Opera Singer Listens: Dancer of The Boreal Valley

This boss scared the ever-living CRAP out of me when I first tried it. Distinctly remember this music too. I tend to not remember much of these fromsoft OSTs for whatever reason but this was....shocking to me? It really left me in a state.
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Credits:
Composer: Yuka Kitamura

[@thepigletgamer447]

Dancer’s theme is one of the few dark souls boss themes that is made better by the in game SFX. Dancer’s footsteps throughout the song actually add so much to the piece.

[@cianmccarthy8451]

True, I never noticed until hearing the track on its own that the thumps in the boss are actually the dancers footsteps and not just the beat of the OST

[@user-dq8gs8ms8b]

And her breathing

[@julianmac2117]

OMG YES!! I love listening to the song but it just never is the same without those haunting, echoing footsteps and breathy whispers. Chilling 🥶

[@OskiRedd]

forget about plin plin plon...its all about the pit pat pit pat

[@horusemerald97]

Hits different without the dancer's audible stomps across the room and the crash of her blades against the floor... man this was an intense fight

[@treyatkinson7564]

Oh, dude, before i stopped playing, every playthrough had a hint of anticipation for those footsteps

[@erich1380]

I loved the fight but I found it to be one of the easiest fights in the game. Maybe it's cuz I used irythyl straight sword or something

[@horusemerald97]

@@erich1380 She is quite susceptible to Freeze damage, but that by itself is not enough to make the fight easy. Either you were somewhat overprepared in your levels/gear or you just got gud lol

[@erich1380]

@@horusemerald97 I wasn't overleveled. I think a quick weapon is key for her so you can dart in and out. She's rough with a big two hander

[@SolaScientia]

@@erich1380 That's what I've found in general with Dark Souls 3 enemies, including bosses. They took hints from Bloodborne and made everything faster. I'm using the Hollowslayer Greatsword, because it's a very good quality build weapon without being overly slow. I couldn't imagine playing DS3 with anything much slower than that, particularly against Sister Friede and similar very fast bosses.

[@LiloDemon]

I feel Dancer's theme is very haunting. You feel pain, not a sorrow pain, but a torture pain. It suits very well to her lore and the boreal wind thing makes sense while watching her veil moving according the wind.

[@eliaslamsa6541]

The music doesn't sound the same without her menacing footsteps xd. The bosses in dark souls 3 just hit different

[@ind0minusr3x51]

Dont forget the breathing

[@skylarcrylar8686]

She moves so strangely and then she does the "Spin to win" and I can't help but nervously laugh. She gives a whole new meaning to "Yas Queen, Slay"

[@jeffb-c]

Fr, fromsoft will design characters that will perform the most terrifying one hit kill animations but you cant stop yourself from going “oh thats so cool”

[@skylarcrylar8686]

@@jeffb-c Ha ha! I'm in Danger!

[@MrHeorhe]

Her animations are synced to her music time, there are some strange animation cancels she does in order to walk in step with the music and start/end her attack strings on the beats or half beats. It doesnt very much look like dancing for the most part since some of her animations cancel each other out and make a jerking motion but about 20% of the time she flows from walking to attacking to walking without any strange animations or missing a beat. The strangest one I saw was when I was on ng+4 and was way over leveled. I could hits her 2 times in between 3 of her steps and stagger her, and then she would try to reset and do this double tap step where she steps, then backs up a little taking her foot off the ground, then stepping again as to be on the beat rather than the half beat. This allowed me to keep up the stun lock and she didnt attack more than a few times after her phase change

[@summerbell7351]

@@MrHeorhe Fromsoft said the song it self is made to be a white noise thing. and the bose is mostly matches to the beat. so the song and boss's footsteps make player's brain slowly go numb as long as you are being with her. dacer is not a threat. the song that trying to make stupid is the real threat.

[@endless013]

spin to win doesn't work if you just dance with her, this is one of my favorite bosses because it's so different from a normal boss. Most bosses themes are in 4/4 and they move in 4/4 but Dancer is in 3/4 and moves in 3/4 what makes it hard is how trained we are to 4/4 by that point. The Key to the Dancer is literally a dance, this isn't pattern recognition in the same way as other bosses this is pattern recognition like learning to literally dance, stay close, stay locked and move the same way she does and listen for those beats/half beats for her attacks.

