Red Flows the Sirannon Planning/Discussion Thread

[Arry]

Folwren

When I starting thinking about the Dwarves and dancing, I thought about another group of people who are traditionally mountain dwellers (though not under the mountains, but in the wooded hollows among the hillsides) - the folk who settled along the Appalachian Mountain range. They were a hard working, resourceful people with close knit communities who drew deeply on their Ango-Celtic roots. They brewed their own drink, 'moonshine', and made some of the most energetic, sweetest, toe tapping music I've had the pleasure to play and dance to.

Some dancing styles included both men and women, but many were individual dances or dances done in little groups of the same sex, mostly male. Some of the dances were little competitions between the males, showing off for the women or just plain trying to outdo each other.

Here's an example of the kind of music I'm speaking about (you can scan down the pages to where the music files are): The Camp Creek Boys - The Fuzzy Mountain String Band

The kind of dancing I had in mind is called Buck Dancing - one of the variants of Clogging.

Just because I enjoy it so much I'll throw in this short history of Appalachian traditional music, too.

Now I can just see the Dwarf men in their hard-soled boots, dressed in their best breeches, their eyes glinting as they try to outdo each other in their energetic, rhythmic, clogging. A little 'likkered' up on home brewed ale - they could set the great hall ringing with the beat of their feet on the hard stone floor.

Perhaps that is more than you wanted to know . . . but you did ask . . .

-- Arry