Good dances for female couples?

Hi,

I have some couples dances from the usual sources: Bits and Bobs, 3FX, etc., that work well enough for a female/female couple, but were designed as male/female dances.

Can anyone recommend shops that specialize in selling couples dances that are designed specifically for female/female couples? Nothing lewd; just romantic or fun.

(Posting here instead of Products Wanted because I never see many answers there; people tend to frequent this forum more!)

Thanks for any suggestions,
Catrietta

I'd love to know that too, Cat. I don't think there are any. Couples dances (not just the ones in SL) are pretty much designed for a male lead and a female partner, with the exception of some modern dance...and that doesn't usually involve much touching.

Nor are there very many trio dances.

My partners and I generally dance in sync, using singles dances run from a chimera or a HUDDLES.

Silly question, but other than tradition, why are these thought of as male/female dances instead of lead/partner dances?

In a waltz the 'maybe you should lead' suggestion has been around, well since the waltz was invented. Some couples the man leads, some the woman, and some couples are bothered by who leads and others are not....

Not to say that partner/partner dances wouldn't be interesting, regardless of partner gender combinations.

Hmm.... would line dances count as partner/partner?

line dances would count as atrocities.

As an Intan Couples Dance Ball Authorized Loader, I have seen hundreds of different dances, and I cannot recall having ever seen a dance designed for 2 females. In most cases, the animators design the dances where the lead dancer (male) is taller than the follower (female).

I have been known to make adjustments to the Intan notecards to allow for taller or shorter avatars, and I could do that for 2 females as well. But that does not change the original animations, just the alignment.

I have also changed the pink and blue balls coming from the Intan to more ambiguous colors.

I wish my animation skills were good enough to make dances, because I think there is an excellent niche market to be explored here.

Well, you are certainly right about convention in RL, which can remain surprisingly tenacious in SL.

And, of course, there is the traditional use of blue and (ugh!!!) pink for the pose balls. On top of which, as any female avi who is not an SL giantess knows (and I'm only 5'10" in SL), height is a major problem. I could sit on a blue poseball, but I'd be dancing about a foot off the ground. And while I LIKE dancing, I am rarely quite THAT over the moon about it ...


I think line dances would count as "icky." But hey, I'm a city girl.

ETA: Damn. Beaten to the punchline.

On the subject of dances, anyone know any good sources for men's solo dances that are for want of a better term, less feminine and written for just dancing out in public rather than performing?

Edit: I agree line dances are icky... never really like those. Square dances can be fun, though and also would not be gender specific. Likely tricky to animate, but no clue.

I will send you a folder full later, Alexander.

I grouped the freebie dances I had into folders - one for wearing pants, one for wearing skirts (nothing like dancing and flashing the undies while doing the splits in the air) etc.

Doesn't Sine Wave have whole sections devoted to men's solo dances? It certainly has sections for women, and all of the dances, I think, are marked "F" or "M." I have not, for obvious reasons, tried any of the "M" ones out, but there is enough variety there that I imagine you should be able to find one that fits the bill.

Could always do the chicken dance. Everyone can do the chicken dance.

I might even have the Macarena...

The men's dances I have seen out there seem to be written for less masculine dancers. Not sure if that relates to gender preferences among modern professional dancers, perception of same or what.

Will take a look though, thanks.

Thankies

Just a thought Catrietta, but what about checking out some of the LGBT sims, and seeing what THEY use? Many and maybe most of them would have dance balls out somewhere, I should think, and the sim owners would presumably be reasonably well-informed about what is available for same-sex couples.

I know of no Fem/Fem specific couples dance sets either, and I agree. Good niche market. I think several of them would work well though, bits and bobs slow v3 comes to mind.


With that said, I've often used my Abranimations Sexy Hud, Salsa Hud and even the breakdancing Hud with another gal facing me, inviting her to dance on it. Not the same effect, I realize this, but it's something at any rate. Usually I've just invited the person to dance on my chim.

Mens':

3FX, Sine Wave, Owenamations, AKEYO, possibly Ministry of Motion and definitely Studio4D all have dances that are either for men, or at least suitable.

SLurls for each available here:

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/User:Phoenixa_Sol#Dance_creators_I_like

Alexander, you could have a look at Animazoo. They have some dances that are just a casual bounce and sway to the music that might work.


Re: female/female dances - I haven't seen any either, though all the Bits and Bobs slow dances have aligned very well when I've used them for 2 similar sized female avis.

Like Phoenixa and Lindal, I also use a Huddles / Dance HUD, and we stand facing each other rather than standing side by side, so it looks more like a couple dancing.

The benefit of this, (even though the Abranimations ones aren't motion capture) you dont need any poseballs, so you can dance anywhere.

Yes, and you don't have to worry if the couples dance balls are a bit out of alignment or too far off the ground at a club. It's a lot of fun! The dances I have (from several places) look very different when you turn them into a 'couples dance' this way.

Why don't dance animation creators create the dances at different heights? Maybe small medium and large? Large would probably be what most avs would use.

It does seem weird to float in mid air. I tried the dance poseballs at the Berlin sim while 'fitting in' at 45 height and suddenly I was lighter than air.

Abranimations has some dances that work for guys. They're not flamboyant, but they're more animated than a head bob or toe tap. I use these for when I don't want to break dance. Most of the dances I've see at Sine Wave (with the exception of the break dancing) are too flamboyant for my tastes.

Finding dances for men is a scavenger hunt. Sorta like finding good quality clothes, but harder.

I have to say, I find all of this talk about male dances that are sufficiently "masculine" or "not flamboyant" kind of hilarious ...

Men are really such funny creatures, aren't they?

Yes - you don't see the females debating whether or not the dances are "girly" enough, or too "slutty," or anything like that! Men. Hmpfh.

It's sorta like.... a boy riding a pink bicycle because their family is poor and the bike was free.

Only we're talking about dances.

*never ridden a pink bicycle*

Good idea - anyone here in the forum from that community reading this and want to weigh in with some suggestions - either dance animation stores, or dance clubs with good dances for female couples? I'm not terribly familiar with the LGBT community and their usual haunts.

And to address an earlier statement in this thread, yes, many of the traditional male/female dances have a strong "lead" versus "follow" component that is designed with a taller male avatar in mind. I want something more balanced. We are pulling the animations out of the pose balls and putting them into an Intan, so Intan-ready dances with config cards would really be ideal!

Thanks,
Catrietta

Yeah, and what is with the fact back in the day it was cool for a girl to ride a "boys style" 10 speed bike, but to this day, a guy won't be caught dead on a "girls style" bike? What gives? Personally, I think the designs are reversed, given the anatomy involved. That high cross bar? For boys? What were they thinking?!