[@DS_DoggerX]

Fun fact: this is the second iteration of this song. The first version had a motif from Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight! That, as well as the fact that you can transpose her soul into Soothing Sunlight, implies that prior to being tortured and shaped into an Outrider by Pontiff Sullyvahn, she was related to Gwynevere. A tragic fate for royalty.

[@firewarrior5828]

Or, maybe, perhaps, she was Guinevere..... 👀

[@codename1176]

@@firewarrior5828 nah pontiff wasn’t that strong

[@joshuagross3151]

The weird sound she makes in the cutscene is maniacal daughter laughter being played backwards.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

@@codename1176 Pontiff was definitely strong enough to whoop someone like Gwynevere. He imprisoned Gwyndolin and fed him to Aldrich, a Lord of Cinder who he commanded. He was an immensely powerful sorcerer who later absorbed the Profaned Flame, which is a mythical, sentient power as it was ''born of the sky'' and ''incinerated naught but human flesh''.

[@StephanuSneed]

@@TheStraightestWhitest The implication is that he imprisoned Gwyndolin through subterfuge, not by overpowering him. Gwyndolin coincidentally fell ill, allowing Pontiff to take the reins of Irithyll by becoming his self-appointed spokesperson while using his sister to keep him still through blackmail.

[@sixsquare1177]

This track to me represents madness. Especially when you know the Dancer and her backstory. In the beginning we can get the soprano and it almost sounds like a lamentation of wailing. This to me is the Dancer mourning who she once was before the Pontiff. Then the violin comes in and its like a complimentary yet discordant other. Not of the Dancer of somehow still of her. Then when the second phase begins The two become intertwined in a maddening chorus of pain and suffering. The two sides forming a symbiotic relationship each wanting to be separate but knowing they cant survive now without the other. I dont know just my two cents.

[@Tulip_bip]

the only way i can really describe the way this song feels is that it's like breathing. it pulses with energy, fades, and then pulses again. it fits perfectly with the strained breaths and footsteps the dancer makes, like everything she does is strained and painful this fits with the story too. the dancer was part of a group of people who were forced to serve under pontiff sulyvahn after he took over anor londo. the group the dancer became a part of, the outrider knights, were given strange rings to take with them on their expeditions. little did they know, the rings were made to transform them into horrifying, subservient beasts. it's said that part of the dancer's transformation made her armour fuse with her flesh

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

Man, I remember when Game Theory - specifically, Austin - covered this song on his Science! segment and talked about how the song itself could be used to time her attacks and allow you to dodge them. Glad to see you covering the song as well; I love hearing different perspectives on incredible songs!

[@dgalloway107]

That strategy works for most of the good bosses in these games.

[@landontoaster3818]

I always wondered why it was so easy to find a rhythm in this fight specifically, I guess this makes sense.

[@dragonlord1935]

@@landontoaster3818 Ha, that reminds me of my first playthrough. I went back to High Wall after derping around in undead settlement for a while and beat the Dancer with a +4 or a +5 Claymore. It took ten or fifteen attempts but I finally managed to do it. In the end it really was all about finding the rhythm and actually "dancing" with the Dancer. It was a long, intense but fun fight overall. Then I found out it was supposed to be an endgame boss and I felt like a complete badass. Those were good times.

[@SolaScientia]

@@dgalloway107 FromSoftware also will use that against the player. They know players pick up on the music, even subconsciously, so for some bosses they will change it up and make it out of sync to screw up the player.

[@reolsimple7036]

I recommend to listen to the Pontiff Sullyvahn's theme. It is similar to the dancer's one because they are related, but I think Pontiff's just hits different

[@samwilkinson9309]

There's a video that goes over the beats of Dark Souls music tend to match the bosses attack patterns but the dancer's song has a different pattern which makes it sometimes harder for people at first because of subconsciously following that pattern and the dancer not following it. I could be well off the mark but the video goes into something about that which is a bit odd but really cool.

