Dance Battler: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

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A Dance Battler is someone who looks like they're dancing when they get into a fight. This takes quite a bit of effort to make it look plausible, but it's not unheard of. Being a good dancer requires a degree of agility, flexibility, and coordination, three things that can go a long way in a fight as well. Plus, [[Rule of Cool|it looks cool]].

{{examples}}

* Seigfried in ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple]]'' essentially uses a more defensively orientated version of this. He encourages his opponents to get in close and attack him, then secretly uses dancing-like skills to dodge their blow and fling himself around to fake being hit. This lets him wear down and psyche out his opponents, who come to believe he's incapable of feeling pain.

* Mugen from ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' is untrained in any sort of fighting style, but possess enough raw power and ax-craziness to do whatever feels right to him and still come out on top. His [http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h127/DarkAres02/Geta-Metal.jpg geta sandals have metal plates on the soles], so he can block swords with them. The producers call it the "Champloo Kendo" fighting style.

* Fabiola from ''[[Black Lagoon]]'' does Capoeira moves to dodge bullets while dual-wielding ''shotguns''.

* The Para Para Brothers from ''[[Dragon Ball GT]]'' combine this with [[Magic Music]]. Their dancing and music can hypnotize their opponents into dancing as well, leaving them unable to defend themselves from attack.

== Comic Books ==

** It was in [[Dennis the Menace]] too. Dennis went to ballet school and learned a lot of keen new fightin' tricks he never knew before.

== Film ==

* Tony Jaa fights a [[Funny Afro]] JKD stylist at one point in ''Ong-Bak''.

* The 1993 movie ''Only the Strong'' was perhaps the introduction of many action fans to the art of Capoeira and starred [[Iron Chef America|Marc Dacascos]] as a Green Beret who has to clean up his hometown using the aforementioned art, eventually fighting a [[Big Bad]] who uses the same style.

* At the climax of the movie ''[[Zoolander]]'', Hansel ([[Running Gag|He's so hot right now!]]) and an enemy goon partake in "Breakdance Fighting", which for the most part just involved doing little dance moves while punching or kicking people in between.

* The 'Ninjitsu" practiced by the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] in the films borrows from several martial arts (including Capoeira), but also heavily from from modern breakdancing (Which allows them to make full use of their heavy shells).

* The Thai film Raging Phoenix features several scenes with both b-boy and traditional Thai dance-based fighting styles.

* In the AIP "Beach Party" movies, dancer Candy Johnson sends adversaries hurtling with a toss of her hip.

* Mei from ''[[House of Flying Daggers]]''. Her actress Zhang Ziyi is not trained in martial arts but is a trained dancer so the filmmakers incorporated dance into all of Mei's action scenes.

== Literature ==

* In [[Mary Renault]]'s 1972 novel ''The Persian Boy'', the title character, Bagoas, kills an assailant with a particular move we've seen before - in his dance rehearsals.

* Steven Barnes's Aubrey Knight books ''Streetlethal'', ''Gorgon Child'', and ''Firedance'' feature martial artists whose practice improves by learning dance, martial arts disguised as dance and a dance tradition which includes martial arts unbeknown to its practitioners.

* Most of the viewpoint characters in Steve Perry's ''Matador'' science fiction series practice a dance/martial art known as ''sumito''.

** Thank Offler the Fair Folk become quite entranced with music. Still, even getting close to one is just begging to lose face, literally.

** It was mentioned in passing Moist von Lipwig's main squeeze, Adora Belle Dearheart, was trained as a ballerina when she was younger and can therefore kick like a mule, presumably quite high. Combined with stiletto heels pointy enough to pierce skin without much effort...

* In Seanan McGuire's ''[[In Cryptid|Discount Armageddon]]'', main character Verity Price is a ballroom dancer/martial artist, and she lets the dancing bleed into the martial arts because of how much the two have in common.

* Zack Taylor, the first Black Ranger in ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'', catered to this with an original martial art called Hip Hop Kido.

** From ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'': Eka Darville, who plays Scott Truman (Ranger Operator Series Red), is a pretty good break dancer and incorporated a lot of Capoeira-like moves in his fights. It's averted in the case of Olivia Tennet, also an accomplished jazz, tap, and hip hop dancer, as her character (Dr. K) does not perform many physical stunts (except in "Doctor K" and "If Venjix Won").

