"There are many forms of dance," I said. "Music is not even necessary. It need not even be ore than beautiful movement. Move before the men, and about them. Move as seductively and beautifully as you can, and as a slave, swaying, crawling, kneeling, rolling, supine, prone, begging, pleading, piteous, caressing, kissing, licking, rubbing against them." — Mercenaries of Gor, page 60.

This page is dedicated in memorium to my good friend *~*~* Quierra *~*~*

Characteristics of Dance

Gorean slave dance refers to any of thousands of different styles of slave dances. While those dances which are culture-specific within Gor itself and/or are named, many others are free form. Some of these cultural dances are only whispered of, and most we don't get to enjoy because they simply were not incorporated into the books. Kajira DancingRegardless of the style or type, the Gorean slave dance has several common characteristics. It's goal is to demonstrate the beauty of the slave girl, her needs and submission to the strength and absolute control of men, thusly seeking to earn the welcomed responses of these men, with the expectation to satisfy the arousals earned.

"The institution of female slavery on Gor is doubtless thousands of years old; accordingly it is natural that there should be great complexity and refinement in such a delicious art form as slave dance. There are even, it might be mentioned, hate dances and rebellion dances, but most dances, as might be expected, are display dances, or need dances, or love and submission dances; even the hate and rebellion dances, of course, conclude, inevitably, with the ultimate surrender of the girl to her master as a love slave." — Fighting Slave of Gor, page 288.

"The Gorean dancer is expected, usually, to satisfy the passions she arouses." — Players of Gor, page 26.

"Only too obviously was this a trained dancer, and yet, too, there was far more than training involved. Too, I speak not of such relatively insignificant matters as the mere excellence of her figure for slave dance, as suitable and fitting as it might be for such an art form, for women with many figures can be superb in slave dance, or that she must possess a great natural talent for such a mode of expression, but something much deeper. In the nature of her dance I saw more than training, her figure, and her talent. Within this woman, revealing itself in the dance, in its rhythm, its joy, its spontaneity, its wonders, were untold depths of femaleness, a deep and radical femininity, unabashed and unapologetic, a rejoicing in her sex, a respect of it, a love of it, an acceptance of it and a celebration of it, a wanting of it, and of what she was, a woman, a slave, in all of its marvelousness." — Magicians of Gor, pages 53-54.

"'Slave dance,' on Gor, incidentally, is a very rich and varied dance form. It covers a great deal more than simple 'ethnic dance.' For example, it includes dances such as hunt dances, capture dances, submission dances, chain dances, whip dances, and such. Perhaps what is done in slave dance on Gor would count as 'exotic dance' on Earth, but, if we are thinking of the actual kinds of dances performed, then there is much in slave dance, for example, story dances, which are seldom, if ever, included in 'exotic dance' on Earth, and there are forms of dance in 'exotic dance' which for one reason or another, are seldom, if ever, seen on Gor, for example, certain forms of carnival dancing, such as bubble dancing or fan dancing. Perhaps the reason such dances are seldom, if ever, seen on Gor, is that Goreans would not be likely to regard them as being 'real dance.' They would be regarded, I think, as little more than culturally idiosyncratic forms of comedic teasing. They are, at any rate, not the sort of dance, or the 'danse-du-ventre' sort, so pleasing to strong men, which a slave on Gor, fearing the whip must often learn to perform." — Dancer of Gor, page 172.

So You Think You Can't Dance

In the Gorean world, anyone can dance, at least in the most basic ways, and even so, a girl who writes simply can turn those simple words into a wonderful, alluring dance. It's not particularly difficult if you simply practice the same sort of things that you do when serving paga or food. There are some very simple things to practice, which will help you develop your skills at writing dance. This essay written in 1997, and further expanded on in 1999 with my good friend *~*~* Quierra *~*~* and is © 1997-2007 Moon Productions.

The following simple tools and exercises will develop your ability to express descriptions. Just as a dancer in real life must exercise, so must a dancer in virtual time. Whereas the exercises for the dancer in real life are physical, for her dance is in the physical world, the exercises for the dancer in the virtual world are the written word, for her dance is in the written word.

