So, you're interested in the proud Cendaean tradition of dance? Fantastic! It's great aerobic exercise; it really gets you ( )eathing. Plus, it helps develop grace and poise. (Note: not yet proven. ;) ) There are a few different styles, but they all have a few things in common: a basic ruleset!

1. A dancer's feet must either keep the beat or stay completely still.

2. A dancer's arms should flow gracefully or sharply, there should not be an in between.

3. A dancer's feet must be pointed when off the ground.

4. A dancer's legs must never extend to the side when off the ground.

5. A dancer must not forget that they are also an actor. They must become their character.

6. A dancer must keep their hair up at all times.

Now that that's out of the way, we can get into the actual styles!

·Naked

Does not refer to nudity, but rather to the absence of any flowing fa( )ic held by the dancer, such as a skirt or scarf. This style has the most freedom, since they can move their arms in ways that are impossible in other styles. There is a lot of hip movement involved as well.

·Exclusionary

This style isolates the movements of either the feet or arms. Taking away foot movement is by far the most popular, and is used frequently with slower songs. Beginners often learn both types of exclusionary dance before putting the two together. Exclusionary's arm style has to be combined with one of the other dance styles.

·Skirt

Skirt dancing is reminiscent of ballet folklorico, with extremely wide skirts held by the corners and swirled around. The rules of footwork are more lax, as you don't see the dancer's feet most of the time. This style is of more popular to be combined with exclusionary.

·Scarf

Arguably the most complex style. As the name implies, a scarf is held/attached in one of four different ways and waved around. This is another that's combined with exclusionary a lot, as keeping track of your footwork while making sure your scarf doesn't twist is a bit difficult.

I'll be making separate stories for each style so you don't have to wade through giant walls of text, LOL.

Now onto music!

Music can be pretty much anything with a good beat, but for more authentic music, Celtic folk music and classical music that seems to tell a story (like Danse Maca( )e, Clair de Lune, and most ballet music) are perfect. I dance to Celtic Woman a whole bunch. I'd imagine that instrumental versions of songs from musicals like Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera would be great as well!

Ok, I'll end this little overview here, thanks for reading about this mishmash of ribbon dance, ballet, Irish stepdance, Scottich highland dance, and ballet folklorico!