In July 1518, a woman stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and began to dance. She did not stop for days. Within weeks, 400 people had joined her — and some danced until they died. No one knows why.
The full overview of the outbreak that gripped Strasbourg for two months. Start here for the historical facts before falling deeper.
A tight, atmospheric short documentary that captures the eerie reality of hundreds dancing involuntarily through the streets.
Ned Pennant-Rea's beautifully written essay digs into the social and psychological conditions that made an entire city lose control of its own limbs.
A full-length documentary tracing the outbreak from Frau Troffea's first steps to the city's desperate attempts to cure the afflicted by building them a stage.
Was it ergot poisoning, mass hysteria, or something stranger? This article walks through the competing theories and why none fully explain what happened.
Places the 1518 event in the context of earlier dancing manias stretching back centuries, revealing a pattern of collective breakdown across medieval Europe.