  • Study a fire flame and watch its movements for 5 minutes, then take a pen and paper and describe what you saw, describe each flicker, the way the flame dances. Yes, a fire flame is a wonderful dancer to learn by! It bends and leaps; it stretches and subdues.
  • Think of your fondest memory of someplace that you love, such as sitting at the ocean and watching the waves, or sitting in a garden. Describe everything about that place that you love.
  • Study a tree blowing in the wind and watch its movements for 5 minutes, then take a pen and paper and describe what you saw, each bend of the trunk, the sweeping arms of the branches, the soft fluttering of leaves.
  • Combine the above two steps, the fire flame and the tree dancing in your favorite place. Your body is the flame, your arms stretching, your legs leaping, the trunk of your body folding, yourself stretching, yourself subdued, falling to the ground. Your body is the tree, the branches are your arms sweeping, the leaves are your hands, the trunk is your torso.
  • Take a day to walk around outside and listen to the various sounds around you. Write out a description of what you heard, the bells ringing in the distance from the church down the street, the chirping of birds playing in the trees, the eerie buzzing of the cicadas, a dog barking.
  • Get yourself a good thesaurus. For those who can't afford to purchase these necessary aids, there are online dictionaries and thesauri out there. I highly recommend Merriam-Webster: http://www.m-w.com. Refer also to "A Matter of Speaking" in the Miscellaneous section on the main page.

Beginning the Dance

Many dances start in a basic position in which the woman stands and lifts Basic Beginning Dance Positionher hands over her head, then place the backs of each hand against each other, palms facing outward, with knees flexed gently. It's a pose that demonstrates submission with a superb graciousness to it. The woman is soft, helpless, beautiful, preparing to show the men that she is indeed worth their glances and attentions, that indeed she deserves to live. The dancer in the picture here demonstrates the proper pose.

"I stood before them with my hands lifted over my head, the backs of my hands facing one another, my knees flexed. It is a common beginning position in slave dance. The musicians readied themselves." — Dancer of Gor, page 190.

 

Closing the Dance

The dances of the slave girl generally end in postures of complete submission.

"Then it finished in a swirl and I spun and sank to my knees before them, my head down, my hands on my thighs, in a common ending position for such a dance. Never before, however, I think, had I been so suddenly and deeply struck with the meaning of this ending position, it following the beauty of the dance, its presentation of the dancer in a posture of submission." — Dancer of Gor, page 32.

"Yesterday, at the conclusion of my last lesson, when in a swirl of music, I had lowered myself to the floor, in a dancer's posture of abject submission before men, I had heard several of them cry out with approval, and strike their left shoulders repeatedly, fiercely, with the palms of their hands." — Dancer of Gor, page 168.

Rules to Dance By: The Basics

Now that you're ready to start putting together a dance, whether it is pre-written or off-the-cuff, there are some basic guidelines you should follow that will ensure that you are pleasing to your audience, can capture and keep their attention, and walk away with great pride at your accomplishment. This essay written in 1997, and further expanded on in 1999 with *~*~* Quierra *~*~* and is © 1997-2007 Moon Productions.

 