[@jaylenatri7113]

I actually wanted to comment about the same thing. Dancer's song uses a 3/4 timing as opposed to every other boss using 4/4 timing if memory serves. The other unique thing with Dancer is that her attacks are timed opposite of other bosses, where other bosses swing on the downbeat, Dancer swings on the upbeat (I could have those backwards).

[@rain_Peculiar]

@@jaylenatri7113 Um actually most bosses usually broadcast their attack on the downbeat and swing on the upbeat, where as the dancer broadcasts on the downbeat then waits a measure or so and attacks on the offbeat.

[@rain_Peculiar]

I presume you mean the science of dark souls 3 by austin from the ShoddyCast on the game theory channel, it's one of my favourite videos and I'm glad someone brought it up.

[@remilenoir1271]

This claim has been debunked thoroughly. There is no correlation (let alone causation) between the soundtrack and the enemy pattern in any of the soulsborne games.

[@elk3407]

Something interesting about this theme is that it very clearly plays homage to the 1985 movie "Angels Egg" which the game would later return to with the Ringed City DLC which is full of homages to the film. Angels Egg was a key piece of inspiration to the entire vibe of the souls games, but it's just interesting that this boss in particular makes reference to the film.

[@Yilue]

Oh man I dont think I've played a game with so many memorable bosses. At least to me lol but damn this boss is one of those. The music and the boss designs are fricking amazing in this game. Making me want to play the game again lol. Also have finished it like 10 times 😂Edit: Yeah I started a new save right after watching the vid LMAO

[@holidaysamekichi5673]

i think your memories are broken, and the truth is unspoken

[@KoscheiMorevna]

@@holidaysamekichi5673 bet he doesn't even remember his name.

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

I feel like the emptiness of this track, the way it echoes as if played in this massive empty colosseum, the discordant choir, the lack of a real melody. It emphasizes the unsettling strangeness of this boss, the way it moves around in the suit of armor in an unnatural, serpentine manner, bending and contorting, attacking erratically and swiftly like a viper. The royal woman inside of that distorted armor is now gone, she has been turned into something other than human that perhaps for the best remains fused to the inside of her garments such that you will never see the horror that has been inflicted upon her directly. The only dancing she does now is the frightful one that kills you.

[@paulnewhouse5126]

The violin in the beginning made me freeze with terror like ice or nails screeching the first time listening to it. Top 3 songs from DS3, This, fight with the Twin Princes and of course the best one, Firelink shrine, Would love to hear your theory take on Firelink shrine since I'm not sure exactly what it is about it that captivates me so much.

[@travzac619]

I've died to the dancer way too many times. The music haunts me forever still

[@NO-su3mf]

Dancers theme embodies her perfectly, you analyzed it and put it into words wonderfully. Dark souls has an impeccable musical understanding of thier characters and story and it shows especially in this one. Of the ones I don't think you've done videos on, Demon princes and Pontiff Sulivhans are really good too and I love majuulas theme but idk how much there is to analyze there. Great job as always dude

[@rampantfantasy1181]

i second Pontiff Sulyvahns theme

[@thedoctor_8725]

The utter sadness and loneliness in the whole track matched with he echoing in-game footsteps and sword swings, while seeing her "dancer" origins in her movement really adds to the somber tone. And knowing her lore makes it even more sad

[@AegisKHAOS]

Along with the Soul of Cinder's theme, the Dancer's theme was the second stand out theme for me in DS3. The first half that makes up the first phase was so ethereal and chilling in its simplicity, especially the very beginning. The Dancer herself, even hunched over, moved so elegantly. And when phase two begins, the music becomes grander and the fight feels more intense. Love that theme.

[@dunnodunno276]

The demon from below and in pain 😮 loved that one

[@bl4cksh0t117]

Fun fact, you can almost fight her by ear only since she is super synchro with the music (i mean she IS a dancer), and also, my first impression was like dancing a song you don't know and she does. anyway great vid

[@Adam_Q]

I remember seeing somewhere that the Dancer's theme is in 3/4 time whereas the rest of the game is in 4/4, which explains why the cadence of the fight felt so strange at first

[@killerb359]

What I love about this fight, is it's literally like a dance , the way she moves and the way you have to dodge, and it's just so beautiful, I love this fight and it will forever be one of my favorites, I love your opinions on this stuff it gives me another outlook to see things, great work man!

