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Desire of the Moons: The Elun Isille (essay)

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This is a creative work set in the world of Elanthia, attributed to its original author(s). It does not necessarily represent the official lore of GemStone IV.

Title: Desire of the Moons: The Elun Isille

Author: Elaejia Silithyr Loenthra

The Elun Isille of Ta'Loenthra

Foreword

It has been said that to write about dance is like attempting to paint about poetry; still, one's duty to historiology cannot be ignored, despite the poverty of language.

To better appreciate the descriptions in this text, the author strongly advises the reader to make a pilgrimmage to Ta'Loenthra and observe the paintings of Esilrae Winura Loenthra in the Hanesyddol Museum[1].

The Elun Isille

The fundamental inspiration for the Elun Isille, which roughly translates to “desire (of) the moon,” is said to have come from the effect of the moons' pull on the tides. Sailors coming into the commercial ports of Ta'Loenthra naturally spent their shoreleave in the numerous taverns that crowd any port, which invariably featured music and dancing among their temptations. The admixture of nautical knowledge, a desire for diversion, and the allures of courtship eventually yielded what we know today as the Elun Isille.

The Elun Isille was devised and perfected in a time when the Elven Nations were just beginning to truly recover from the Undead War. In Ta'Illistim, Argent Mirror Nuraet took the Peacock Throne and decreed that all Illistimi should be educated; in Ta'Loenthra, it was the the city guilds that took on this role. Expanding their efforts in recruitment and tutelage, the guilds tempted youths from more and more distant communities and hamlets, certainly intending to mold them to compete on the inter-house stage, but also in turn being molded by them. Thus the Elun Isille migrated from the taverns to the ballrooms.

With its establishment as a court dance, the Elun Isille was over time formalized in guildhalls into a set of specific steps which are then combined into short chains called phrases. Expressed by experienced dancers, phrases are combined ad hoc on the dancefloor, each dance partner responding to the other, and thus each instance of an Elun Isille is often a unique conversation, called a repartee. Gifted dancers whose repartee has earned them renown are called nielvikai, “salt-hearted,” an homage to the dance's seaside roots.

Partners in the dance are often long-term, in that the same two individuals will dance with one another for years, even from their earliest training. Thus some dance couples attain fame and are sought after as the heart of balls centering on live performance, and patrons are quick to snap up particularly gifted young talents. However, it is perfectly possible to learn and enjoy the Elun Isille as a dilettante; indeed, some opine that the ability to hold one's own in a repartee with an unfamiliar partner is a mark of even greater ability.

Music & Choreography

The musical inspiration for the Elun Isille is quite varied and can range from staid ancient lays, to modern jaunts, to avant-garde staccato rhythms. A predictable and strong beat naturally appeals to beginners, but advanced dancers have been known to set their repartee to more unusual and even to purely choral music. It has even been en vogue recently to provide one's own musical accompaniment by means of simple finger-cymbals.

Generally speaking, this is a dance that focuses on legwork, with exaggerated strides and high-knee steps forming the foundation of most of the movements. Dance partners typically face each other with their arms in a familiar dancing position - hands clasped to one side, and around the waist or shoulder on the other.

The list of formal steps to the Elun Isille is fairly expansive, but each step is part of a larger step family which can be briefly described. One notable feature of the dance which must be understood first is its orientation – steps are described as being taken in one of four relative directions:

  • Aranwe (sunward, or toward the leading partner);
  • Elunwe (moonward, or toward the following partner);
  • Aeunwe (literally “treeward”, or toward the focal point of the room, where a throne might sit); and
  • Lirinwe (literally “songward”, or moving away from the focal point of the room, where the musicians of a ball might be stationed.)

Each of these directions may be further refined in relation to one's partner; for example, aranwe becomes aranliwe when the instruction is to place one's weight upon the leading partner, such as in an embrace that becomes a twirl or a lift.

Step Families:

  • Eclipse family - steps which cross one leg over another, may be one's own or partner's, often forming a figure-eight pattern.
  • Orrery family - steps which carry the dancers in a circular pattern.
  • Tide family - a particularly broad category of steps which include small and often playful motions of the feet such as sweeps, taps, and caresses.
  • Tempest family - another broad category of steps, those which are bold, powerful, or forceful, such as stomps, captures, and freezes.

Therefore as an example instruction, an intermediate instructor might ask for the following repartee, and would expect the partners to ad lib their own segues from each directed step to the next:

  • Join in open embrace.
  • Eclipse Asp, tidal, lirinwe.
  • Orrery Half-moon back-step, lirinwe.
  • Eclipse Callisto's stride, tempest, elunwe.
  • Join in closed embrace.
  • Eclipse Tidepool breakers, tidal, elunwe
  • Orrery Half-moon revolve, aranliwe.
  • Fin.

Sartorial Considerations

As far as dress for the Elun Isille, this can be rather idiosyncratic, which likely owes to its humble origins. In general, the dance is incompatible with voluminous court fashions such as bustled or panniered skirts, due to its focus on legwork. This was the cause of no little consternation in its early days, but over the centuries as fashion has shifted and become less restrictive, styles have become more varied and creative. Modern dancers typically opt for tailored but loose-fitting garments in lightweight sumptuous fabrics, with knee-length skirts for women and oft coordinated hip-length tunics for their partners. Silks of all kinds are much favored, with sea-silk enjoying enduring popularity. In addition to Lady Winura's paintings on this subject, the Hanesyddol's collection contains an extremely rare elesine habiliment, tailored in Ta'Ashrim for one of the Amethyst Court’s preeminent nielvikai in the days before the Sea Elf war.

Conclusion

Dance is a vibrant and evocative art changing with - and in response to - the social and political climate as much as any other medium of expression. In our modern era, the urge to revisit and update the dances of our older traditions can perhaps be understood as a means of centering ourselves on the axis of history. There is value in taking a moment's pause on this great dance floor, to observe the parallels of today to yesterday, just as we see the recurrence in the slow dance of the distant stars.


Footnotes

  1. Painting between -6,722 to -6,424ME, the avant garde Lady Winura captured the ardor and grace of the Elun Isille as it was first coming into being in the commercial oceanside seridals of Ta'Loenthra. At a time when her contemporaries were just beginning to embellish their traditional landscapes with figures, Lady Winura pushed the boundaries of the acceptable in oils in the same way that the Elun Isille was pushing the boundaries of dancing and social mores.

Further Reading

Log of the Elun Isille lecture presented at Autumn at the Aerie in 5123