshots leave much to be desired. I did not dance this event so I was not on the dance floor or mingling so all shots are from the stage. Those who missed this event also missed a fine chance to roleplay and interact with other Elves. I have about 20 more shots, some with names and most without.

Opening welcome




Dancers in an organised dance.


Miste sings a song of Nimrodel.


The Ball winds down for another year as Andunie ends the event with Unity, a drum song.

Just a note: The Noldorian Rhapsody was a parody of Bohemian Rhapsody and sung essentially as OOC - just meant for fun at the end of the event. The drum song Unity is an original song by Phedelene, a member of Andunie and meant to "stir the blood".

Many thanks to Anglachelm and the folk of Bar-en-Vanimar for hosting their 4th Grand Ball! I know the folk of our kinship enjoyed the opportunity to don their finery and partake of the warm company of other Elves while being entertained by your musicians. I trust we didn't drain your wine cellar too much!

Regarding the encore...we guessed that the arrangement set to Queen must have been OOC (though certainly a prior announcement would have avoided any uncertainty!), and indeed found it amusing on that basis; erring on the side of caution though, Curugirion 'took some air' to maintain decorum!

Looking forward to the 5th Grand Elven Ball already!