In the Amethyst Kindred culture, there exist two main performing arts: dance and
music. It is also not uncommon to see the occasional theatrical performance, however
this is generally only organised and performed by travelling troops. Most performances
are held at a special stage that was constructed by the government and run by
one of the local nobles. The temporary market stalls in the main square are often
removed on public celebrations for dancing and music. The government pays for
the larger performances to be held, whereas smaller performances are often financially
supported by rich nobles, who charge the public entrance into these events.
Dance
As a performance art, there are a wide variety of reasons, places and even performing
sizes for different dances. There are dances for the death of a loved one, dances
to celebrate seasons, dances for military victories, dances to commemorate special
days, even dancing for the sake of performing movement and rhythm skills to others.
More personal dances are generally performed individually, whereas the national
dance of the Harvest Celebration is performed by a large percentage of
the town or city's population. There are also dances specific to a single
gender: the main spring dances are only performed by the town or city's
young maids, whereas sword-dances and similar choreographed fights are almost
exclusively performed by men.
Dancing is also used as a form of entertainment. There are some very popular children's
games known around the various cities and towns that involve dancing. There is
also general dancing for music performance events. The dancing here is more free
form, which is not confined to a certain class or even a particular routine, the
dancers are only required to keep their movements in time with the emphasised
drum beats in these events. However class-specific dances do exist, and are performed
only by citizens of a certain class in society.
For the upper class, there are many evening dances that are done during a large
banquet or similar event. These are always accompanied by music and most are exclusively
for couples in partnered dances.
For the lower class dancing is generally done in a bar or similar, where dancers
generally form a ring and rotate the circle around with various foot movements.
Some other dances by the lower class are quite obscene, and are heavily looked
down upon by the higher classes of society.
Music
Music is an integral part of the performance arts as it is incorporated into many
of the other arts as an accompaniment. It is quite common for a large dance or
a theatrical event to have a stage section set aside for musicians to supplement
the performance. Music can also be a performance on its own. Performances vary
from solo pieces and duets to large groups of up to fifty musicians, depending
on it is just a music event or to celebrate a special occasion in a similar way
to dancing.
Music is also used in a religious setting, where people gather to sing praises
to Daioth. Here, the music is dominated by vocals in a chant-style song, which
is supplemented by only a handful of instruments. Refer to Religion for
more information (Religion to be documented later).
Some musicians entertain citizens in the streets for in the hope of being given
money. Only the upper class really looks down at this, seeing it as a misuse of
the musical art. However the rest of the general public enjoy the added melodies
that they hear when going through the city.
There are only a handful of instruments native to the Amethyst Kindred. These
include some stringed instruments, woodwind style instruments, drums and vocals.
The particularly heavy drums that can be heard in celebratory music are often
seen as a wonderful musical diversity to travellers from far away.
It is important to note that music is also involved in combat. Before the battle
starts, fast drums are played to hype up the warriors into readiness. These drums
are also often played as the first charge is sounded. Most regiments are also
given a horn or some description for issuing orders.
Theatre
As aforementioned, theatre is generally only performed by travelling troops from
other lands. Although this is becoming an increasingly popular form of entertainment
for the wealthier classes who can afford the entrance fee, the higher classes
of society look down citizens of the Amethyst Kindred trying to recreate these
performances. Also, the religious leaders edit the theatre scripts to ensure that
outside religious beliefs are not included in the performance.
The main visual arts embraced by the Amethyst Kindred include painting and sculpture.
The term artist is almost exclusively confined to practitioners of these
visual arts, and they are generally praised for they beautiful works. High quality
works are usually purchased either by a gallery or rich individuals, and the very
wealthy often pay for artists to create a painting or sculpture for them.
Painting
Amethyst Kindred painters strive to paint the most realistic painting possible.
Inspiration generally comes from landscapes and famous people, such as heroes
in battle scenes and well-liked nobles. Most paintings are created from oil-based
paints, however the concept of watercolour has just recently been introduced,
and is gaining popularity. Surrealism is also something being embraced by new
painters. These painting often have a hidden message to their artwork and use
symbology.
Paintings are painted onto cloth that has been stretched and attached to a plank
of wood using small nails on the reverse side. These are generally hung up in
galleries unframed to keep them pure.
Some older artworks are on display in the gallery.
Sculpture
Sculptors are often hired by the government to create statues of Master Sages,
BladeMasters and similar leaders of society, to decorate the town or city. Often
signs for approaching major cities are on the stone shields of the statues of
warriors. Wealthy citizens often pay sculptors and metal smiths to make small
statues of special family members and warriors to decorate the fronts and tops
of their houses. A team of sculptors generally create public drinking fountains,
under direction of the government. Sculptors also engage in mural carvings, however
this type of sculpture is often made, and only really popular in the northwest.
Wizards and Art
Wizards from Irathia and other realms are prohibited from using their magic for
arts, games or arena activities, as this is considered bad form. Wizards must
either learn the skills of these activities the same as the native population,
or distance their magic art from the current art streams.
