OPEN POST: Dance Party of 1518 "And they danced themselves to death"

The Dancing Plague of 1518 is a historical event that makes you question your life choices and why you can't be a fabulously fantastic Dancing Queen. It all started in Strasbourg, part of the Holy Roman Empire back then—imagine a lousy reality show set in medieval Europe. On July 14, Frau Troffea decided it was a great day for a dance-off, and she took “dancing like nobody’s watching” to whole new levels. She danced for hours, briefly pausing only to wonder if she might have made a poor life choice. Soon enough, she was joined by over 30 others who apparently decided that following a woman down the street for hours on end was the norm. By August, they had formed a rather unconventional dance crew of around 400.

These dancers were a sight to behold, moving like contestants on a game show where the prize was complete exhaustion. Some folks even collapsed or experienced heart attacks, which sounds about right for a competition that nobody signed up for. Their feet were a bloody mess, but why stop now? They probably thought they'd win a one-way ticket to heaven, and Jesus would follow suit and welcome them with a friendly jig.

The local authorities were baffled. Their first idea was to build guild halls for the dancers and hire musicians, hoping that some good tunes would do the trick—because nothing says “please stop” like a live band. Spoiler: this didn’t work, and the dancers, undeterred, grew in numbers. They even hired some burly men to help the exhausted dancers remain upright. Apparently, when you can’t get people to stop dancing, the next logical step is to create your own human crutch brigade.

When those methods failed, the authorities decided to ban public music, and dancing was the best way to handle the situation. It's genius, really. It’s like telling cats to cooperate. The authorities even sent the dancers to the shrine of St. Vitus for penance, presumably to get a blessing and a lobotomy.

             Saint John’s Dancers on Their Way to Meulenbeeck (detail) by Pieter Brueghel the Younger     

Several theories were tossed around to explain this bizarre episode. One popular explanation is mass hysteria, which conveniently fits into any scenario where no one has a freaking clue what's going on. The 16th century was lovely—what with famine, disease, and wars—perfect conditions for a group dance that would make anyone question their sanity.

Some folks believed that the dancers were cursed by St. Vitus; in their minds, sinning had apparently become a dance-a-thon. Doctors of the time even came up with “overheated blood” as an explanation—so basically, they were saying these dancers just needed to cool bath(as if they actually bathed) and maybe have a glass of ice water.

The whole spectacle lasted from July to September 1518. The number of deaths remains a point of contention; estimates range from 50 to 400, a discrepancy that suggests some historians really need to polish their counting skills. Thankfully, by early September, the ban on public dancing and the trip to the shrine helped to end this peculiar event.

Peckerwood has several Dancing Queens; I just wonder who has sinned so badly they start pop and locking on the mezzanine. I vote Goblin Kitty or PlasticBotox or Medusa with her shoes. If anyone has dancing shoes, it's her.