[@jumbootsjamstrang5694]

I really want him to do Pontiff Sulyvahn, my top 5 ds3 songs

[@muramasa870]

Pontiff and Sir Alonne from DS 2 is my top 2

[@hawlerying6576]

Here's a quick note about this boss , darksouls boss music is always made so that it matches the boss's moves ( when music shifts there's a one shot hit inc for exemple),. BUT the only time in the three darksouls games where the music doesnt match the boss's moves is this one , pretty neat when you think about it since its the only "dancer" !!!

[@Trilasent]

YES! I remember asking you to do this one a while back because she's my favorite boss in Dark Souls 3!! I came back after a while and found this video! If you don't mind another recommendation: Would you consider doing the "Sword Saint" OST from Sekiro? It's up there along with the Dancer's theme in my top favorite FromSoftware game OSTs.

[@SupremeDalek225]

Dancer is easily one of my top 5 favorite bosses in Dark Souls 3. All of her footsteps having a distant echo that almost feels like it steals sound from the room with every step, the fact that she could completely tower over you but instead her upper body moves like it's gliding just above the ground and twisting through the air, and her music is easily up there for the most haunting music in the game because it's not this loud energetic orchestra that keeps you hyped in the flow of the fight but instead does the opposite where it's a slow constant tension building piece that puts you on edge the entire fight. I remember right in the beginning of her fight I was terrified of her from just the music alone because it was just SO different from other bosses, same reason I loved Sister Friede's fight (at least for the first few times). Also her head doing the chicken thing where her body moves all around but while she walks around her head stays level the entire time and does not stop looking at you was so creepy.

[@luigivercotti6410]

One of my favourite things in this ost is the lack of bass/ very minimal bass for the 1st phase. I really like it when the melody is left to soar in the skies like that, both here, and in Lichdragon Fortissax phase 1

[@highwaytoheaven99]

The presentation of this boss is perfect, the music combined with the echoes of her footsteps and her breathing is so... eerie. It would be an amazing ASMR, if not for the giant monstrosity trying to skin you alive lol

[@waltersullivan2727]

Another amazing breakdown really. It’s pretty insane how your descriptions perfectly incapsulate the boss. Even when you’re not completely familiar with them like with Midir. If you’re ever interested in more songs specifically from the DLC. That don’t have weird cuts and proper transition Soundtracks for days has some good uploads. Been hard to come by ever since they strangely disappeared from Spotify.

[@wfmstigers]

I once heard, and I don’t know how true this is, that many of the souls games have bosses that attack in roughly a 4/4 time. And that one of the reasons dancer is so rough is because she attacks in a waltz time. Again, I don’t know how true that is, but if it is that’s wildly cool. Definitely one of, if not my favourite, songs in all of the souls series.

[@angel__king]

Fun fact this song is the only song on the soundtrack that plays in 3/4 instead of 4/4. Typically bosses will have attack animations that are timed closely to those 4/4 tempo but the dancer is so hard because it throws of your rhythm that you’ve had the whole rest of the game

[@parkerluciani7048]

There are many 3/4 songs in DS3. For the animations idk

[@angel__king]

@@parkerluciani7048 only boss song, well deacons is 3/4 as well but that fight isn’t exactly hard lmao

[@parkerluciani7048]

@@angel__king Abyss watchers, Midir, I don't have the others in head but I'm pretty sure others themes or parts are 3/4, Soulsbornes love 3/4 rythms.

[@coreansic2.046]

I notice that most of the theme in DS3 have a bunch of leitmotifs from DS1. It’s pretty cool 😎

[@absolutetrash7880]

One thing I love about this song is how the song kind of never reaches a satisfactory end at any point during the song. It's just pure tension, no other game track makes me this nervous or wired when I hear it.

[@gamerkingdom1442]

This is such a beautiful, yet very tragic song. I’m enjoying you analyzing the DARK SOULS Music. There such a difference than the usual!

