Dais

Sean John was given the seat of honor. From the dais at the front of the banquet room, his high angle afforded him an unobstructed view of all the dining guests in the cavernous hall.
. Maliliwa, the haberdasher whose home lay just at the edge of the tide line that Sean John prevented from encroaching any farther, walked up to praise Sean John. When Maliliwa reached the start of the dais, Sean John got up out of his seat and leapt off the platform to accept the man's visit on level ground.