The Dance

Throughout the Ayra Card documentation the term "dance" is used as a metaphor. The general idea is that the use of Ayra Card creates a standard way to begin various interactions (dances).

The Dance

Throughout the Ayra Card documentation, the term "dance" is used as a metaphor. The general idea is that the use of Ayra Card creates a standard way to begin various interactions (dances).

Ayra Card Standardizes the START of the Dance

There are many different interactions (dances) in the digital trust world. Depending on what we are doing, we may need to conduct a wildly varied set of orchestrated steps. Many of these intricate "dances" are well understood; once we know enough, we can determine the next steps.

It is the first couple of moves that are hard. How do we start dancing?

What if everyone learned the same opening sequence? A standardized set of initial steps that gets partners in sync and quickly reveals what kind of dance they're about to (or can) perform together. Not the whole choreography - just those crucial first moves that let you gracefully discover whether you're partners for a waltz, a tango, or something entirely different.

That's what Ayra Card provides: a universal opening that smoothly transitions into whatever specific interaction (dance) the digital trust relationship requires.

The "First Couple of Moves" Challenge

The opening moments of any digital trust interaction are fraught with uncertainty. Two parties approach each other in the digital space, but neither knows:

• What identity standards the other supports (DIDs, X.509 certificates, OAuth tokens?)

• What information they need or what information they hold that may be useful in the context of a digital relationship?

• What credential formats they can accept (Verifiable Credentials, JWTs, SAML assertions?)

• What verification methods they trust (cryptographic proofs, third-party attestations, biometrics?)

• What level of assurance they require (low, substantial, high?)

• What communication protocols they speak (OpenID Connect, DIDComm, proprietary APIs?)

It's like approaching someone at a dance and not knowing if they know ballroom, swing, or contemporary - or even which foot they start with. The result is often an awkward period of mutual probing, failed handshakes, and incompatible assumptions that can derail the entire interaction before it begins.

The Precision of "Orchestrated Steps"

Digital trust isn't improvisational - it requires choreographed precision where timing, sequence, and form matter enormously. Like dancers who must coordinate their movements down to the beat:

• Cryptographic operations must happen in exact sequence (nonce generation, signing, verification)

• Message exchanges follow strict protocols, where skipping steps breaks security or other critical properties

• Credential presentations require precise formatting and context

• Challenge-response flows demand perfect timing to prevent replay attacks

One misstep - a malformed signature, an out-of-order message, a missing parameter - and the entire dance falls apart. The beauty is in the seamless execution where complex security happens invisibly to end users.

The Variety of Trust "Dances"

Each digital interaction requires its own specialized choreography:

• Authentication dances - Simple identity verification, like a polite introduction

• Authorization tangos - More complex negotiations about what someone can access

• Credential exchange waltzes - Formal presentations of qualifications and attestations

• Zero-knowledge proof sambas - Intricate moves that reveal nothing while proving everything

• Multi-party orchestrations - Complex group dances involving multiple verifiers, issuers, and holders

Some are quick two-step verifications for logging into apps. Others are elaborate multi-movement symphonies for high-stakes transactions involving banks, governments, and enterprises. Each has its own rhythm, its own required steps, its own ways of building trust between partners.

The challenge isn't that these dances are unknown - it's that partners often can't quickly determine which dance they're doing together.