Click to enlarge
This tumblr by Niege Borges made me smile. In memory of Frau Toffea — the woman who was the first of 400 people in 1518 to be afflicted with dance mania in Strasbourg, France, dancing for days without rest resulting in some deaths — Borges is creating prints illustrating dance steps from sequences throughout the history of film. The tumblr/series is called Dancing Plague of 1518. She’s welcoming suggestions, so feel free to head on over and add yours.
If you’d like a print of one of the dances, they’re available here.
via free york
CollabCubed 
I’ve read about dancing mania on wikipedia before. It’s really mysterious and creepy to think so many people lost control of themselves without ever knowing why.
I seem to remember something about in the 1920s there were dance contests that would last for days on end and people died then too…