[@foxmind2490]

Hauntingly beautiful is the only way I can describe the music and fight. I absolutely love both

[@behzadmirmozaffari2563]

Oh I remember the Dancer. I remember it so clearly, the first time I faced her. And that was immediately after facing against Aldritch. I had an anti magical build to counter his magical arrows and it was not really tuned to fight a fast, melee focused boss. Not to mention how many Estus I'd already used up against Aldritch. And yet, when the fight started....this music....just... wrapped itself around me, enshrouding all my senses. I couldn't kill her the first time though, just one hit short of finishing her....or rather one Estus Flask short to survive that last dance. But boy I was glad to face her again. To bask in all her terrifying yet sensual moves, and to enjoy this magnificent music once more. A lot has been said about other works of Miyazaki, but to me, Dark Souls 3 is still, not only his best work but one of the best videogames ever produced. A real, true work of art!

[@shahs1221]

You get alot of emotions right concerning Dancer's lore just from the music! Shows the power of amazing instrumental music. Also one thing I'm enjoying with you exploring these tracks is getting to actually hear them fully as I typically only hear half of it due to dying over and over again 😂

[@faloughasch9239]

Especially if you end up trying to fight her right after vordt lmao

[@VoidShyrok]

This song is so appropriate for the Halloween season! It's beautiful, but also haunting. Very fitting, given what happened to the Dancer. And for those wondering: The dancer of the boreal valley was raised in captivity by a man named pontiff sulyvahn. As the boss title implies, he basically made her dance for him as entertainment. He eventually got bored of her, gave her a ring that turned her into a monster, then cast her into exile. All in all, The dancers fate is a very sad one. She was never given any choice in her life.

[@Hussman493]

Hauntingly beautiful track. When the room catches fire and she spins I'm usually panicking too much to listen.

[@daneshansigamoney6215]

This was an awesome track...really loved it

[@thekeeper1287]

I love how the motif is the same throughout the song. But it progressively gets more and more intense throughout. It's elegant but also horrifying

[@axelitotapia2381]

I can almost hear the steps of the dancer, an the swings of the blades on 2nd phase

[@dylanmorris5352]

The most fascinating thing about this boss is that most of the enemies in ds3 had a rhythm to a tempo of sorts. The Dancer, however, actually moves off rhythm, which is jarring to the player considering that everything else in the game plays by the same rhythm, except for her. I can't remember exactly what it is, but if every enemy is moving at 4/4 rhythm, she is moving at 3/4 rhythm, but is still fast and agile enough to catch you off guard.

[@rase6080]

One of my fav boss music!

[@someguythatdoesstuff7658]

I felt like I was playing a horror game. After I killed the second to last Lord of Cinder, I was suddenly teleported, a dying lady gave me basin, and just as I tried to access Lothric Castle, the candles and light died out and I was trapped with her.

[@bloodywolf6483]

In my opinion this boss is the most creapy and terrible in a very good way from software has done, it's one of my favorite along side Maliketh, nameless king, mogh etc. I will never forget that cutscene when I was in lothric and I killed Ema and then dancer of the boreal valley appear

[@bloodyhukajr3440]

If im remembering this correctly: this theme is filled with human screams played in reverse, assumedly the dancer being tortured by Pontiff Sulyvahn

[@ravenwing7168]

ShoddyCast has a brilliant video explaining how the music messes with your perception of her movement causing you to miscalculate how she would move. I think you will love his breakdown of this piece

[@briang7794]

I would like, if you want, to cover Oceiros The Consumed King. I've recently heard the song by itself and its actually become one of my favorite themes.

[@soysauce_7748]

I remember fighting her in dark souls 3 and the way she moved and the way the music played it was stressful even trying to go in to get a hit

[@ThePenguinForge]

The timing of the ads I get is just uncanny, man. 0:56 Simple choral singing. It's very ethereal, very- "FINGER LICKIN' GOOD!" ™

[@zaxbitterzen2178]

Marco you legit got 4k more subs since the last time I watched your videos. You are growing like a wildfire during a drought sir lol. This boss fight whooped my butt more than any other in DS3, but by the Gods is she elegant and powerful.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Zax i DONT know wtf is going on but Im not going to say anything about it for fear of the KZbin algo gods 😂😂😂

[@zaxbitterzen2178]

@@MarcoMeatball Oh good call good call lol

[@-NeonRED-]

Man, I think you would really like "Aldia, Scholar of the First Sin" from Dark Souls 2, such a haunting track filled with immense amounts of pain.