  • Remember that your audience cannot see you. Think of it as painting a picture vividly with words, so that your audience — and you! — can imagine easily your form dancing. Keep your painting realistic, rather than surreal. Watch dancers, and see how many can do a triple somersault and land on a finger, followed by a scissor-kick and end up in a full frontal split. Remember that you are beautiful, and sensual, and the most alluring woman present, and demonstrate this deep essence of yourself. Don't be afraid to display emotions, be it anger, frustration, joy, etc., as well as your slave needs, thoughts and desires. Culminate the end of your story by demonstrating your submission.
  • Always check your spelling!!! There is nothing more displeasurable than trying to interpret spelling errors while reading a dance. Also, get yourself a good thesaurus. For those who can't afford to purchase these necessary aids, there are online dictionaries and thesauri out there. I highly recommend Merriam-Webster: http://www.m-w.com. Refer also to "A Matter of Speaking" in the Miscellaneous section on the main page.
  • If you want to capture your audience's attention — and keep their attention — your dance will not only need to flow smoothly, but also easily readable. It's a good idea to limit each dance post to both minimum and maximum. Three (3) sentences is rather short, while eight (8) or more sentences can be overly wordy; be careful of run-on sentences as well. Too many of those, and you will be listening to the snores of your audience. Don't make your dance last too long either. A minimum of five (5) and a maximum of ten (10) posts is the best bet.
  • If you have pre-written your dance, after making your post, read through it at a normal pace before posting the next movement. If you can, read through the next post for last-minute spelling or grammar corrections. You don't want to rush your audience and perhaps miss something subtle (or not so subtle) by trying to hurry through to catch up to the next post. This also allows your audience time to offer their comments, and motivate you as the dancer moreso. If you've pre-written, this allows you opportunity to ad lib and enjoy!
  • The Gorean dance is not always set in stone. While most Gorean dances are free form, there are, however, cultural and specific traditional dances. Familiarize yourself with them, and use the quotes as examples to create your own free form dance, perhaps combining key parts of several. If you choose to dance free form, you want your audience to understand the story you are telling; make sure it makes sense! Make sure, in your posts, your thoughts and movements play on this. Oftentimes, the dancer does not reveal herself or the dance until she brings it to its culmination. An example is the submission dance. The crucial key of the slave dance is to release your emotions and display them without inhibitions.
  • Remember that there are many items that can be used in your dance, such as a chain or a whip, or more subtly, bells or finger cymbals. Items such as a master's belt, you must of course beg permission to use. Lap dancing on a master is — simply put — tacky. It also could well earn you a cuffing or a caging; touching a free without permission is a major no-no. Too, you don't want to offend the other men in the audience by failing to offer them attention as well.
  • Dance is not masturbation set to music. Such dances are anathema to the concept of the Gorean slave dance. Female slaves did not masturbate for the pleasure of men; men masturbated women. The master is in control of the female slave; masturbation by a female slave takes that control away. A dancer is expected to be passionate but also feminine and exquisitely beautiful, and therefore, it is not distasteful if you glisten, et al, to demonstrate your arousal. However, there is far more to dancing than displaying your sexual hunger; elegance, gracefulness, beauty, sensuality can all be shown in dance without be crude or distasteful. The slave girl, does, however, bring herself to great need, but with the intent to entice a master, with the hopes and desires of slave rape being her reward for her dance. In fact, the act of asking permission of a master to have an orgasm is a convention of the BDSM realm, and not of the Gorean realm. Gorean masters enjoy seeing and feeling the slave girls in throes of sexual release — when the Gorean master is using them, that is. In the books of John Norman, there is never a dance mentioned or described, in which a slave girl masturbates herself to release while dancing. The only quote ever to come close is in the case of the bead dance, in which figures are formed with beads and hands movements, such as the figure of a free woman or a whip — or the yielding, collared slave. Which is far different than the slave IN the dance yielding.

"I then gave my attention to the dancer, a sweetly hipped black girl in yellow beads. She was skillful and, I suspected, from the use of the hands and beads, had been trained in Ianda, a merchant island north of Anango. Certain figures are formed with the hands and beads which have symbolic meaning, much of which was lost upon me, as I was not familiar with the conventions involved. Some, however, I had seen before, and had been explained to me. One was that of the free woman, another of the whip, another of the yielding, collared slave. Another was that of the thieving slave girl, and another of the girl summoned, terrified, before the master. Each of these, with the music and followed by its dance expression, was very well done. Women are beautiful and they make fantastic dancers. One of the figures done was that of a girl, a slave, who encounters one who is afflicted with plague. She, a slave, knows that if she should contract the disease she would, in all probability, be summarily slain. She dances her terror at this. This was followed by the figure of obedience, and that by the figure of joy." — Explorers of Gor, pages 133-134.

 

 

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Special Note

Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:

  • Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
  • Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
  • Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
  • Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
  • Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
  • Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)

Disclaimer

These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are strictly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.