History Main / MagicDance

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Jack Skellington's'' limit ability "Applause, Applause" actives the technique "Dance Call" which features he and Sora unleashing various magic attacks while performing an intricate dance.

* The FusionDance from ''DragonballZ''.

* The Masque of Slaanesh in {{Warhammer}}/[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 40k]] is a daemonette of Slaanesh who angered her master and was cursed to dance for all eternity. Anybody who sees her dancing is forced to dance along, even to the point of dying from exhaustion.

* This is the entire mechanic of ''DanceDanceRevolution Mario Mix''.

* In ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Aang and [[spoiler:Zuko]] perform a dance-like fire bending ritual to summon two of the last dragons. It turned out this was a part of Aang's fire-bending training.

* ''[[SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros Brawl]]'' has Luigi's final smash, done by confusedly spinning in place.

* ''SpaceChannel5'' has a "Simon Says" version of this. ''Everything'' is done by dancing.
* This is Peppita's battle style in ''StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'', accompanied by InstantRunes.
* A 2008 April Fool's joke for ''WorldOfWarcraft'' claimed that a Bard class would soon be added to the game using this trope (manifesting in a GuitarHero-style minigame). More to the point, some of the ingame holidays allow players to perform dances for special benefits (such as the Ribbon Dance during the Midsummer Festival, which boosts the performers experience gain). [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Bard_(hero_class) See here for more details]].
* The Dancer class in RagnarokOnline can cause a number of effects this way.
* Jean from ''[[Lunar2EternalBlueComplete Lunar: Eternal Blue]]'' is introduced as a dancer, and discovers that she can adapt her dance moves for combat. Only later do we learn she's a martial artist with a dark secret.

* ''Magic Steps'', the first in {{Tamora Pierce}}'s ''[[CircleOfMagic The Circle Opens]]'' books, is about a boy whose powers are related to dance.

* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' has the [[strike:[[SpoonyBard Spoony]]]] [[SpoonyBard Bard]] class, who uses performances to access his arcane magic. One of them is dance.
** Sadly, the performance for spells has to have a sound component.

* The Masque of Slaanesh in {{Warhammer}}/[[{{Warhammer40000}} 40k]] is a daemonette of Slaanesh who angered her master and was cursed to dance for all eternity. Anybody who sees her dancing is forced to dance along, even to the point of dying from exhaustion.

* ''{{Space Channel 5}}'' has a "Simon Says" version of this. ''Everything'' is done by dancing.

* A 2008 April Fool's joke for ''{{World of Warcraft}}'' claimed that a Bard class would soon be added to the game using this trope (manifesting in a GuitarHero-style minigame). More to the point, some of the ingame holidays allow players to perform dances for special benefits (such as the Ribbon Dance during the Midsummer Festival, which boosts the performers experience gain). [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Bard_(hero_class) See here for more details]].

[[AC:Webcomics]]

* The serpents and falcons in Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's ''Kiesha'ra'' series started with the ability to use magic by dancing. The serpents lost this ability after their schism with the falcons, but the falcons are still able to harness magic in this manner.

** The Forgotten Realms setting also had the Spelldancer, once a favorite of the Character Optimization boards, that could increase the power of spells by dancing for a few rounds.

* ''Space Channel 5'' has a "Simon Says" version of this. ''Everything'' is done by dancing.

* ''PrincessTutu'' has all the makings of a MagicalGirl series, except its heroine never engages directly in combat. Instead, she [[BetterThanItSounds defeats enemies with the power of ballet]].

* This is Peppita's battle style in ''[=~Star Ocean: Till the End of Time~=]'', accompanied by InstantRunes.

So, of course, there's a wizard version.

FunctionalMagic or powers that, instead of [[MagicalIncantation vocal recitations]] or [[GeometricMagic drawings and diagrams]], [[RitualMagic require specific]] body movements and rhythms to be activated. More often used by {{Magic Knight}}s than by {{Squishy Wizard}}s, given the more physical nature of its use.

* one of the more common complaints about TheLastAirbender film was that the elemental bending was portrayed in a way that less resembled martial arts, and more resembled interpretative dance.

* The ''DragonBall'' FusionDance.

* Alfred, and indeed all his fellow Sartan, of MargaretWeis & Tracy Hickman's ''TheDeathGateCycle''. {{Handwaved}} that the Sartan use magic runes, and drawing them on the floor by dancing them is a viable means of spellcasting.

* The sending dance in ''FinalFantasyX''.
* The Songstress in ''FinalFantasyX2'' uses dance-type moves to causes status effects on enemies.

* Mog of ''FinalFantasyVI'' has dance as his special skill, which he uses to cast a variety of [[GeoEffects terrain-based magic]]
** So does the Dancer class in ''FinalFantasyV'' and other class-based installments. ''FinalFantasyXI's'' Dancers are able to be ''TheMedic'' with their dances, oddly enough.
*** In ''FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', the Dancer class is given only to [[FinalFantasyXII Penelo]]. Her dances all revolve around wrecking the enemy's status, as a foil to Hurdy's [[MagicMusic Bard]] class, which improves status.

* In ''{{Erfworld}}'', a high-level croakamancer can use MagicDance to confer dance fighting bonuses to her hordes of uncroaked troops.
** ''Any'' commander who has the ''Dance Fighting'' ability can lead their living troops in dance fighting.

* In {{Earthbound}} Captain Strong boasts his Super Ultra Tango Fox Trot (or something to that effect) and when you finally battle him, it's quite the devastating attack.

* Mog of ''FinalFantasyVI'' has dance as his special skill.

*** This [=FFXI=]-playing troper once saw a Dancer ''[[StoneWall tanking]]''.

* In ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Aang and [[spoiler:Zuko]] perform a dance-like fire bending ritual to summon two of the last dragons. This was a part of Aang's fire-bending training [[strike:and provided a medley of HoYay FanService]].
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* Jean from ''{{Lunar}}: Eternal Blue'' is a dancer when the party first meets her and this is how she performs her attacks, including ones that give the enemy status effects. Only later do we learn she's a martial artist with a dark secret.

* ThisTroper plays a bard in an online RP based in [[http://aarnblog.blogspot.com The World Of Aarn]]. It was decided that on one special occasion, he would need to do a dance for a prolonged period of time to cast a particularly powerful confusion effect, and so it was then decided it would be the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze72uyZfY5Q Six Flags Old Man dance]].

* Magic Steps, the first in {{Tamora Pierce}}'s [[CircleOfMagic The Circle Opens]] books, is about a boy whose powers are related to dance.

* Witch of Portobello, by Paulo Coelho, Athena's witchcraft involves dances.

* In the WhateleyUniverse novel "Christmas Elves", Fey is besieged by fire elementals and performs an ancient Sidhe MagicDance to more or less remind them who's in charge. They promptly do whatever she wants, which is not what her enemy Hekate had in mind.

FunctionalMagic or powers that, instead of [[MagicalIncantation vocal recitations]] or [[GeometricMagic drawings and diagrams]], require specific body movements and rhythms to be activated. More often used by {{Magic Knight}}s than by {{Squishy Wizard}}s, given the more physical nature of its use.

Compare with MagicMusic. Also see FullContactMagic.