[@dyroth]

I remember a time when ds3 was the latest game and she was considered the hardest boss next to nameless king

[@strathmoron]

This track and this boss fight is what got me to buy this game. Breath taking. It's so opressive that I actually feel like something is sittting on my chest when lsitening to this track. Just a constant pervasive feeling of having your breathe stolen away.

[@rayzu4380]

Hi, Marco. I didn't remember how this track sounded, but now that I heard it, it remembers me a lot to a song that I love from the DS3 second DLC. Is an unused song called "Crimson Bat", I suggest you to listen to it, is really different to the majority of the other soulsborne themes and also really beautiful!

[@cardmossdn8058]

Definitely my favorite track of the series. It's so incredible

[@tuckster907]

The Dancer is one of the only Souls bosses that actually changes up the timing for the fight. You fight her at 3/4 speed which adds to the atmosphere of the 'dance'. Messes with your timings as a player too making for a unique challenge

[@mouaz670]

Eery time i listen to this OST i can clearly hear her footsteps in the background, and btw I’m once again asking for the Dragonslayer Armour OST reaction:)

[@joshuagross3151]

The second part has some "warm" notes in it. Maybe I'm not hearing it right, but if the second part is implied that she loses herself to madness, the warmer notes could imply that she finds relief in letting go of her sanity, like using your imagination to forget anxiety in the real world. In her case, she dances. And when the music swells, she dances far more vigorously, swirling, churning, spinning as if trying to shake free anything that holds her.

[@Gwynsladle]

> me casually enters the dancer room for the 6482638224th time. > pops Mist of Pestilence > threw 4x Great Soul Dregs Its a GG ladiesman and gentlewomen. Joking aside, Boreal was such a murky place to be in, eerily disturbing.

[@NJR0091]

This is probably my retroactive favorite boss out of DS 3, and definitely one of my favorite (if not number one) tracks in the whole game; fights like Gael, Nameless King and Abyss Watchers carry a lot more weight in spectacle, lore and intensity during their first encounter, but I love this fight because of the unnecessary but awesome level of detail they put into it. It's a very cool outlier from most other bosses because of her weird attack patterns, her flowing, gracefully disturbing animations and how it ties to her backstory as what is essentially a malformed slave dancer (it's very painful because she was basically transformed into this form, plus it's implied that she has ties to the gods of this world). Anyway, people dug around a bit and tested the boss' attack patterns and they actually found that she's 'dancing' to this song, stepping and swinging her weapons in line with the tempo (it's not perfect but it's very close). Even cooler is that she will have these weird 'pauses' where she doesn't do anything but (menacingly) move around a bit, letting you wail on her - people at first thought this was some kind of bug, but it's (probably) intentional. She pauses because she's giving you your turn to 'dance' with her. Also that second phase transition is one of the coolest in this game - seeing her whirling around with flaming scimitars to the rising intensity of the second phase transition... definitely one of the coolest moments of DS 3 for me.

[@AtelierMcMuttonArt]

I remember seeing something about how Dark Souls enemy design utilizes rhythm for the beats of their attack timing. Windup - pause - Attack - pause They generally used the super common times- 3/4 and 4/4, was it? But with the Dancer, they used something crazy, like 4/5 or something like that (I'm not very experienced with time signature), which is why the Dancer is so hard to read. And her boss music followed through with the same concept. It was VERY cool

[@TopazIngenious]

I remember Dancer taking me a hundred deaths to beat. My first boss to take it to the limit in the game. Dancer is beautiful, unique, and iconic. The design, music, and fighting style is astounding. It didn’t feel like it at first when I was dying so much. lol. But nowadays, I love this boss.

