Compass Dance

Compass Dance is a form of dancing that has ancient origins, known to have been practiced as far back as the early Shogunate.

In classical Compass dance, the moves are extremely conservative, and intimately tied to the music being played to accompany the dancing. Each note ofmusic is associated with a specific direction, and a dancer must be able to tell from hearing a note whether or not it is the tone of Air. When the dancer hears the tone of Air, she steps 'up' or forward, for the other four tones she steps in the appropriate direction, but never leaves a central area on the floor. The spot on the floor is called the dancer's 'mountain'.

Modern variations on Compass dance free the dancer to move around the floor somewhat more, and allow for more self expression as the dancer is allowed to pick one instrument within the music to follow (naturally music performed by a soloist doesn't allow this).

When dancing in pairs, both partners must be sure to decide on a shared compass, so that they don't step on each other. Some public sqares in Realm townships have compasses painted or marked with stones for everyone to follow during communal celebrations.