== Professional Wrestling ==

* Stacy Keibler was trained in jazz, tap and ballet dancing from a very young age, and on those occasions when she competed as a wrestler she tended to use a lot of cartwheels and pirouetting spin kicks.

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[GURPS]]'' has an Option that allows you to incorporate uses of dancing skills in melee combat.

* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'':

* Lucia from [[Shadow Hearts]] is a fortune teller who dances while slashing enemies [[Paper Fan of Doom|with a fan]]. She also dances when she casts magic spells.

* Rufus from [[Insaniquarium]] is this, according to his backstory.

== Web Comics ==

* In ''[[Erfworld]]'', it's a game mechanic practiced by Jillian, the citizens of Transylvito (with a distinctly ''[[West Side Story]]'' style), the [[Fun with Acronyms|Knights In Stanley's Service]] (with their [[KISS|distinctive war paint]]), Wanda and her Uncroaked minions ([[Michael Jackson|"Thriller"]], naturally) and Ansom and his troops ([[Saturday Night Fever|"Staying Alive"]] - also naturally, as he was fighting Wanda).

** Stanley says that rocking out is better than dance fighting. "It's Titanic. It's the highest music there is."

== Web Original ==

* Gaara Of The Funk in ''[[Naruto the Abridged Series]]''.

* The basis of the Disco Bandit class in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]''.

== Western Animation ==

* [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] in a season 3 episode of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' where Aang and Katara incorporate fighting moves into a dance that ends with [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|them both panting and sweating heavily]].

** Played straight half a season later when {{spoiler|Aang and Zuko learn a fighting form that doubles as (and is called) a dance}}, which Zuko is less than enthusiastic about. We later see him using a kick a lot like the one Mugen is doing in the above pic. Except with ''a lot'' of fire.

* ''[[Home Movies]]'' - in one of their movies, Brendon and Jason fight [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9dZ2843W64 with JAZZ!]

* In ''[[Samurai Jack]]'', the leader of the big party Jack stumbles into in "Jack and the Rave" fights Jack and is easily the samurai's equal in hand-to-hand combat, though unlike other rap-themed fighters, he fights exclusively with his arms and hands, using hip-hop gestures to punch, chop, and defend. (This doesn't seem to be based on any martial arts in particular—his fighting just looks like rapping on fast forward.) The DJ, however, is no match when Jack gets his sword back.

== Real Life ==

To further complicate matters many martial arts have an explicit dance component. "War dances" all over the world incorporate movements and emotional content from their combative tradition. The purpose may be to create group identity, impress the opposite sex, entertain, compete non-violently for status or frighten enemies. In some traditions combatants show their form by shadowboxing, often to music. A vastly inferior opponent can step down without losing face or risking injury at this point. Or participants may show a false weakness to the surprise of the opponent when they fight. Or at least it gives the audience a chance to lay down bets.

* Africa and Afro-Caribbean: Many martial arts either originated from dances or were concealed by practicing them as dances, like Maculele, Mandingue, Laghia de la mort, Mayolè and others

* Polynesia, New Zealand: Men's dance (Hula, Haka and other names) and martial arts are very closely connected sharing many motions and training methods. New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team does a traditional Maori ''haka'' war dance before games. It is unmistakably martial. On several occasions a ''haka'' performed by opposing Polynesian teams has led to pre-game fights.

* Ukraine: [[wikipedia:Combat Hopak|Combat Hopak]], based on the Ukrainian dance [[That Russian Squat Dance]] comes from. Not too much of a stretch, Hopak dance moves largely simulate stylized combat.

* Interestingly enough, [[Bruce Lee]] was also an award winner in cha-cha. It's this expertise in dancing that gave him his expertise in martial arts footwork. Or possibly the other way round.

** As the saying goes: "A warrior who cannot dance is awkward both in peace and at war."

** Likewise, [[Jackie Chan]] is trained in Chinese Opera, and uses its movement techniques in his fight scenes.

* Sugar Ray Robinson was a dancer in his youth before becoming a boxer. You can see the influence in his fights, especially when he simply moves around the ring. It's as though he glides across the ring.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Musical Number Index]]

[[Category:Dancing Tropes]]