[@WalterWhite-jz7ct]

Despised the Boss, loved the Musik. Makes Dieing a lot better when you at least love the sound of it

[@grimstruck5300]

I like how this boss is the only enemy in the game that moves on a differant tempo

[@mattgreen7692]

I've been devouring your content since I discovered your channel this morning. I'd love to watch you react to Great Grey Wolf Sif from Dark Souls 1. Probably one of my all time favorite compositions from Motoi Sakuraba (and he's composed a lot of my favorite OSTs)

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks for being here Matt!

[@justhuman4957]

Dancer ost is great especially with boss steps

[@M0narch1024]

This was such a memorable boss, so strange and so awesome. She still killed me a couple dozen times so I hear this in my nightmares also Day ninety-three of recommending Stay Gold from the Arknights OST

[@thecolouroutofspacee]

Very nice T-shirt you have here sir, thank you!

[@kamirostorino9416]

Dancer is the only boss in dark souls 3 that has different tempo of the ost than rest of the bosses

[@DracoSafarius]

Boss beats my ass with her strange movements, but all is forgiven for the godly theme

[@thegreatarcanist890]

It's got an ethereal quality to it

[@Moschel91]

I first read "Danger of the Boreal Valley" and it would also make sense xD And I also remember this track pretty well because I was stuck on dancer for quite a long time in my first playthrough.

[@Seelensocke]

Here's a cool little fact about the music: So, Dark Souls is basically a rhythm game where you just need to time rolls and attacks right and pretty much all tracks and bosses follow the same tempo. But not this one. The Dancer music is intentionally off-beat to throw us off. And the thing is, she even MOVES in tune with the music which makes it super hard to fight against because we're used to a different tempo for the entire game.

[@thesiegbraugiver355]

Honestly my favourite boss from the main game of ds3. Definitely one of my favourite ost and fight of the game. Only beaten out by Darkeater Midir for me.

[@treyatkinson7564]

Someone once compared this song to Bolero, and I'm interested if you'd agree. The way he said it, it has a continuous repetition that builds on itself, much like how Bolero almost winds on itself over and over, adding more instruments to almost a literal orchestrated chaos.

[@Raze0013]

I believe her theme and attacks are in 3-4 time (as opposed to the nigh omnipresent 4-4 time) which is why she seems so difficult to predict, she is literally one step ahead.

[@parkerluciani7048]

Many themes are in 3/4 in DS3

[@clemenscohn7371]

@@parkerluciani7048 Sauce.

[@nahuelkid]

Its a great theme on its own but its just not the same without the echoing steps

[@couldbeahuman8079]

one of the reasons dancer is so unique is because, I’m pretty sure at least, every other boss has a 4/4 time signature while dancer has a 3/4 time signature. The bosses fight with the music as well so a lot of people struggle to make that change with her making her one of the hardest bosses to master

[@jade-chan9122]

So for curiosity(and this is tecnically just a theory but it's probably true) The dancer is part of the royal family until a man made her become a dancer and then a knight. So theory of mine those ghostly sounds might be a reference to the past of how magnificient she was but it's long forgotten Personally i love this boss one of my favourites PS: might be wrong but this theme is the only theme with a different tempo, it's wierd to explain, game theory spoke about that

[@jdrdoom3705]

Sou should totally listen to "Immortal Imperium" from the Darktide soundtrack. Its something majestic but industrial and interesting. As Jesper Kyd as the composer it certainly speaks for itself!

[@benjaminrosiek5007]

she is a difficult boss mostly because her movements and attack timing are in a different timing then most other bosses. and like most bosses it's tied to her music. making her a very memorable fight for the game. strange you don't mention the very feint underpinning drum that matches her foot work in her intro cinematic, giving a certain heaviness to the piece and strongly tying her to the music.

[@jaz-yman4286]

God I love the boreal trio. Vordt is this grand knight and his music devolves into this mad craze, becoming a beast….. as “exile” into an outrider knight was an honor and a curse. Pontiff, the mastermind behind why everything is falling apart has these holy motifs only to see he is no righteous lord. No he only poses. He sends his warriors to stop the kindling of the flame, and even after death his last servant will… Comes the dancer, you can hear the pain. She was once a daughter of the gods, taken in by pontiff, dancer first…. Warrior second. Between stockhold syndrome (let’s be honest pontiff was an asshole) and being twisted by her ring she will stop anyone from trying to get to the twin princes. I’ve noticed sometimes she seems super passive, walking around almost letting you hit her. I feel she is torn, her old self is fighting to let you go but the twisted side of her acts like an Angel of death. Rest easy Dancer…..

[@niceguysrage4648]

might i recommend yhorm the giant i always loved the grand scale of the fight and the music responds in kind

[@MarcoMeatball]

Sure!

[@nathanielsearle9822]

Just doesn’t quite hit the same without being able to hear the dancer move around, whether it’s her footsteps or the sound of her swords cutting through the air. It’s not technically part of the song, but it really should be. It’s actually really cool that the song is almost enhanced by the dancer’s movements, seeing as she is, you know, the dancer.

[@QrowQing]

From what I can remember it seems different from the rest because it is. All the fights in that game are at 4/4 time, and dancer is at 3/4

[@risovarka4508]

Hi Marco, I love your videos and I wanted to recommend that you should listen to the Edge of Dawn from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It’s an amazing character theme that really tells a lot about the character and their motivations, I think you would enjoy listening to it.

[@user-ow2ln3pw7d]

For me it was the most "ominous and yet sad" theme, sorry I can't find any better words at the moment... The only other theme I can think of the top of my mind in ds3 is Friede's 1st phase theme... so eerie it's bone-chilling ! My fav OST is the demon prince however, especially the first part: it really feels that you're fighting your last fight against the last 2 creature of their species, that coupled with the arena being the old firelink shrine from ds1 adds to this effect !

[@Movieplayer112]

At 4:44 Every dark souls 3 players' right thumb began twitching with ptsd.

[@sirparadigm2241]

Marco you gotta check out the Epilogue for Dark souls 3. It criminally underrated and no one talks about it.

[@edwinhuber3851]

HER FOOTSTEPS ARE SOO IMPORTENT, they are literally drums places by her movement

[@foxglovelove8379]

I always felt like this song had a very Arabian quality to it as well. Coupled with the veil over her face and the jewelry, it kind of evokes something outside of the highly European imagery throughout the game. Love the boss, love the music.

[@camdenhauck2400]

It’s a tragic story the dancers tale

[@sharkcrest3733]

Eve one has that one boss and the dancer was mine since I didn’t know any better and ended up having to beat her before vordt

[@kartikrockon]

her lore is so sad.... and u can feel the sadness in this music... while being all sinister and stuff.. it sounds sad... like someone poking ur heart... i always feel like i am doing her a service by killing her putting her out of her misery that the game put her in

[@MrAidaslit]

Dancer is my favourite boss in all of soulsborne. But you know what other boss I love? Father Ariandel & Sister Friede. Coincidentally still no theme reaction for that one... Please? :)

[@Matanexpert]

Suggesting - Bastion Ost - Build That Wall and Mother, I'm Here especially (all Darren Korb's songs are superb)

[@michodome9342]

I'd reccommend listening to Fallen Blood by Phyrnna. It was made for Epic Battle Fantasy 4, a game which took inspiration in classic RPGs like, of course, Final Fantasy, and also Pokemon. The song mixes the organ with electric guitars to make it sound like holy metal (which makes sense, since the boss is a god which represents both creation and destruction, though I don't want to spoil much)

[@higekiou6305]

Damn that was awesome. By the way if you wanna react to "Orchestra turned electro" then I'd gladly present you "Taishi: Unterhimmel"

[@wayzord9903]

Hey marco! Been following your vids since like 2 months and i rly enjoy the content! Such a genuine passion is hearth warming! :) I was thinking yhe other day if you could react and analyse the ost from the video game"Gris". Its very poetic and by far one of my top 3 best video game music ever. Maybe you could react to Gris part1 and part2. The one that gave me the most chills is "Unagi" tho...

[@MarcoMeatball]

Sure! :)

[@jcbq01]

What's amazing about this is the track is INTENTIONALLY off beat its 4/4 yes but it's starts each phrase actually on the SECOND beat of its measure its off killer **just** enough to keep your internal rhythm off. Like a perverse ballet that's been deformed